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Bugsy & Other Stories
A wildly imaginative story collection about sex, desire, queer identity, and the celebration of social taboos, by the author of Confidence .
Bugsy & Other Stories is a deliciously entertaining collection of six genre-defying stories. In the title story, “Bugsy,” a queer young adult battling depression finds community and transcendence through sex work.
In “Futago” a psychiatrist loses his mind after a voice—eerily similar to that of Alex Trebek—appears in his head.
In other stories, you will meet an e-girl and her fans, an elderly woman flashing through the pivotal scenes of her life, and a young boy on the spectrum trying to navigate life in a neurotypical world.
Together, these six stories explore tenderness and what it means to care for each other and for ourselves, especially in a time when technology threatens to tear us apart.
Bugsy & Other Stories is a deliciously entertaining collection of six genre-defying stories. In the title story, “Bugsy,” a queer young adult battling depression finds community and transcendence through sex work.
In “Futago” a psychiatrist loses his mind after a voice—eerily similar to that of Alex Trebek—appears in his head.
In other stories, you will meet an e-girl and her fans, an elderly woman flashing through the pivotal scenes of her life, and a young boy on the spectrum trying to navigate life in a neurotypical world.
Together, these six stories explore tenderness and what it means to care for each other and for ourselves, especially in a time when technology threatens to tear us apart.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 13, 2024
About the author
Rafael Frumkin
5 books135 followersRafael Frumkin is the author of CONFIDENCE (2023), which was a New York Times Editor's Pick. His first novel, THE COMEDOWN (2018), is being adapted for television by Freddie Highmore and Regina King at Starz. His short story collection, BUGSY, is forthcoming in 2024.
He has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Paris Review, Granta, Guernica, Hazlitt, Virginia Quarterly Review, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency, among other places. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Medill School of Journalism, he lives in Carbondale, IL, where he teaches fiction and nonfiction writing at Southern Illinois University.
He has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Paris Review, Granta, Guernica, Hazlitt, Virginia Quarterly Review, and McSweeney's Internet Tendency, among other places. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop and Medill School of Journalism, he lives in Carbondale, IL, where he teaches fiction and nonfiction writing at Southern Illinois University.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
October 2, 2023
This is a magical and polarizing collection. You’ll love it, you’ll clutch your pearls, you’ll look on slack-jawed at the author’s audacity to visit taboo after taboo, while touching deeply on feelings we’ve all had. Showcasing the human experience through niche experiences, not shying away from the grit, is reminiscent of a time when journalists were sent forth to deep dive into subcultures—resurfacing to tell tales of sameness. What a phenomenal read. (It’s not for the faint of heart, or those unwilling to step outside of their own realm of experiences to find themselves in someone having experiences they may be repulsed by.) If Geek Love remains a favorite, you’ve come to the right place!
March 1, 2024
REVIEW: genre-bending short story collection
Thank you #partners @simon.audio @librofm @simonandschuster @simonbooks #simonbooksbuddy for my #gifted copies.
Bugsy and Other Stories
Rafael Frumkin (he/they)
In five genre-defying short stories, Frumkin introduces readers to:
•Bugsy, a queer young adult battling depression, who finds community in an unlikely place.
•Fugato, a psychiatrist whose life is upended when he begins hearing Alec Trebek's voice in his head.
•Benny, a nonverbal boy on the spectrum, and his mom Lina.
•Dina Valentine, a celebrity e-girl and her delusional fan.
•Flora, an elderly woman on the brink of death.
💭 In Bugsy and Other Stories, Frumkin imaginatively explores themes of sexuality, identity, autism, mental health, death, and more. In terms of genre, this one is hard to place - I think it most easily aligns with literary and speculative fiction? The stories range from disturbing to wholesome, and each is told with an unflinching honesty that peels back the layers of human experience, forcing the reader to confront the uncomfortable. This is unlike anything I've read, and I was utterly captivated the entire time. I'd recommend for very open-minded readers who get down with "weird lit" (term borrowed from my friend @ipekreading).
