Reviews
Publishers Weekly , "Books for Short Attention Spans 2021" "[Collins] lays on the verve and wit across the 13 stories in this crisp collection....[and] exhibits a contagious appreciation for the world's strange horrors, big and small." -- Publishers Weekly , online and print "Not a word is wasted in Big Bad , an unusual and masterful collection of short stories." -- Foreword Reviews starred review, online and print "Offbeat, high-concept worldbuilding." --"Books for Short Attention Spans 2021," Publishers Weekly " Big Bad by Whitney Collins announces a voice as fresh as tomorrow morning. Darkly, subversively, hilarious stories carom along with brilliance and surety. In the title story of the collection, a woman gives birth to herself...over and over. In fiction both exquisitely bizarre and deeply satisfying, the excitement of discovery resounds throughout Collins' work." --Leslie Daniels, author of Cleaning Nabokov's House "What a raw delight of a book! Big Bad is precise, relatable, and also psychedelic and feral, taking me on side roads I never dreamed of traveling, delivering profound and humane truths that leave me stunned. While each story is supremely original, the collection reads like an instant modern classic, to be found on the shelf between Joy Williams and George Saunders." --Jardine Libaire, author of White Fur "To say that Whitney Collins has a unique voice is to make an understatement of massive proportions. Not only is she willing to go where other writers wouldn't even consider going, she seems to revel in the opportunity to bring us along for the ride--and how thankful we are that she does. To read her collection of sixteen stories, Big Bad , is to spend time with one of our most exciting new talents, a writer speaking to so many of the challenges of modern life: how to have healthy relationships, how to love after loss, how to forgive ourselves for crimes real and imagined, and how to envision a world--or a life for oneself--that does not yet exist. Each story holds a universe within it: humor that will make you laugh out loud; characters who will make you cry; lines that demand to be memorized. This collection creates a fictional landscape as meaningful as any imagined space I've dared to enter--one so real, so unflinchingly honest, I didn't realize I'd been transported, one so fascinating I didn't want to leave." --Rachel M. Harper, author of Brass Ankle Blues and This Side of Providence, Publishers Weekly , "Books for Short Attention Spans 2021" "[Collins] lays on the verve and wit across the 13 stories in this crisp collection....[and] exhibits a contagious appreciation for the world's strange horrors, big and small." -- Publishers Weekly , online and print "Beautifully written, wildly imaginative stories." -- Kirkus , online and print "Not a word is wasted in Big Bad , an unusual and masterful collection of short stories." -- Foreword Reviews starred review, online and print "Offbeat, high-concept worldbuilding." --"Books for Short Attention Spans 2021," Publishers Weekly "[A] deliciously dark world in which anything is possible and the most horrifying is probable." --"Big Bad' Pushes the Boundaries of Both Its Characters and Its Readers" by Kate Murphy, Southern Review of Books "[T]his collection is truly diverse but not for the sake of it; these are deeply felt, thoroughly realized explorations. Missing limbs, unborn babies, absent fathers, the cycle of death and birth (not necessarily natural in either case); there's repression, denial, the ache of loss, and of course LOVE (unrealized, unrequited, unwanted) pervades. And that's just scratching the surface of the riches contained within. . . . I recommend Big Bad with joy and urgency." -- 1455 , online "Sparkling." -- Prevail , online " Big Bad by Whitney Collins announces a voice as fresh as tomorrow morning. Darkly, subversively, hilarious stories carom along with brilliance and surety. In the title story of the collection, a woman gives birth to herself...over and over. In fiction both exquisitely bizarre and deeply satisfying, the excitement of discovery resounds throughout Collins' work." --Leslie Daniels, author of Cleaning Nabokov's House "What a raw delight of a book! Big Bad is precise, relatable, and also psychedelic and feral, taking me on side roads I never dreamed of traveling, delivering profound and humane truths that leave me stunned. While each story is supremely original, the collection reads like an instant modern classic, to be found on the shelf between Joy Williams and George Saunders." --Jardine Libaire, author of White Fur "To say that Whitney Collins has a unique voice is to make an understatement of massive proportions. Not only is she willing to go where other writers wouldn't even consider going, she seems to revel in the opportunity to bring us along for the ride--and how thankful we are that she does. To read her collection of sixteen stories, Big Bad , is to spend time with one of our most exciting new talents, a writer speaking to so many of the challenges of modern life: how to have healthy relationships, how to love after loss, how to forgive ourselves for crimes real and imagined, and how to envision a world--or a life for oneself--that does not yet exist. Each story holds a universe within it: humor that will make you laugh out loud; characters who will make you cry; lines that demand to be memorized. This collection creates a fictional landscape as meaningful as any imagined space I've dared to enter--one so real, so unflinchingly honest, I didn't realize I'd been transported, one so fascinating I didn't want to leave." --Rachel M. Harper, author of Brass Ankle Blues and This Side of Providence, Publishers Weekly , "Books for Short Attention Spans 2021" "[Collins] lays on the verve and wit across the 13 stories in this crisp collection....