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Bad Kansas: Stories
The eleven beautifully crafted stories in Bad Kansas reveal the complicated underbelly of the country’s most flown-over state and the quirky characters that call it home. In this darkly humorous collection, Kansas becomes a state of mind as Mandelbaum’s characters struggle to define their relationship to home and what it means to stay or leave, to hold on or let go. When a desperate woman finds herself on a date with a rugged man she has nothing in common with, she must decide whether to sacrifice the life of a bear in order to keep the man’s affection. After having a nightmare about a mallard, a young man wakes to discover he’s choking the woman he loves. When his mother starts dating a slimy pizza parlor owner, a young boy must choose whether to align with his mischievous older brother or remain loyal to his mom. The deeply appealing and peculiar characters in Bad Kansas are determined to get what they want, be it love or sex or power, in a world intent on denying them.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
176 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2017
About the author
Becky Mandelbaum
8 books139 followersBecky Mandelbaum is the author of THE BRIGHT SIDE SANCTUARY FOR ANIMALS, forthcoming from Simon & Schuster on August 4, 2020. She is also the author of BAD KANSAS, which received the 2016 Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. Originally from Kansas, she currently lives in Washington State.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 28, 2018
I hear this book is pretty great...and that the author really loves cookies and puppies. Maybe everyone should send her cookies and puppies...
November 17, 2022
Disparate stories reveal flawed awkward characters. You’ll recognize certain personalities —— like townies you may know; with edgy & redemptive humor, they’re struggling in ambivalent relationships, weighing the merits of living in Kansas versus California, and more life choices. Becky Mandelbaum’s debut collection was inspired by the assumptions Californian’s made upon learning she moved from “fly-over country”.
The story “Bald Bear” is so well-depicted; even if I didn’t live near the Vinland, Kansas setting I would be able to picture it clearly.
Recommended for fans of Denis Johnson as well as Flannery O’Connor.
Awarded: Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, High Plains Book Award for First Fiction and a Kansas Notable Book!
The story “Bald Bear” is so well-depicted; even if I didn’t live near the Vinland, Kansas setting I would be able to picture it clearly.
Recommended for fans of Denis Johnson as well as Flannery O’Connor.
Awarded: Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, High Plains Book Award for First Fiction and a Kansas Notable Book!
January 7, 2020
If I had to write a three-word review, it would be, "Oh, it's AMAZING!"
These stories are all set in Kansas, but Kansas could be anywhere. Everything in these stories is familiar, from the tang of loneliness to the desire for a relationship to the need for something to continue, even if it's bad. The humor is sharp and you'll find yourself laughing not only at the situation, but at the turn of phrase.
When I find something that is particularly good, I read it out loud to my husband. I read a phrase from a story in this collection. Then I read another phrase. Then I just went back to the beginning and read him the whole damn thing. It was worth losing my voice over. It was worth having to stop and laugh.
The only criticism I have, really, is the opening story. It's a good story, but I wish it was further in. It truly doesn't represent the powerful ability and ambition in these stories. I shrugged a bit when I finished it. But then I read the second story and everything was suddenly in tune and I was off and running.
Read the book. Learn why short stories are just so incredible to take in.
These stories are all set in Kansas, but Kansas could be anywhere. Everything in these stories is familiar, from the tang of loneliness to the desire for a relationship to the need for something to continue, even if it's bad. The humor is sharp and you'll find yourself laughing not only at the situation, but at the turn of phrase.
When I find something that is particularly good, I read it out loud to my husband. I read a phrase from a story in this collection. Then I read another phrase. Then I just went back to the beginning and read him the whole damn thing. It was worth losing my voice over. It was worth having to stop and laugh.
The only criticism I have, really, is the opening story. It's a good story, but I wish it was further in. It truly doesn't represent the powerful ability and ambition in these stories. I shrugged a bit when I finished it. But then I read the second story and everything was suddenly in tune and I was off and running.
Read the book. Learn why short stories are just so incredible to take in.
December 19, 2020
I have such mixed feelings about this collection of stories, but I mean that in the best way. Mandelbaum is an incredibly skilled writer. She can turn a phrase so perfect you'll want to read it aloud to your cat, just to hear the words. Then she'll do it again on the next page. Her sense of language-- how it feels, how words shape each other, how people talk and think-- is worthy of a poet.
