I read A. M. Homes wrote the second season of the LWord and was suddenly conflicted. As you'll soon learn, the show is a major unexpected guilty pleasure, surely made watchable in part due to Homes's writing–but it didn't exactly endear me to her completely.
I mean, does this make her responsible for the idiot video camera roommate dude? (bad) Or did she come up with idea to terminate the dragged-out Kelly Lynch plot line? (good). And, most importantly, good GOD, does she, as a vaguely bisexual writer, actually connect with Jenny Schecter, the most unlikable woman on television?!
I had to wash all the possible implications away and just accept that I really enjoyed this collection of short stories, any tawdry television mistakes should stay out of it. If I can look past R. Kelly's horribleness to appreciate Sex in the Kitchen, then Homes at least deserves the same.
The Safety of Objects was justifiably met with howls of praise and its simple prose and interesting subject matter make it hard to put down. I read it in three quick sit down sessions. Not all the stories are excellent, but some really deliver. My favorites 'Jim Train' and 'The Bullet Catcher' focus on misunderstood middle aged men and their crises. 'Chunky in Heat', about an obese girl, is also excellent. Good short fiction isn't always easy to find and this is one of the better examples of the form that I've read in a while.
But what do you think?