🎧 The audiobook is spectacular! There's a full cast, and each narrator performs one of the five stories. I'd highly recommend this format.
Check out this impressive cast:
•Michael Crouch
•Lindsey Dorcus
•Graham Halstead
•Sarah Beth Pfeifer
•Jackie Sanders
📌 Available now!
📌 This would be a great pick for the Trans/Nonbinary prompt on the 2024 Diverse Reading Challenge I'm co-hosting with @dealingwithbooks on Instagram.
Thank you #partners @simon.audio @librofm @simonandschuster @simonbooks #simonbooksbuddy for my #gifted copies.
Bugsy and Other Stories
Rafael Frumkin (he/they)
In five genre-defying short stories, Frumkin introduces readers to:
•Bugsy, a queer young adult battling depression, who finds community in an unlikely place.
•Fugato, a psychiatrist whose life is upended when he begins hearing Alec Trebek's voice in his head.
•Benny, a nonverbal boy on the spectrum, and his mom Lina.
•Dina Valentine, a celebrity e-girl and her delusional fan.
•Flora, an elderly woman on the brink of death.
💭 In Bugsy and Other Stories, Frumkin imaginatively explores themes of sexuality, identity, autism, mental health, death, and more. In terms of genre, this one is hard to place - I think it most easily aligns with literary and speculative fiction? The stories range from disturbing to wholesome, and each is told with an unflinching honesty that peels back the layers of human experience, forcing the reader to confront the uncomfortable. This is unlike anything I've read, and I was utterly captivated the entire time. I'd recommend for very open-minded readers who get down with "weird lit" (term borrowed from my friend @ipekreading).
🎧 The audiobook is spectacular! There's a full cast, and each narrator performs one of the five stories. I'd highly recommend this format.
Check out this impressive cast:
•Michael Crouch
•Lindsey Dorcus
•Graham Halstead
•Sarah Beth Pfeifer
•Jackie Sanders
📌 Available now!
📌 This would be a great pick for the Trans/Nonbinary prompt on the 2024 Diverse Reading Challenge I'm co-hosting with @dealingwithbooks on Instagram.
February 21, 2024
Five stories, widely varied, all immersive, all in a prose that's difficult to describe -- Frumkin's at home in language and I bet he loves it: he certainly knows what he's doing with it -- and all painfully distressing. They're ... I think "investigative" would be a good word, which isn't to say that the people in them feel abstract or unfleshed. I was most moved by "Fugato," in which a psychologist has something like a transcendent breakdown as the voice of Alex Trebek encourages him to heal the world's pain, and by "On the Inside," whose protagonist (and most of the time, narrator) is a nonverbal autistic boy. ("On the Inside" comes with a brief introductory note in which Frumkin explains that he's neurodivergent and wanted to expose the abuses to which autistic people are subject. Kind of impressive that it works as a story about a fully realized person: it's not my experience as a reader that principled agendas make good fiction.)
I wonder sometimes how the rule evolved that Serious Fiction can't have a clear resolution or even a hopeful ending. I enjoyed Bugsy and Other Stories in a number of ways that sum up as "This is really well done," but every time I finished a story I turned to the next one feeling something like dread, because I knew that when I got to the last page I would be a little unhappier than I was at the first. Not that it's fiction's job to make readers happy; still, I wish the unhappiness would -- relent.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.
I wonder sometimes how the rule evolved that Serious Fiction can't have a clear resolution or even a hopeful ending. I enjoyed Bugsy and Other Stories in a number of ways that sum up as "This is really well done," but every time I finished a story I turned to the next one feeling something like dread, because I knew that when I got to the last page I would be a little unhappier than I was at the first. Not that it's fiction's job to make readers happy; still, I wish the unhappiness would -- relent.
Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC.
