Mary Gaitskill
Mary Gaitskill is the author of several books of fiction, including “Bad Behavior,” “Two Girls, Fat and Thin,” “Veronica,” “Don’t Cry,” and “This Is Pleasure,” which was first published as a novella on newyorker.com, in 2019. “The Devil’s Treasure: A Book of Stories and Dreams,” a book that combines fiction, personal history, visual art, and commentary on some of Gaitskill’s earlier work, came out in 2021. She received a Guggenheim Fellowship, in 2004, and an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, in 2018.
Fiction
“Something Familiar”
She didn’t remember what she’d said, only that it had gone on for the whole hour, and that he’d said, “I’m lonely,” and “Please,” and “Give me a chance.”
Personal History
The Friendship Challenge
How envy destroyed the perfect connection between two teen-age girls.
Coming Together
Night of the Happy Bodies
The next thing I recall is that a large, purposeful woman was suddenly dancing at me, very close and very angry.
Fiction
Minority Report
“I still don’t know why I did what the lawyer said, or why I didn’t stand up and leave, or why I went back the next day.”
Novellas
“This Is Pleasure”
“At first, the suit was not against me but against the publishing house, and all she wanted was a payment, which the company was prepared to make—as long as she kept quiet about her complaints.”
Fiction
Acceptance Journey
Fiction