Today’s Riot Rundown is sponsored by Flatiron Books.
“She finds herself single, twenty-nine, partially-employed, and about a half a stone overweight. Thirties breathing down her neck like an inappropriate uncle. She jogs. Looks good in turquoise. 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 “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.