Kate Lawrence's Reviews > Bad Kansas: Stories

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.