A Selfie as Big as the Ritz, Lara Williams
A Selfie as Big as the Ritz, Lara Williams
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A Selfie as Big as the Ritz
Stories

Author: Lara Williams

Narrator: Imogen Church

Unabridged: 4 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/31/2017


Synopsis

"If you're a young woman navigating life's crazy and wondrous tumult, British writer Lara Williams' new story collection A Selfie as Big as the Ritz is for you." — ELLE

British author Lara Williams perfectly captures the bleak, surreal, and often hilarious period of life that every late-twenties woman will recognize in this charming audiobook.

She finds herself single, twenty-nine, partially-employed, and about a half a stone overweight. Roller dexter of eligible friends rattling thin. Thirties breathing down her neck like an inappropriate uncle. She jogs. Looks good in turquoise. Finds herself punctuating gas “better out than in!” patting her stomach like a department store Santa. This is who I am, she thinks.

The women in Lara Williams’ debut story collection, A Selfie as Big as the Ritz, navigate the tumultuous interval between early twenties and middle age. In the title story, a relationship implodes against the romantic backdrop of Paris. In “One of Those Life Things,” a young woman struggles to say the right thing at her best friend’s abortion. In “Penguins,” a girlfriend tries to accept her boyfriend’s bizarre sexual fantasy. In “Treats,” a single woman comes to terms with her loneliness. As Williams’ characters attempt to lean in, fall in love, hold together a family, fend off loneliness, and build a meaningful life, we see them alternating between expectation and resignation, giddiness and melancholy, the rollercoaster we all find ourselves on.

“A dark wonder. An often harrowing (and in parts, very, very funny) debut, it targets the unfathomable nonsense of relationships, work and modern living with a keen eye, head-spinning wordplay and enough compassion to crush your heart. Buy it for everyone you know." —The Skinny

About Lara Williams

Lara Williams is a writer based in Manchester, England. Her writing has been featured in The Guardian, The Independent, Vice, the Times Literary Supplement, McSweeney’s, and elsewhere. She has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and featured in Best British Short Stories 2017. She writes and teaches Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. A Selfie as Big as the Ritz is her debut.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Arthur on April 29, 2019

This wound up being better than I thought it would going in, sort of like an Alice Munro-lite for the Millennial set. Granted, I am probably not a member of the intended audience. I won this book as part of a Goodreads giveaway.......more

Goodreads review by Janelle Janson on December 14, 2017

A SELFIE AS BIG AS THE RITZ by Lara Williams - Thank you so much to Flatiron Books for providing my free copy – all opinions are my own. I read this short story collection in one sitting – it’s a tiny book that has a big impact. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I’d say the target audien......more

Goodreads review by MaryBeth's on February 25, 2018

A Self as Big as the Ritz is a collection of short stories all about love, loss, and relationships. I enjoyed reading the different perspectives and it made me think about how you truly do not know what goes on between two people behind closed doors. The writing was perfect, detailed, and honest.......more

Superb collection of short stories about women from their early 20s through middle age in relationships. The stories were wonderful.......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer (Insert Lit Pun) on November 07, 2017

A beautiful collection. Williams's word choice is consistently stunning. The only problems are that the stories are all so short and similar in tone, and that there are 21 of them. So I think I would've been impressed more by these stories if I'd read them individually, but all together they blurred......more


Quotes

A Selfie as Big as the Ritz is accurately named—it has the sophistication and latent romanticism of Fitzgerald's best short stories. Lara Williams has a quick wit, an empathetic ear, and a devastating eye for detail—I will never look at diabetic chocolates quite the same way. This book is brilliant.”
—Rebecca Harrington, author of Penelope

“A dark wonder. An often harrowing (and in parts, very, very funny) debut, it targets the unfathomable nonsense of relationships, work and modern living with a keen eye, head-spinning wordplay and enough compassion to crush your heart. Buy it for everyone you know.”
The Skinny

“What a wonderful collection. Very smart and VERY funny. A stunning mix of measured wisdom and raw emotion.”
—Emma Jane Unsworth, author of Animals

“Maybe you meet someone. Maybe you fall in love. Maybe you break up. Maybe someone writes a book about your life. This is that book. Brilliant stories; awesome debut.”
—Nicholas Royle, editor of Best British Short Stories 2015

A glorious collection of linked stories about 20s something life in the 21st century that casts a sharp yet compassionate eye over falling in love, breaking up, friendship, and work. [A Selfie as Big as the Ritz] is Williams’ first book and I can’t wait for her to write another.”
Stylist

“Remarkable…Evocative…The author laces the narrative with tangible, almost Instagram-able details that hint at her characters’ deepest desires…With hints of Noah Baumbach’s youthful existentialism and shades of Janice Galloway’s visceral prose, Lara Williams is one to watch.”
The List

“Seriously impressive…Reminded me of something Katherine Mansfield might have written, if she lived in a world with iPhones.”
Huffington Post