[and] exhibits a contagious appreciation for the world's strange horrors, big and small." -- Publishers Weekly , online and print "Beautifully written, wildly imaginative stories." -- Kirkus , online and print "Not a word is wasted in Big Bad , an unusual and masterful collection of short stories." -- Foreword Reviews starred review, online and print "Offbeat, high-concept worldbuilding." --"Books for Short Attention Spans 2021," Publishers Weekly " Big Bad by Whitney Collins announces a voice as fresh as tomorrow morning. Darkly, subversively, hilarious stories carom along with brilliance and surety. In the title story of the collection, a woman gives birth to herself...over and over. In fiction both exquisitely bizarre and deeply satisfying, the excitement of discovery resounds throughout Collins' work." --Leslie Daniels, author of Cleaning Nabokov's House "What a raw delight of a book! Big Bad is precise, relatable, and also psychedelic and feral, taking me on side roads I never dreamed of traveling, delivering profound and humane truths that leave me stunned. While each story is supremely original, the collection reads like an instant modern classic, to be found on the shelf between Joy Williams and George Saunders." --Jardine Libaire, author of White Fur "To say that Whitney Collins has a unique voice is to make an understatement of massive proportions. Not only is she willing to go where other writers wouldn't even consider going, she seems to revel in the opportunity to bring us along for the ride--and how thankful we are that she does. To read her collection of sixteen stories, Big Bad , is to spend time with one of our most exciting new talents, a writer speaking to so many of the challenges of modern life: how to have healthy relationships, how to love after loss, how to forgive ourselves for crimes real and imagined, and how to envision a world--or a life for oneself--that does not yet exist. Each story holds a universe within it: humor that will make you laugh out loud; characters who will make you cry; lines that demand to be memorized. This collection creates a fictional landscape as meaningful as any imagined space I've dared to enter--one so real, so unflinchingly honest, I didn't realize I'd been transported, one so fascinating I didn't want to leave." --Rachel M. Harper, author of Brass Ankle Blues and This Side of Providence, " Big Bad by Whitney Collins announces a voice as fresh as tomorrow morning. Darkly, subversively, hilarious stories carom along with brilliance and surety. In the title story of the collection, a woman gives birth to herself...over and over. In fiction both exquisitely bizarre and deeply satisfying, the excitement of discovery resounds throughout Collins' work." --Leslie Daniels, author of Cleaning Nabokov's House "What a raw delight of a book! Big Bad is precise, relatable, and also psychedelic and feral, taking me on side roads I never dreamed of traveling, delivering profound and humane truths that leave me stunned. While each story is supremely original, the collection reads like an instant modern classic, to be found on the shelf between Joy Williams and George Saunders." --Jardine Libaire, author of White Fur "To say that Whitney Collins has a unique voice is to make an understatement of massive proportions. Not only is she willing to go where other writers wouldn't even consider going, she seems to revel in the opportunity to bring us along for the ride--and how thankful we are that she does. To read her collection of sixteen stories, Big Bad , is to spend time with one of our most exciting new talents, a writer speaking to so many of the challenges of modern life: how to have healthy relationships, how to love after loss, how to forgive ourselves for crimes real and imagined, and how to envision a world--or a life for oneself--that does not yet exist. Each story holds a universe within it: humor that will make you laugh out loud; characters who will make you cry; lines that demand to be memorized. This collection creates a fictional landscape as meaningful as any imagined space I've dared to enter--one so real, so unflinchingly honest, I didn't realize I'd been transported, one so fascinating I didn't want to leave." --Rachel M. Harper, author of Brass Ankle Blues and This Side of Providence, Publishers Weekly , "Books for Short Attention Spans 2021" "[Collins] lays on the verve and wit across the 13 stories in this crisp collection....