A uniquely insightful collection of short stories. Cline has created vivid snapshots into the lives of ten fundamentally different and unrelated characters that she threads together with themes of masculinity, “daddy” issues, fractured relationships and violence to form this cohesive collection. There were some stories I connected with on a more personal level than others however, connection or no, I found I simply couldn’t put this book down. This is a thought-provoking read and, whether you like it or not, I have no doubt that everyone who reads this will find something to relate to.

I read Emma Cline’s debut novel “The Girls” last year and while it wasn’t my favourite book I really enjoyed her writing style, so was very excited to be given the opportunity to read her short story collection.

“Daddy” is a collection of ten short stories exploring the the dark corners of human relationships. The characters are flawed and most of the stories seem to focus on them at their lowest, almost teetering at self destruction. Each story was unsettling and though provoking.

I enjoyed Cline’s writing, her prose flows effortlessly and beautifully and really pulls you into the story. But most of the stories left me feeling unsatisfied as they just seem to abruptly end and I wanted more from them.

My favourites out of the collection were “The Nanny”, “A/S/L” and “Los Angeles”.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Each story in this collection left me with one of two feelings - melancholy or disturbed. They're about what's unsaid as much as what is said, and most of them feel like they could have gone longer, but paradoxically, they don't feel unfinished. In some I did miss the point and I didn't find the collection as a whole as successful as her novel The Girls (which is one of my all time favourites).

There's a definite cynical edge to a lot of these. Cline is a strong observer of human behaviour, but she doesn't seem to particularly like these characters.

My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ten short stories thematically linked by ‘daddy’, from the writer of ‘Girls’ which I loved.
Skilful characterisation and vivid, varied creation of context. Intriguing interactions with secrets and tension between the ‘daddy’ figure and dependents; figures of authority and the disadvantaged advocate ‘daddies’
Found myself racing to the end of each story to discover the secret, the reason for the tension, the awkward truths from the past; the ‘twist’, the resolution
But sometimes the reader is only partially satisfied. Elliptical endings need to feed us, to leave us pondering,. These left a bleakness behind; a longing for some kind of hope for development and fulfilment.
Thank you #NetGalley and #RandomHouse for my pre-release download.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

I’m in two minds about short stories. On one hand, I love a tale I can pick up and read in a short time and enjoy. On the other, when I start to get into a story... it ends, and I want more.

Daddy by Emma Cline is a group of short stories exploring the dynamics between men, women, families... and all between.

My favourites were:

- ‘Los Angeles’ - about a girl, Alice, who wants to make it in showbiz, of course, who steals underwear from her employer, wears it, and sells it, only for the last buyer we see to trap her in his car;
- ‘The Nanny’ - Kayla’s hiding out in her mother’s friend’s house after the fling she had with her married actor employer was accidentally leaked;
- ‘Northeast Regional’ - a father, Richard, in an unsure age gap relationship, goes to assist his wayward son, Rowan, after his almost-expulsion, and Rowan really doesn’t care about what’s happened. Nor his father. Nor anyone, really.
- ‘a/s/l’ - Thora is in a mental health facility, following her (what I assume) breakdown; she’d been talking to paedophiles on the internet, pretending to be a young cheerleader.

Although Cline’s writing is atmospheric, sometimes it feels like the true happenings in each story are buried within her words. Maybe that’s the point; we only see what people allow us to see, but there’s a whole other something in peoples’ heads. I’m not sure, however, if that’s really a luxury that short stories have. I noticed the same thing when I read ‘The Girls’ too (& that was full-length).

As a collection, I did enjoy this, but I would have liked to have read more of the stories I noted above.

As exacting and unnerving as you'd expect from Emma Cline, this is a collection of stories that bristles with intelligence and wit. Cline is unwaveringly focused on her (often deeply flawed) characters in what feels to me like a deeply of-the-moment collection, capturing the strange loneliness that's intertwined with our constantly-connected world. Sharp, unforgiving, and brilliant.

Cline is a great observer and that detail is clear to see in this collection. For me, however, the stories work best as standalones - as a collection there is quite a lot of repetition in style and thought and motive (or lack thereof). Which is not to say it isn't a beguiling read - more that it's one to dip in and out of rather than sit and devour whole. Still, a class act.

I read Emma Cline’s first book and enjoyed it. But I absolutely loved this. I generally love short story compilations anyway but this was particularly skilled. And I can re-read short stories over and over so it’s one to enjoy more than once. 5/5.

Firstly I do think Cline is a good writer with a lot of ideas that I would be interested in reading about. However, it seems the ideas are good in theory but in practice the execution is pretty disappointing. I found a majority of the short stories pretty bland. I did enjoy the story Los Angeles but there weren't any other stories I found particularly memorable or intriguing.

Daddy by Emma Cline is a very readable collection of short stories focusing on flawed characters struggling with power dynamics.

I previously read and really liked Emma Cline's debut 'The Girls' so I was excited to be given the opportunity to read her first collection of short stories.

‘Daddy’ continues to prove that Cline is a great storyteller. The characters of these stories are, like in ‘The Girls’, rooted in the American landscape and they are forced to navigate both complicated and complex relationships. While reading these stories, I really appreciated how Cline never tries to be profound, to disturb or to shock. Instead, she writes with subtlety and elegance about the very uncomfortable and even horrific situations that her characters experience.

Throughout this collection, Cline conveys this sense of how precarious the lives of her characters are, how they are always teetering on the brinkj of destruction and how everything can change in an instant. If there is an overarching message in this collection, it is that fragility and vulnerability are fundamental aspects of who we are as humans and that somehow we are always only seconds away from becoming subjected to (and perhaps inflicting) emotional and physical violence. In ‘Daddy’, this creates a perpetual tension with the characters’ need to have and to sustain any personal relationships while always and forever being so incredibly close to falling apart.

With thanks to the publisher for the free review copy in exchange for my honest and unedited feedback.