Read
February 13, 2024I can see this writer’s talent, but I’m not sure the way he used shock value was quite working for me? It was an un-comfy read. I did love the last story though
Idk it lives in the grey area between a 3 and a 4, so I will not be rating it. Check content warnings please
Idk it lives in the grey area between a 3 and a 4, so I will not be rating it. Check content warnings please
November 17, 2023
I want to be a short story collection girly but I am not. That is no fault of the author, but I did struggle a little to finish this. I really enjoyed the first two stories..The honesty around sex work and mental health was great. I specifically found the second story to be very unique. A mental health clinician, going through their own mental heath crisis, is so incredibly complicated.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC.
March 30, 2024
BUGSY & OTHER STORIES completely blew my mind in all the best ways. The title story, Bugsy, is an absolute stand-out in this literary gem. After she drops out of college due to mental health struggles, Bugsy’s life takes a turn when she befriends a group of sex workers and begins exploring her sexuality and interest in women. In my college days, I took a class about queering sex work; it still is one of my all-time favorite courses. If it was possible, I would go back in time, take Rafael Frumkin (along with BUGSY & OTHER STORIES) with me, and demand the collection be added as mandatory reading for the class. Seriously, though, this book is exemplary and I’m going to be recommending it to anyone who will listen.
In the final story, The Last Show, an old woman named Flora is in a state of half-consciousness as her health is declining. While she is existing in this limbo at the hospital, people from all corners of her past come to visit. Flora gets long-needed closure with friends and family members and gets to see her now-grown children as adolescents again. Reading The Last Show gave me goosebumps and brought me back to visiting my father in hospice care in 2021. As someone who still feels like she is freshly grieving a parent, I am so thankful this story exists. All this to say: Rafael Frumkin is a genius with words.
Anyone with an interest in queering or subverting topics such as sanity, gaming, streaming, and death will certainly find this mesmerizing collection of interest. There truly is something here for everyone. BUGSY & OTHER STORIES is one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given.
In the final story, The Last Show, an old woman named Flora is in a state of half-consciousness as her health is declining. While she is existing in this limbo at the hospital, people from all corners of her past come to visit. Flora gets long-needed closure with friends and family members and gets to see her now-grown children as adolescents again. Reading The Last Show gave me goosebumps and brought me back to visiting my father in hospice care in 2021. As someone who still feels like she is freshly grieving a parent, I am so thankful this story exists. All this to say: Rafael Frumkin is a genius with words.
Anyone with an interest in queering or subverting topics such as sanity, gaming, streaming, and death will certainly find this mesmerizing collection of interest. There truly is something here for everyone. BUGSY & OTHER STORIES is one of the easiest five stars I’ve ever given.
December 25, 2023
This short story collection unfortunately fell a little flat for me. I quite enjoy the general direction of where Frumkin's stories wanted to go, but I'm not convinced the execution was effective in each instance. I'm usually a huge fan of short stories, especially short pieces that bend the rules and conventions associated with short-form fiction, but the use of multiple perspectives in some of these stories felt excessive and muddied the message. I think the overarching theme for these stories could be " it's good, but it'd be better if it was shorter." Tightening up the writing would have provided an extra star for my review. I do want to say that I appreciate the embracing of taboo topics and pushing boundaries. It is refreshing to see the viscera of the writing process sometimes.
I've read the author's other work, and I'm a fan of what they can do in novel-length narratives, but short stories are a whole other beast to tame.
Thank you so much to Netgalley, Rafael Frumkin, and Simon and Schuster for providing me with the digital arc for this review. I'll be sure to check out more of Frumkin's work in the future.
I've read the author's other work, and I'm a fan of what they can do in novel-length narratives, but short stories are a whole other beast to tame.
Thank you so much to Netgalley, Rafael Frumkin, and Simon and Schuster for providing me with the digital arc for this review. I'll be sure to check out more of Frumkin's work in the future.
March 26, 2024
Really enjoyed this collection of five (longer) stories, especially the story written from an autistic perspective and the last one, about dying. Because these stories were longer, they took a bit longer to warm up but just trust the author, he knows what he’s doing.
Shelved as 'dnf'
July 8, 2024Not for me, but well written and interesting. Content warnings for self-harm, suicide, and depression.
