Discussion Notes: Girls, at Play

This week’s story: Girls, At Play by Celeste Ng

Next week’s story: Mr Salary by Sally Rooney

Rated: Explicit

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This week we welcomed short story author Beth Mayer onto the show to discuss one of her favorite short stories, “Girls, at Play” by Celeste Ng.

Beth Mayer’s short story collection We Will Tell You Otherwise won the 2017 Hudson Prize with Black Lawrence Press and is a Midwest Connections Pick for August. Her fiction has appeared in The Threepenny Review, The Sun Magazine, and The Midway Review. She was a fiction finalist for The Missouri Review’s Jeffrey E. Smith Editors’ Prize (2016), her work recognized among “Other Distinguished Stories” by Best American Mystery Stories (2010), and her stories anthologized in both American Fiction (New Rivers) and New Stories from the Midwest (Ohio University). Mayer was a Loft Mentor Series Winner in Fiction (2015-16) and holds an MFA in creative writing from Hamline University. She currently teaches English at Century College in Minnesota, where she lives with her family and impossibly faithful dog. Visit her online at https://bethmayer.com/

Twitter: @bethjmayerFacebook: @bethmayerauthor

Beth joined Andy and Anais to discuss Celeste Ng’s brutally honest short story about girlhood, innocence, violence, and sex. The conversation often dwells on the difficult subject of consent and adolescence. Despite the difficult topic, all three hosts appreciated the story deeply for what it did so well and analyze Ng’s mastery of the craft. 

Have thoughts on this story?

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