The characters in these stories are painfully human. They remind me more than anything of the people in Annie Proulx's Wyoming stories. (And in case you don't know, comparing any writer to Proulx is just about the most profound compliment possible.) These are people desperately trying to find connections, to fit in, to find their place in a world filled with other lost souls. Some of them are sweet and sad. Some of them are assholes. But even the worst of them is drawn with such compassion, it's impossible not to ache for them even as you dislike their actions.
I bought this book because it was a staff pick at the Raven bookstore in Lawrence and because I am from Eastern Kansas. I thought it would be fun to read something set in an area I know well, to compare the author's sense of place to my own. I did not expect to come away so troubled, with a hollow spot in my chest, with so many stories and images and ideas tumbling around in my head. It's a wonderful turbulence.
This is one of the rare books I will read again soon after finishing it. I want to let it sink in and settle, then go back to see what I've missed and to revel in Mandelbaum's prose again. I have a shelf of books that took my breath away. This is going on it.
The characters in these stories are painfully human. They remind me more than anything of the people in Annie Proulx's Wyoming stories. (And in case you don't know, comparing any writer to Proulx is just about the most profound compliment possible.) These are people desperately trying to find connections, to fit in, to find their place in a world filled with other lost souls. Some of them are sweet and sad. Some of them are assholes. But even the worst of them is drawn with such compassion, it's impossible not to ache for them even as you dislike their actions.
I bought this book because it was a staff pick at the Raven bookstore in Lawrence and because I am from Eastern Kansas. I thought it would be fun to read something set in an area I know well, to compare the author's sense of place to my own. I did not expect to come away so troubled, with a hollow spot in my chest, with so many stories and images and ideas tumbling around in my head. It's a wonderful turbulence.
This is one of the rare books I will read again soon after finishing it. I want to let it sink in and settle, then go back to see what I've missed and to revel in Mandelbaum's prose again. I have a shelf of books that took my breath away. This is going on it.
December 3, 2021
As my rating suggests, I thought this collection was ok. The stories varied in the kinds of genres and plots and were overall ‘good’, but not great. I also didn’t really feel like Kansas was a large part of the stories. Having spent much time in Kansas, since my brother lives there, I didn’t really feel it as its own character like I expected it to be.
This isn’t a very great or thorough review but honestly, I forgot the stories as soon as I started reading the next. So, this one really didn’t stick with me in any memorable way, either positively or negatively.
Received via Netgalley
This isn’t a very great or thorough review but honestly, I forgot the stories as soon as I started reading the next. So, this one really didn’t stick with me in any memorable way, either positively or negatively.
Received via Netgalley
June 13, 2022
Couldn’t put it down. Stories of heartache, longing, and wry humor. Messy feelings and relationships in flux, with moments of awkward, vulnerable, and even strident, triumphal personal growth. Keenly detailed and characterized; alternately charming, profound, sad, tender, bittersweet, funny, and occasionally harrowing; sprinkled with levity and unexpected turns; deft, humane, and astute.
October 23, 2017
'Bad Kansas' is an astonishing and entertaining collection of quirky, bizarre, sad and humorous short stories that all deal with Kansas, though in very different manners. There are a lot of different constellations: people who left (fled?) their home state, others who experience a bad case of home sickness after leaving, those who moved there for a job or love and either like or hate it. Through this kaleidoscope of anecdotes, we learn about that seemingly common state, that was known to me only as the home of Dorothy.
While I can't remember any of the stories in detail, I remember the feeling the stories evoked, a kind of bond with that place, both good and bad.
(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)
While I can't remember any of the stories in detail, I remember the feeling the stories evoked, a kind of bond with that place, both good and bad.
(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of the book, all opinions are my own)
September 13, 2018
Let's face it - the mark of a good storyteller is that the stories could be set anywhere, because they're such good stories. This describes Mandelbaum's stories: they're intriguing and they could have happened anywhere. Her characters are interesting and "real" in that Mandelbaum captures their essence and you find yourself nodding your head in agreement. These stories and their characters will stick in my memory. It's a bonus that I live in Kansas and every now and then I get to nod my head at some characterization of the state and its inhabitants that is also right-on (one of her characters says the "governor is a madman" which has been true for the last 7 years!).