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September 18, 2024dnf @ 17%. I usually give short story collections at least a couple stories before I decide if I'm going to give up, but the first story was fairly long and.. uninteresting. imagine being able to make "girl on girl bondage" and psychosis uninteresting.
June 23, 2024
What a fab, inventive, story collection. I really loved it all, though the first and last stories might have my heart most. I loved the narrator of the first (sorry, my library copy has already been returned, so can't recall the title--oh wait, that's the one in which Bugsy exists...so it might be called that...) and the last, which felt very Virginia Woolf in a 21st century delicious way. A little Dalloway, a little Lighthouse, a little the Waves, but (honestly, though I love Woolf) just a bit more coherent enough in how it zigzags through time and forms of consciousness that...in some ways I liked it better (I LOVE YOU FOREVER VIRGINIA WOOLF DON'T WORRY). Def recommend if you want some queer, innovative fiction in your life.
April 9, 2024
Absolutely gorgeous writing. A wonderful diversity of stories and each one sparkles.
February 20, 2024
Rafael Frumkin's first two novels were exemplary. 'Bugsy & Other Stories', however, is an anthology and I was uncertain how it would measure up with its short stories against the quality of his longer works that wowed me before. Turns out, I need not have worried.
The amazing, intimate exploration of diverse characters is back full force in Frumkin's third book. It feels even more personal than his first novels, and that's an achievement in itself. Each of the five stories are explorations from unique perspectives. "Bugsy" is a tale of sexual awakening with reality-bending turns that surprised. "Fugato" charts the emotional and mental unraveling of a professional who's made a career treating those undergoing similar struggles. 'On the Inside' explores the world of a neurodivergent child and the often less-than-helpful approach of parents and professionals in treatment. As someone trying to learn more about neurodivergence and autism, this was one of the most insightful selections of the book. "Like and Subscribe" was my favorite story, however, with its no-prisoners-taken deconstruction of people on both sides of an online association. "The Last Show" was the most poignant tale, perhaps from my perspective as a senior citizen. The choices caregivers are left with and the perspective of us, all of us, facing our final act in this world was emotionally rich and grounded, yet also spiritually uplifting.
As you can tell from these brief descriptors, each story deals with a cast of characters as widely varied as you're likely to find. Frumkin models all their outlooks, their experiences, their eras, their stages of life, as if he has lived them. It's one thing to grasp such varied strata of the human condition. It's another thing entirely to capture them on paper this effectively. With the power to relate the struggles of people perhaps much different than the reader and guide a sharing of their perspectives. The gift of such heartfelt, fearless expression is a rare one, and it's Frumkin's greatest strength as a writer.
The amazing, intimate exploration of diverse characters is back full force in Frumkin's third book. It feels even more personal than his first novels, and that's an achievement in itself. Each of the five stories are explorations from unique perspectives. "Bugsy" is a tale of sexual awakening with reality-bending turns that surprised. "Fugato" charts the emotional and mental unraveling of a professional who's made a career treating those undergoing similar struggles. 'On the Inside' explores the world of a neurodivergent child and the often less-than-helpful approach of parents and professionals in treatment. As someone trying to learn more about neurodivergence and autism, this was one of the most insightful selections of the book. "Like and Subscribe" was my favorite story, however, with its no-prisoners-taken deconstruction of people on both sides of an online association. "The Last Show" was the most poignant tale, perhaps from my perspective as a senior citizen. The choices caregivers are left with and the perspective of us, all of us, facing our final act in this world was emotionally rich and grounded, yet also spiritually uplifting.
As you can tell from these brief descriptors, each story deals with a cast of characters as widely varied as you're likely to find. Frumkin models all their outlooks, their experiences, their eras, their stages of life, as if he has lived them. It's one thing to grasp such varied strata of the human condition. It's another thing entirely to capture them on paper this effectively. With the power to relate the struggles of people perhaps much different than the reader and guide a sharing of their perspectives. The gift of such heartfelt, fearless expression is a rare one, and it's Frumkin's greatest strength as a writer.
Read
February 20, 2024disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!
