
Show Don't Tell
Stories
Curtis Sittenfeld(Author)
Random House Trade Paperbacks (Publisher)
Published on 17. February 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
320 pages
978-0-593-44675-1 (ISBN)
Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Eligible and Romantic Comedy “blends acerbic wit, shrewd insight and sharp-eyed observation [in this] bravura collection” (The Washington Post), including a story that revisits the main character from her iconic novel Prep
“Each of these witty, intelligent stories is a slice of modern life.”—People
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A Denver Public Library Best Book Of the Year
In her second story collection, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels. In these dazzling stories, she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends, laying bare the moments when their long held beliefs are overturned.
In “The Patron Saints of Middle Age,” a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce. In “A for Alone,” a married artist embarks on a creative project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in “Lost but Not Forgotten,” Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an alumni reunion at her boarding school.
Hilarious, thought-provoking, and full of tenderness for her characters, Sittenfeld’s stories peel back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.
“Each of these witty, intelligent stories is a slice of modern life.”—People
A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A Denver Public Library Best Book Of the Year
In her second story collection, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels. In these dazzling stories, she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends, laying bare the moments when their long held beliefs are overturned.
In “The Patron Saints of Middle Age,” a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce. In “A for Alone,” a married artist embarks on a creative project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in “Lost but Not Forgotten,” Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an alumni reunion at her boarding school.
Hilarious, thought-provoking, and full of tenderness for her characters, Sittenfeld’s stories peel back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
Random House USA Inc
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 200 mm
Width: 132 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
238 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-593-44675-1 (9780593446751)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
02/2025
Random House USA Inc
€26.50
Shipment within 10-20 days

Book
02/2025
Random House Large Print
€32.50
Shipment within 10-20 days

Person
Curtis Sittenfeld