[and] exhibits a contagious appreciation for the world's strange horrors, big and small." -- Publishers Weekly , online and print "Beautifully written, wildly imaginative stories." -- Kirkus , online and print "Not a word is wasted in Big Bad , an unusual and masterful collection of short stories." -- Foreword Reviews starred review, online and print "Offbeat, high-concept worldbuilding." --"Books for Short Attention Spans 2021," Publishers Weekly "[T]his collection is truly diverse but not for the sake of it; these are deeply felt, thoroughly realized explorations. Missing limbs, unborn babies, absent fathers, the cycle of death and birth (not necessarily natural in either case); there's repression, denial, the ache of loss, and of course LOVE (unrealized, unrequited, unwanted) pervades. And that's just scratching the surface of the riches contained within. . . . I recommend Big Bad with joy and urgency." -- 1455 , online " Big Bad by Whitney Collins announces a voice as fresh as tomorrow morning. Darkly, subversively, hilarious stories carom along with brilliance and surety. In the title story of the collection, a woman gives birth to herself...over and over. In fiction both exquisitely bizarre and deeply satisfying, the excitement of discovery resounds throughout Collins' work." --Leslie Daniels, author of Cleaning Nabokov's House "What a raw delight of a book! Big Bad is precise, relatable, and also psychedelic and feral, taking me on side roads I never dreamed of traveling, delivering profound and humane truths that leave me stunned. While each story is supremely original, the collection reads like an instant modern classic, to be found on the shelf between Joy Williams and George Saunders." --Jardine Libaire, author of White Fur "To say that Whitney Collins has a unique voice is to make an understatement of massive proportions. Not only is she willing to go where other writers wouldn't even consider going, she seems to revel in the opportunity to bring us along for the ride--and how thankful we are that she does. To read her collection of sixteen stories, Big Bad , is to spend time with one of our most exciting new talents, a writer speaking to so many of the challenges of modern life: how to have healthy relationships, how to love after loss, how to forgive ourselves for crimes real and imagined, and how to envision a world--or a life for oneself--that does not yet exist. Each story holds a universe within it: humor that will make you laugh out loud; characters who will make you cry; lines that demand to be memorized. This collection creates a fictional landscape as meaningful as any imagined space I've dared to enter--one so real, so unflinchingly honest, I didn't realize I'd been transported, one so fascinating I didn't want to leave." --Rachel M. Harper, author of Brass Ankle Blues and This Side of Providence, Publishers Weekly , "Books for Short Attention Spans 2021" "[Collins] lays on the verve and wit across the 13 stories in this crisp collection....[and] exhibits a contagious appreciation for the world's strange horrors, big and small." -- Publishers Weekly , online and print "Beautifully written, wildly imaginative stories." -- Kirkus , online and print "Not a word is wasted in Big Bad , an unusual and masterful collection of short stories." -- Foreword Reviews starred review, online and print "Offbeat, high-concept worldbuilding." --"Books for Short Attention Spans 2021," Publishers Weekly "[T]his collection is truly diverse but not for the sake of it; these are deeply felt, thoroughly realized explorations. Missing limbs, unborn babies, absent fathers, the cycle of death and birth (not necessarily natural in either case); there's repression, denial, the ache of loss, and of course LOVE (unrealized, unrequited, unwanted) pervades. And that's just scratching the surface of the riches contained within. . . . I recommend Big Bad with joy and urgency." -- 1455 , online "Sparkling." -- Prevail , online " Big Bad by Whitney Collins announces a voice as fresh as tomorrow morning. Darkly, subversively, hilarious stories carom along with brilliance and surety. In the title story of the collection, a woman gives birth to herself...over and over. In fiction both exquisitely bizarre and deeply satisfying, the excitement of discovery resounds throughout Collins' work." --Leslie Daniels, author of Cleaning Nabokov's House "What a raw delight of a book! Big Bad is precise, relatable, and also psychedelic and feral, taking me on side roads I never dreamed of traveling, delivering profound and humane truths that leave me stunned. While each story is supremely original, the collection reads like an instant modern classic, to be found on the shelf between Joy Williams and George Saunders." --Jardine Libaire, author of White Fur "To say that Whitney Collins has a unique voice is to make an understatement of massive proportions. Not only is she willing to go where other writers wouldn't even consider going, she seems to revel in the opportunity to bring us along for the ride--and how thankful we are that she does. To read her collection of sixteen stories, Big Bad , is to spend time with one of our most exciting new talents, a writer speaking to so many of the challenges of modern life: how to have healthy relationships, how to love after loss, how to forgive ourselves for crimes real and imagined, and how to envision a world--or a life for oneself--that does not yet exist. Each story holds a universe within it: humor that will make you laugh out loud; characters who will make you cry; lines that demand to be memorized. This collection creates a fictional landscape as meaningful as any imagined space I've dared to enter--one so real, so unflinchingly honest, I didn't realize I'd been transported, one so fascinating I didn't want to leave." --Rachel M. Harper, author of Brass Ankle Blues and This Side of Providence