The titular story "Bugsy" was probably the story that stood out the most to me, and the one that viscerally impacted me. Bugsy drops out of college, is not welcome back home with her parents, and begins working part-time to try to move forward. This was a tough read, because I really felt for Bugsy, whose birth name we never learn (the nickname Bugsy is given to them by her new employers/chosen family and she just accepts it, because she notes that so many people have said her name is "horrible").
Bugsy navigates depression, isolation, and generally feeling deeply misunderstood. She finds Vanessa, who inducts her into their sex work family/house , with Bugsy eventually moving in and falling in love with Stella, one of the other sex workers/producers. Bugsy explores her identity a bit, but mostly falls head over heels for Stella, while not recognizing how naive and sheltered she looks in others' eyes. I was so devastated for Bugsy's self harm and suicide attempt; it was again, very hard to read.
The other story that pulled me in was "On the Inside," which includes a short author's note at the very beginning with Frumkin sharing that as a neurodivergent person, he wanted to expose the harmful practices that impact the autistic community, especially children. I appreciated this note, and this story ends with a hopeful note of Lina, the POV we receive, in naming her humanity, rather than being a test subject or "other".
This is my first read of Rafael Frumkin (nonbinary trans man) and I will definitely seek out more of their work!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Cursing, and Body shaming
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the arc!
The titular story "Bugsy" was probably the story that stood out the most to me, and the one that viscerally impacted me. Bugsy drops out of college, is not welcome back home with her parents, and begins working part-time to try to move forward. This was a tough read, because I really felt for Bugsy, whose birth name we never learn (the nickname Bugsy is given to them by her new employers/chosen family and she just accepts it, because she notes that so many people have said her name is "horrible").
Bugsy navigates depression, isolation, and generally feeling deeply misunderstood. She finds Vanessa, who inducts her into their sex work family/house , with Bugsy eventually moving in and falling in love with Stella, one of the other sex workers/producers. Bugsy explores her identity a bit, but mostly falls head over heels for Stella, while not recognizing how naive and sheltered she looks in others' eyes. I was so devastated for Bugsy's self harm and suicide attempt; it was again, very hard to read.
The other story that pulled me in was "On the Inside," which includes a short author's note at the very beginning with Frumkin sharing that as a neurodivergent person, he wanted to expose the harmful practices that impact the autistic community, especially children. I appreciated this note, and this story ends with a hopeful note of Lina, the POV we receive, in naming her humanity, rather than being a test subject or "other".
This is my first read of Rafael Frumkin (nonbinary trans man) and I will definitely seek out more of their work!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Self harm, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fatphobia, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Cursing, and Body shaming
January 24, 2024
"Bugsy & Other Stories” is a collection of short stories that are supposed to be genre-defying and celebratory of taboos. Personally, this collection lacked sustenance. The stories were all good, but none were memorable. I enjoyed the first two stories the most and then they just steadily lost steam. I think they could have benefitted from some tightening up — they felt rambley and stream of consciousness, which didn’t add to the nature of most of them. Also, I’m not normally sensitive to content, but I would have preferred warnings of self-harm for one of these stories just because of how detailed and frequent it was. The author did an amazing job of vividly detailing mental illness, but it was uncomfortable to read for someone who does not have the issues presented in these stores. If you are closer to those particular illnesses, you might find getting an inside view particularly uncomfortable.
My main concern was the actual formatting of the book. Most of the stories had multiple perspectives and there were no scene breaks to warn the reader. I would be halfway through a paragraph and realize it was a different perspective and have to go back and start over. The narration also wasn’t conventionally formatted and was instead just lumped in. It made the whole book a little frustrating to read.
Lastly, thank you NetGalley, Rafael Frumkin, and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
My main concern was the actual formatting of the book. Most of the stories had multiple perspectives and there were no scene breaks to warn the reader. I would be halfway through a paragraph and realize it was a different perspective and have to go back and start over. The narration also wasn’t conventionally formatted and was instead just lumped in. It made the whole book a little frustrating to read.
