Normal People Don't Live Like This : a review

In this collection of interconnected short stories, we meet teenage Leah and her mother Helen, along with a small cast of supporting characters. Leah is first presented as obsessive-compulsive, an interesting mirror to her anorexic mother, and a victim of bullying. Both Leah and her mother are at awkward stages in their lives but as we leap forward, they have both become stronger, more sure of themselves.

At 181 pages, this book nevetheless packs a punch. There is a miscarriage. There is a rape. Dylan Landis not only describes unpleasantness in this book, she pokes at it like a finger to an open wound. But parts of it are much more subtle and almost poetic. Her writing is a treat, spare yet peppered with clever nuggets of description. All in all, it’s an impressive and original collection that you’ll devour quickly but still be thinking about weeks later.