Thank you to Vintage and NetGalley for the proof of this collection of short stories. I read it instantly. After ‘The Girls’, I was so intrigued to see what Cline would conquer next and I assure you I was not disappointed. ‘Daddy’ is seeped in the dark chaos of reality. From sexual secrets to irrepressible familial disappointment, Cline has the talent and the moxy to talk about what often goes unsaid but never unnoticed. She has done something ironic and sinister and relatable, a new way of tackling short stories in our society. Unmissable and perfect for any literary fan for Christmas

Admittedly, I write this review as one of the few people who's not read Emma Cline's The Girls. Even so, I can comfortably say that Cline's prose are as dark, thought-provoking, and mysterious as the acclaim for The Girls implied. Daddy explores a number of relationships and power dynamics through varying lenses in short story format. Some stories are more sinister than others, but their characters are all alarmingly real, flawed, and relatable (sometimes to a cringe-worthy extent). Again, I've not read The Girls, but would recommend this to fans of Cline's past writing or those who enjoy the writing of Shirley Jackson and Chuck Palahniuk (or to anyone who likes spooky, sharp prose, really).

A uniquely insightful collection of short stories. Cline has created vivid snapshots into the lives of ten fundamentally different and unrelated characters that she threads together with themes of masculinity, “daddy” issues, fractured relationships and violence to form this cohesive collection. There were some stories I connected with on a more personal level than others however, connection or no, I found I simply couldn’t put this book down. This is a thought-provoking read and, whether you like it or not, I have no doubt that everyone who reads this will find something to relate to.

I loved 'The Girls', Emma Cline's debut novel, and her first collection of short stories doesn't disappoint. Cline writes about the dark side of American life in these stories, many of which are set in Los Angeles or elsewhere in California. There are similar themes to 'The Girls' in some of the stories - in 'Marion' and 'a/s'/' in particular, with the former focusing on some sort of commune and the latter a rehab centre, Cline has a real knack with being able to delve into the lives of people, whether young or old, male or female - and as a reader, you feel that she really knows, really understands, the people she is writing about. The opening tale, 'What Can You Do with a General', zooms in on the minutiae of family life, with picking up people from the airport, going shopping and the impact that modern life has on people - even if this isn't explicitly stated. Towards the end, one of the daughters, Sasha, denies her love of watching 'The Wizard of Oz' - her father's statement that she loved the film really irritates her, so much so that she claims it's Chloe, her sister's, favourite - something all parents might notice as children grow older, how they can be argumentative and disagreeable. In 'Northeast Regional', a father has to take the train to his son's boarding school to confront the reason he's been expelled - a reason we, as readers, never fully understand. Again, the dynamics in parent-child relationships are explored here. In the penultimate story, 'Mack the Knife', Cline hones in on the male - in this case, a group of friends who know each other well but have all moved on with their lives. Some of the stories in this collection are not particularly memorable - but this does not make them bad stories. Cline deals with the intricacies of life, the disagreements and conflicts, people's foibles and habits, the way we sometimes deliberately upset others. This is life, isn't it - modern life, at least? Interestingly, the title of the collection isn't a title of one of the stories, perhaps for no good reason. And this, in many ways, sums up the collection. This happens, things don't happen. Sometimes we know why, sometimes we don't. Cline is commenting on how life is nowadays and it's this that I believe to be an enviable skills of hers - and one that you will learn about if you read this collection.

10 short stories showing a glimpse into the lives of various humans. Each story is interesting in their own right, some were more gripping than others. Some, I thought ended too suddenly and I desperately wanted to find out more. I liked it a lot, there was a lot of interesting and well written characters, which was impressively done in a small amount of pages. It got me really thinking about the behaviour of people, why and how they do the things they do. I’d like to thank the publishers for my copy of ‘Daddy’. It was very much appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed.