If asked to introduce Big Bad by Whitney Collins, here’s the first thing that jumps to mind: these are not New Yorker stories. I mean that as the highest possible compliment. So much contemporary fiction, it seems, emphasizes a discernible perspective: variations on a theme from a consistent narrator. That is not the case here— this 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.
It seems that in the last few years everyone who writes short fiction acknowledges George Saunders as a master of the form, having perfected a style that’s disarmingly simple yet impossible to imitate. Whitney is the first writer who, in more than one story, seems to capture the whimsy, humor, and humanity—combined with some boundary-pushing elements, that is Saunders’s calling card. (We talk about this, and both recommend his work; beginners are advised to start with Tenth of December.)
I recommend Big Bad with joy and urgency, and encourage you to pick up your copy by supporting independent booksellers and our great partners at D.C.’s historic The Potter’s House.
Whitney Collins is the author of the short story collection, BIG BAD (Sarabande Books), which won the 2019 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction. In addition, Whitney received a 2020 Pushcart Prize, a 2020 Pushcart Prize Special Mention, and won the 2020 American Short(er) Fiction Prize. Her fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in AGNI, Shenandoah, American Short Fiction, Slice, The Pinch, Ninth Letter, Grist, The Chattahoochee Review, and Catapult’s TINY NIGHTMARES anthology, among others. Previously, Whitney was a contributing editor for The Weeklings, a book reviewer for Barnes & Noble, and an editorial board member of The Big Jewel. Her nonfiction can be found on various sites, including McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Salon, and Huffington Post. Find her online at http://www.whitneycollins.com/.