Lastly, thank you NetGalley, Rafael Frumkin, and Simon and Schuster for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 25, 2023
"Bugsby & Other Stories" is a fun compilation of emotionally powerful, raw and honest short stories that will have you hooked. I also really appreciated the honesty and unapologetic nature of the author to "go there" in a variety of topics that most people would shy away from.
No topic was too taboo to not be explored, and this collection offers a mesmerizing glimpse into the human experience. The nuanced exploration of mental health, specifically addressing bipolar disorder and mania also blew me away. The author handled these themes with impressive depth, contributing to a broader conversation on the complexities of mental health in today's society.
It was definitely a departure for me, and something that involved me stepping outside of my comfort zone, and I would highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley, Rafael Frumkin, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
No topic was too taboo to not be explored, and this collection offers a mesmerizing glimpse into the human experience. The nuanced exploration of mental health, specifically addressing bipolar disorder and mania also blew me away. The author handled these themes with impressive depth, contributing to a broader conversation on the complexities of mental health in today's society.
It was definitely a departure for me, and something that involved me stepping outside of my comfort zone, and I would highly recommend.
Thank you NetGalley, Rafael Frumkin, and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 22, 2024
Short story collections can be a little like the Rodney Dangerfield of the literary world – they don’t always get the respect they deserve. A full-length novel may lose its thread but has time to recover and regain the reader’s attention. That’s not the case with the short story. The set-up, development and conclusion are obviously much more condensed, but somehow it becomes easier for the reader’s interest to wane.
🧍♂️🧍♀️🧍♂️Each story shines in Bugsy and Other Stories and every one pulled me in during the first few paragraphs. Frumkin is stellar when telling tales about characters that don’t quite fit in or fit within most of society’s usual ideas of normal. That’s not to say the characters are weird, they are written with far too much humanity, empathy and passion to be seen as anything but believable and worthy of love.
❤ I loved them all, although I admit the title story and The Last Show are my favorites.
🧍♂️🧍♀️🧍♂️Each story shines in Bugsy and Other Stories and every one pulled me in during the first few paragraphs. Frumkin is stellar when telling tales about characters that don’t quite fit in or fit within most of society’s usual ideas of normal. That’s not to say the characters are weird, they are written with far too much humanity, empathy and passion to be seen as anything but believable and worthy of love.
❤ I loved them all, although I admit the title story and The Last Show are my favorites.
December 2, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of thoughtful, well-developed, very queer short stories!
The premises were creative and unique, the writing excellent, and the characters vibrant. The stories were all on the longer side, which was a pleasant surprise for me; the author did a wonderful job with pacing and making each story feel both complete and concise. My favorite was the titular story, “Bugsy,” about a young queer person who drops out of college, discovers queerness and kink, struggles with their mental health, and starts making a life for themself as an adult; “Like and Subscribe” and “The Last Show” were also utterly excellent. All in all, enthusiastically recommended!
Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the advance copy!
The premises were creative and unique, the writing excellent, and the characters vibrant. The stories were all on the longer side, which was a pleasant surprise for me; the author did a wonderful job with pacing and making each story feel both complete and concise. My favorite was the titular story, “Bugsy,” about a young queer person who drops out of college, discovers queerness and kink, struggles with their mental health, and starts making a life for themself as an adult; “Like and Subscribe” and “The Last Show” were also utterly excellent. All in all, enthusiastically recommended!
Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster and Netgalley for the advance copy!
March 16, 2024
This collection was absolutely gorgeous, heart-wrenching, and yet gentle and affirming. Maybe a little overly-sentimental at times, but never to the stories' detriment. Full of rich characters, with a egnuine authorly care for the characters clearly shining through. The stories were all perfectly paced, each just the right length (novelettes, really, longer than your average short story but not novella-length) to get you into the hearts of these characters and situations, to know and live in these worlds, and then to leave before any of them overstay their welcome. The writing and craft was really strong, in that regard. These stories live and die by their heart, which they wear on their sleeves, and I am richer for having the chance to read them.