July 14, 2021
Interesting seeing the local area from a perspective as an insider but not of my world.
February 18, 2022
Every short story left me wanting to know what happened next. Where did these people end up?
September 26, 2019
An eclectic collection of funny and disturbing stories, not sure Kansas was an essential part of any of them though.
February 5, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories. Funny, touching, thought-provoking, and - at times - pushing the line of comfort levels and social norms. Certainly Becky is a writer to follow! Highly recommend.
January 14, 2020
Loved it! Becky Mandelbaum captures specific nuances of Lawrence KS & Vinland KS atmosphere so well, and she fills her stories with wonderfully rich characters, humor, weirdness and delight.
September 15, 2017
“It’s either school, a job, or a girl,” she said. “Or death. Those are the only reasons for coming to Kansas. Unless you’re born here, of course. Then it’s a matter of escaping.’
This collection won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and it may very well win more awards as well. Thanks go to Net Galley and University of Georgia Press for providing me with a free advance review copy in exchange for this honest review. The collection is now available to the public.
We have eleven stories here, all of them set in Kansas, and all of them excellent. Every story is built around a dysfunctional romantic entanglement. There are manipulative relationships, stalkers, couples held together by money alone, and there are pathetically lonely types that want to cling to a dying romance at all costs. Somehow, Mandelbaum takes a wide range of pathological partners and makes them hilarious. In addition, the character development surprises me, going beyond what one might anticipate in short stories. My personal favorite is “A Million and One Marthas”, which is darkly funny and skewers the wealthy and entitled, but it’s a hard call, because the quality is uniformly strong, with not a bad one in the bunch.
Nobody needs to know anything about Kansas to enjoy this collection, and by the time the last rapier thrust has been extended, you’ll feel better about not having been there.
Mandelbaum is on a tear. She’s witty, irreverent, and clearly a force to be reckoned with. Look for her in the future, and if you see her coming, step aside, because nobody, but nobody can stop her now. Highly recommended to those that love edgy humor.
This collection won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, and it may very well win more awards as well. Thanks go to Net Galley and University of Georgia Press for providing me with a free advance review copy in exchange for this honest review. The collection is now available to the public.
We have eleven stories here, all of them set in Kansas, and all of them excellent. Every story is built around a dysfunctional romantic entanglement. There are manipulative relationships, stalkers, couples held together by money alone, and there are pathetically lonely types that want to cling to a dying romance at all costs. Somehow, Mandelbaum takes a wide range of pathological partners and makes them hilarious. In addition, the character development surprises me, going beyond what one might anticipate in short stories. My personal favorite is “A Million and One Marthas”, which is darkly funny and skewers the wealthy and entitled, but it’s a hard call, because the quality is uniformly strong, with not a bad one in the bunch.
Nobody needs to know anything about Kansas to enjoy this collection, and by the time the last rapier thrust has been extended, you’ll feel better about not having been there.
Mandelbaum is on a tear. She’s witty, irreverent, and clearly a force to be reckoned with. Look for her in the future, and if you see her coming, step aside, because nobody, but nobody can stop her now. Highly recommended to those that love edgy humor.
September 4, 2022
“There’s all kinds of shit where you wouldn’t expect it.”
Kansas is known as a flyover state. It’s one of those states that people forget exists, that forget people there exist. Bad Kansas holds tales of those forgotten people. A middle State full of middle people who are struggling with feeling past over, lost and processing their grief. It’s astounding how good this collection is. Bad Kansas paints of landscape of Kansas and her people that makes you want to remember them, in all their glory.
Kansas is known as a flyover state. It’s one of those states that people forget exists, that forget people there exist. Bad Kansas holds tales of those forgotten people. A middle State full of middle people who are struggling with feeling past over, lost and processing their grief. It’s astounding how good this collection is. Bad Kansas paints of landscape of Kansas and her people that makes you want to remember them, in all their glory.
September 14, 2017
Bad Kansas: Stories by Becky Mandelbaum is a very highly recommended collection of eleven short stories. This collection is the well-deserved winner of the Flannery O'Connor Award for 2017.
