"We Love Anderson Cooper"

“We Love Anderson Cooper”

Written by R.L. Maizes

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“We Love Anderson Cooper” is an oddball and extremely eccentric collection of short stories. This book has been described as short stories with characters who are treated differently based on their race, sexuality, appearance, gender, and more. However, I felt that this short story collection was just based on people. It did not feel like this empowering, freeing collection with these themes. The reasons why these characters were treated differently are expressed in maybe the first three paragraphs of each story and then hardly influence the plot. This writer creates many different types of characters who all feel realistic, but they are in eccentric scenarios. This collection felt very easy going and natural to read yet realistic, similar to a Jason Robert Brown play (especially with all of the Jewish references). I felt that I liked some of the stories but was disappointed with most. I do not plan to keep this collection or read it again.

The first story in this collection was “We Love Anderson Cooper”. The plot follows a teen named Markus, as he prepares his bar mitzvah. For an aspect of this plot, I researched bar mitzvahs and they often occur when a Jewish boy reaches 13 years old. Markus comes out as gay while reading his speech for the ceremony, also outing his boyfriend. This puzzled me. Then, the story concludes in graphic, underage oral sex. This was just an awful and uncomfortable story to read. Yuck.

“Collections” follows the story of Maya, whose partner of 14 years has passed away, not leaving her anything in his will. Maya starts over and collects debt in exchange for cheaper housework done by a contractor.

“Tattoo” is about a man named Trey who becomes a tattoo artist and begins to obsess with his work. This was one of the best out of the bunch, but I still do not think it was phenomenal.

“The Infidelity of Judah Maccabee” was a funny little tale about a man whose cat starts turning his affection to his girlfriend instead. This was my favorite. It was cute and light-hearted with some fun, Jewish humor.

“No Shortage of Birds” was absolutely infuriating. I hated this story with a fervor like that of an angry volcano. A young woman whose father passes away is gifted a parakeet. She doesn’t give it fresh water, keep it well-fed, lets it overheat in 95-degree heat without air conditioning, which of course kills it. As a bird lover and owner of two lutino cockatiels, I wanted to set the book on fire. And buy six more lutinos to keep them safe from harm.

“L’Chaim” is a poignant vignette about a woman who stands in the venue where she called off her wedding, surrounded by the chairs, chuppah, and flowers. I enjoyed this one as well, because although it was short, it certainly painted a strong picture.

“A Cat Called Grievous” follows a man and wife who struggle to conceive. After taking in a skittish but feisty stray cat, they start to notice the destructive hold the cat has on them. This was another strange but witty story.

“Better Homes and Gardens” was completely forgettable. A man who is so unhappy in his marriage takes up pizza delivering, becoming friends with a customer and her child. The grass is always greener, I guess.

“Couch” was a story about a female therapist who becomes obsessed with a couch. That’s it.

“Yiddish Lessons” followed a young teen, possibly transitioning into a different gender. There was also an interesting arranged marriage plot line as well. However, I thought this story was just okay.

“Ghost Dogs” was yet another sad animal story. There’s far too many here. A woman moves on after both her pets have passed away, hearing thumping by the dog door, reminding her of walks.

In conclusion, I recommend the stories I liked, but I would not recommend this book as a whole. I did not enjoy it very much, even though I really enjoy short story collections. This reminded me a lot of “No One Belongs Here More Than You” by Miranda July, which was another short story collection that I couldn’t stand.

Thank you to Celadon Books for sending me an advanced reader copy. This was not in exchange for a review, but I wanted to review it anyway.