Crazy People: The Crazy For You Stories (2012) - Plot & Excerpts
This is a newly released collection of short stories that Crusie wrote while in school that culminated in her novel "Crazy for You." the stories were great, vignettes of characters and situations. My favorite was the letter written by Darla's sister, Debbie, to her husband, Ronnie, after he runs off with the Bank Slut.I was a little confused about the years and the timing, since I assumed "Crazy for You" took place in 1999 when it was written; apparently it originally took place in the 80s? It does drive me nuts when writers take liberty with years and ages and don't explain why or what they've done. Crusie had such great background she provided about the assignments that led to each story that it made me even more frustrated that she never touched on the WHEN the novel took place. This book serves two purposes: it gives us more Crazy Crusie People -- always a good thing -- and it lets us inside the author's creative process. The original Crazy for You-- a separate Crusie work -- was part of her MFA thesis for Ohio State. These stories were written as exercises for Jenny Crusie to get at the main and supporting characters in order to develop her novel. She provides the original stories with annotation, and she shows us a bit of the editing process by including the original first chapter of Crazy for You she submitted to St Martins Press, and the same first chapter as published after editing. Thus reiterating that Jenny Crusie is one of the finest writers of women's fiction today and at the same time, still a teacher at heart. And damn generous, too. Buy both books.
What do You think about Crazy People: The Crazy For You Stories (2012)?
I loved seeing another side of the characters from Crazy for You. Especially loved Caroline's story.
—monika
Definitely a good read for those who liked Crazy For You.
—ashley