All of the stories use Kansas as a metaphor for dislocation and disconnection, as well as a location. All of her characters are appealing and quirky as they deal with various relationships. Mandelbaum delves deep into their psyches and concerns with others as well as themselves.
There is no question that this is an exquisite collection of stories where every one of them is exceptionally well written. At time poignant and other times humorous this is a masterful collection and likely portends great things to come in the future for Mandelbaum. The stories include: Kansas Boys; The Golden State; A Million and One Marthas; Go On, Eat Your Heart Out; The House on Alabama Street; Night of Indulgences; Stupid Girls; Thousand-Dollar Decoy; First Love; Queen of England; and Bald Bear.
Most of the stories are set in Lawrence, Kansas or nearby (hardly there) Vineland. This is worth noting because the city is very much used as a place and a recognizable character in the stories. Since it is also currently my home, I recognize many of the places, streets etc., if only by name/reputation. If anyone attended the University of Kansas, they will also likely have a more memory-laden recall of various areas where students tend to congregate. Yet again, I don't think Kansas is all that bad, and most certainly Lawrence is hardly representative of the state, but it seems the state is doomed to be an example of a bad place to live.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the University of Georgia Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/0...
All of the stories use Kansas as a metaphor for dislocation and disconnection, as well as a location. All of her characters are appealing and quirky as they deal with various relationships. Mandelbaum delves deep into their psyches and concerns with others as well as themselves.
There is no question that this is an exquisite collection of stories where every one of them is exceptionally well written. At time poignant and other times humorous this is a masterful collection and likely portends great things to come in the future for Mandelbaum. The stories include: Kansas Boys; The Golden State; A Million and One Marthas; Go On, Eat Your Heart Out; The House on Alabama Street; Night of Indulgences; Stupid Girls; Thousand-Dollar Decoy; First Love; Queen of England; and Bald Bear.
Most of the stories are set in Lawrence, Kansas or nearby (hardly there) Vineland. This is worth noting because the city is very much used as a place and a recognizable character in the stories. Since it is also currently my home, I recognize many of the places, streets etc., if only by name/reputation. If anyone attended the University of Kansas, they will also likely have a more memory-laden recall of various areas where students tend to congregate. Yet again, I don't think Kansas is all that bad, and most certainly Lawrence is hardly representative of the state, but it seems the state is doomed to be an example of a bad place to live.
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of the University of Georgia Press.
http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2017/0...
September 29, 2020
I loved Mandelbaum's novel The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals, so wanted to catch up with her earlier writing.
Kansas twenty-somethings are the main characters in these stories, seeking--in some cases, struggling--to discover themselves, establish a sense of purpose, and create stable relationships. Some are not above being manipulative, even deceitful and mean, to accomplish their desired outcomes, even when it's fairly obvious those outcomes are unlikely to succeed. In one story, a vegetarian woman is sure that a man she has recently met, who is a hunter, would be an ideal partner. In another, a man whose girlfriend leaves him just as they are moving in together for the first time, tries to repair the relationship even when it becomes clear that she prefers her previous female partner.
The characters in these stories, typical of that age group, are often driven by loneliness, confusion, and the desire to prove themselves. The author demonstrates a gift for believable conversations and motivations, but leaves most of the stories unresolved, so that readers are left to supply their own ending, or not.
As someone who was born and grew up in Kansas and moved away right after college, I was greatly amused by this interchange between a prospective landlady and tenant:
"What brought you to Kansas? School?"
"A girl, actually," he said. It seemed, now, like a stupid reason.
"It's either school, a job, or a girl," she said. "Or death. Those are the only reasons for coming to Kansas. Unless you're born here, of course. Then it's a matter of escaping." She smiled, letting Cliff know this was a joke.
Kansas twenty-somethings are the main characters in these stories, seeking--in some cases, struggling--to discover themselves, establish a sense of purpose, and create stable relationships. Some are not above being manipulative, even deceitful and mean, to accomplish their desired outcomes, even when it's fairly obvious those outcomes are unlikely to succeed. In one story, a vegetarian woman is sure that a man she has recently met, who is a hunter, would be an ideal partner. In another, a man whose girlfriend leaves him just as they are moving in together for the first time, tries to repair the relationship even when it becomes clear that she prefers her previous female partner.
