The Accomplished Guest: Ann Beattie (a book with a plant on the cover)

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Beatrice has a writing style that completely captured me and wouldn't let me go.

Each story that I read made me want more of the story. Each story could have been a novel; I wanted so much more information than the short stories gave. I think that's a sign of great writing.

I had a lot of fun trying to figure out what the title meant it where the title came from. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure most of the stories out.

I found this to be an interesting read full of deeper meaning that if I took the time, I could pull out and share. Each story deals with loss, pain, loneliness, guests, and hosting in some way, and I think Beattie chose an interesting theme to center the book around: guests. It provides readers a different way to think about hosting or being a guest. She also provides readers with ways of dealing with pain and heartbreak, which I thought was lovely.