October 28, 2023
I read and enjoyed CONFIDENCE but this short story collection really blew me away; it feels mature, and nuanced, and the writing on the line level is really strong. The stories here are queer, surprising, strange, and unsettling, and still deeply sensitive and generous. The author does a great job of telling stories that go beyond the typical coming out arc and really contextualize the way young queer people are living today, and the pressures we still have to hide or perform for others. I found the discussions of mental health, and specifically bipolar and mania, to be impressively done as well.
Read
March 29, 2024Five short stories on the longer side (around 45-50 pages each) about mental health, queerness, sex work, and the modern condition.
I wish I would’ve liked these a bit more, the scenes are well built out and the dialogue is nice, but I think for me, personally I was turned off by the premise and plots. While some might like more “taboo” or “edgey” stories I think they aren’t necessarily for me. In one story a character drops out of college and finds solace working production in a Dominatrix porn dungeon. Another follows a newly 18-year old Twitch streamer whose obsessive fan plans to surprise her with diamond earrings.
I wish I would’ve liked these a bit more, the scenes are well built out and the dialogue is nice, but I think for me, personally I was turned off by the premise and plots. While some might like more “taboo” or “edgey” stories I think they aren’t necessarily for me. In one story a character drops out of college and finds solace working production in a Dominatrix porn dungeon. Another follows a newly 18-year old Twitch streamer whose obsessive fan plans to surprise her with diamond earrings.
December 7, 2023
These are not, in my opinion, well-crafted short stories, and I feel like queer fiction has reached a point where we don't have to accept scraps. What really got to me, though, was the story in which Frumkin gave voice to both a nonverbal autistic child and that child's mother. This is personal for me, but also: I'm not sure that autistic people need Frumkin to speak for them. I say that I'm not sure precisely because I do not want to speak for autistic people.
February 12, 2024
I was graciously given an e-ARC of Bugsy & Other Stories by Rafael Frumkin. This is my true and unprompted review:
While I personally enjoyed this collection of short stories, this is definitely not going to be for everybody. However, the raw reality of each character in each short story was beautiful (albeit sometimes painful) in its own way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this beautiful work of art.
While I personally enjoyed this collection of short stories, this is definitely not going to be for everybody. However, the raw reality of each character in each short story was beautiful (albeit sometimes painful) in its own way.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the opportunity to read this beautiful work of art.
April 2, 2024
Some of these stories were SO GOOD that I YELLED at the book when they were abruptly cut short right at the climax. Why?! I learned from another bookstagram reviewer that this is a thing and some people like it. I complained and tagged the author and he said maybe he’d do spinoffs for my fave characters. This better happen!!!
Thank you for the gifted copy, Simon Books.
Thank you for the gifted copy, Simon Books.
May 30, 2024
The writing was immersive, but I often found myself wanting to feel more emotional attachment to the characters. Each piece was unique, both in its premise and representation. The story “On the Inside” was a masterpiece and so, so important. I look forward to diving further into this author’s works in the future.
*I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway
*I received this book as a Goodreads giveaway
October 18, 2024
The stories in Bugsy & Other Stories tackle tough, cringy, heart-wrenching stories in a very real way. I will admit, the first story ("Bugsy") was a difficult start, but by the end ("The Last Show") I was rapt, putting aside other responsibilities so I could finish Flora's story.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster and Netgalley, for an advance ebook in exchange for a fair review.
Thank you, Simon & Schuster and Netgalley, for an advance ebook in exchange for a fair review.
October 26, 2023
A strange, unsettling, and sexually charged collection of five stories that explore personal identity, mental illness, and uncommon lusts. I was completely absorbed into the world and mindset of each captivating story!
February 27, 2024
This was an interesting short story collection. I feel like I really loved some and some thought were a little odd. But I had a good time overall. I think the titular story “Bugsy” was definitely my favorite.
March 25, 2024
This story collection kept me entertained and reading until the very end. My favorite story was Bugsy, as I think we can all relate to longing and desperation of fitting in when you are young. It made me laugh and cry. I loved every moment.
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