The latest from author Curtis Sittenfeld is a short story collection titled SHOW DON'T TELL. The author has been quite popular in recent years with hits like Romantic Comedy and You Think It, I'll Say It; having read only one of her earlier books Eligible, I was intrigued to see how far she’s come with her work. While I enjoyed Eligible, this collection of short stories was more on the average side for me. 

In this collection, she explores marriage, fame, and friendships and I felt the underlying theme for me was the protagonist, mostly female, being part of an impactful event. An event that has left a mark on them for various reasons; some of their own making, some pressed on them by society or surroundings.

Many of the women we meet in this collection of 12 stories are middle-aged and part of a family unit, group or simply a bystander to the happenings in some instances. From committing a racial faux pas, well-intentioned as it may’ve been to knowing famous personalities from when they were starting out; there's a bit of everything in this collection. We witness these events where the protagonist is in a personal or part of a social situation. The whole event unfolds in a way that we experience it from start to end and later the protagonist analyzes, making sense of it with their partners/friends or being self-reflective about it. 

The author takes us on a journey via the POV of the central character where they live through this situation filled with chaos, missed chances or mistakes and later reflect on and live the after-effects of it. I enjoyed up to 70% of the initial stories however the underlying theme and cohesiveness that I experienced at the start is lost towards the end. It started strong on social and to an extent personal commentary on their experiences. As it raced towards the end, the last few stories gave a vibe of something missing, of trying too hard or not trying at all to be part of the group. I would pick up this collection only if I am in the mood for something light with a hint of social commentary or in a mood to meditate on human behavior in the presence of social and peer pressure.