The characters in these stories, typical of that age group, are often driven by loneliness, confusion, and the desire to prove themselves. The author demonstrates a gift for believable conversations and motivations, but leaves most of the stories unresolved, so that readers are left to supply their own ending, or not.
As someone who was born and grew up in Kansas and moved away right after college, I was greatly amused by this interchange between a prospective landlady and tenant:
"What brought you to Kansas? School?"
"A girl, actually," he said. It seemed, now, like a stupid reason.
"It's either school, a job, or a girl," she said. "Or death. Those are the only reasons for coming to Kansas. Unless you're born here, of course. Then it's a matter of escaping." She smiled, letting Cliff know this was a joke.
September 16, 2021
Collection of 11 stories, each depicting people’s search for identity and home as they either remain in or leave Kansas. I was born in Kansas and have spent a lot of time there in my life, and I could identify with many of these characters and their plights. I previously read and loved Mandelbaum’s novel, The Bright Side Sanctuary for Animals, and it inspired me to pick up this collection. I will continue to read whatever she writes next.
August 7, 2022
Great short stories!
August 22, 2018
Mandelbaum's stories, as the title suggests, are clearly intended to provide a deep sense of place, and often her Kansas details are spot-on: "...the Kansas sun was poised like the face of a hammer ready to strike." For anyone who knows Lawrence, the stories which are set in this town capture both the peculiar pull of the place and the difficulty of escape. In subject matter, however, the numerous relationship stories tend to blur together after awhile, and I kept wanting her to drift a bit further into the weirder territory that some of the stories flirt with but never fully embrace.
May 17, 2022
I chose this book so that I could finish the two year challenge of reading through the states. Kansas was my last date. First, I am not a fan of short stories and this ended up being a book of short stories. Second, most of these were coming of age stories that just did not meet my standards. I do not recommend this book. If I hadn’t needed a book set in Kansas, I would not have finished this book.
July 23, 2021
I am the odd man out here--but then again I am not usually a fiction reader. but, I read Mandelbaum's Bright Side Sanctuary and loved it, so I thought that I would try her other books. Some of these stories I loved and others just left me thinking hmmmm......I may pick it up again later and try it, it may just not have been me that day.
January 6, 2018
“One night, Dewy and I were in the kitchen microwaving a troll doll when we heard our mother cry out...”. This book is that and so much more. The author has a wonderful voice; stories that make you think and remember things in your life. A fabulous book.
March 10, 2018
Solid 4.5/5
Interesting collection of short stories. Interesting in a good way, even though they make the state look bad. The writing is excellent. I couldn't stop reading, even though the stories are not happy stories. Such an interesting feeling. But I definitely recommend the book.
Interesting collection of short stories. Interesting in a good way, even though they make the state look bad. The writing is excellent. I couldn't stop reading, even though the stories are not happy stories. Such an interesting feeling. But I definitely recommend the book.
January 31, 2019
Terrific short stories. Ms Mandelbaum really has a distinctive voice and tone. Most of these stories really surprised me in some way! Very clever, and worth buying for the curious. (I was one of those.) Congratulations on the Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction, well-deserved.
May 20, 2019
Wonderful shorts that never quite end like you expect them to - and in a way, the endings feel more true to life than what you had expected. Each story had a unique way of exhibiting the undercurrent of insecurity that all midwesterners share, making me just a little homesick for my own roots.
July 4, 2019
The stories having much to do with Kansas was a bit of a stretch. Any state or city could have been mentioned, that part felt a little forced in order to tie all the short stories together. Otherwise, the characters she created were varied and interesting.
February 11, 2020
Really enjoyed this collection of stories. A lot of the characters are intentionally unlikable, and the author's disdain of Kansas shines through, especially in the Wichita episodes. But the stories are so compelling that it was hard to put the book down.
March 31, 2024
Such a great collection. As a Kansas writer myself, I was especially wowed by Mandelbaum’s ability to capture so many elements of the Midwestern particulars of Kansas. Excellent writing—it’s easy to see why this book won the Flannery O’Connor Award.
August 22, 2018
Just so excellent in every way! I hope to read more of her work soon.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews