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Circling the Drain
ÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌýÌý Enter into the worlds of fifteen young women who, despite their vastly different circumstances, seem to negotiate an eerily similar and unavoidably dangerous emotional terrain. With a visceral bite or a surreal edge, each electrically charged story in Circling the Drain presents women trying to understand the nature of loss--of leaving or being left--and discovering that in the throes of feverish conflict, things are rarely what they seem. By turns dark and lyrical, ferocious and playful, these stories are precise, startling, and undeniably original. Reading them is a cathartic, mesmerizing literary experience.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
14 people are currently reading
749 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Davis
120Ìýbooks48ÌýfollowersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
Amanda Davis was born in 1970 and was a writer. She released one collection, Circling the Drain, and one novel, Wonder When You'll Miss Me. Davis died at the age of 32 in a plane crash on March 14, 2003. The plane was piloted by her father and crashed in McDowell County, North Carolina. She had just begun a book tour.
Amanda Davis was born in 1970 and was a writer. She released one collection, Circling the Drain, and one novel, Wonder When You'll Miss Me. Davis died at the age of 32 in a plane crash on March 14, 2003. The plane was piloted by her father and crashed in McDowell County, North Carolina. She had just begun a book tour.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 50 reviews
June 5, 2012
While earning my MFA at Mills College, I had the good fortune and great pleasure of taking two of Amanda Davis's classes. She was an excellent writer and teacher, and a wonderful human being. She was so alive. On March 14th 2003, while touring to promote her first novel Wonder When You'll Miss Me a plane carrying Amanda Davis and her parents crashed into a mountain in North Carolina. There were no survivors. Amanda was thirty-two.
In a tribute to Amanda on the McSweeney's site I wrote:
"The title of her novel, Wonder When You'll Miss Me, the flight motifs in her work � I'm thinking especially of the novel and the title story from her collection, Circling The Drain � in those first dark days seemed eerie, an uncanny foreshadowing, and yet now, knowing Amanda better through remembering and stretching the moments with her, re-seeing those tiny details: her pushing her curls behind her ears, the clink of her charm bracelet, the blue stars tattooed on her forearm, the "come-on" gesture she'd make with her hands and arms ....... I now see the motifs in her work not as disturbing given her tragic death, but instead as themes that attest to the short but zesty life that she led, during which she soared."
Please read Amanda's story "Louisiana Loses Its Cricket Hum" online at Failbetter.com. It's terrific. So too is her story collection CIRCLING THE DRAIN. I can think of no better way to honor Amanda's memory than to encourage others to read her powerful work, her legacy.
An excerpt:
"We who were not there cannot possibly understand how they came like flies: swarming up all of a sudden and buzzing over the horizon, thickening the sky with their heavy shadows. We were playing poker at Jimmy's-beer sweating, fans going round and round, the sound of pool clicking the moments by. Everyone admits it: we all felt the dense Louisiana air disappear and an icy breeze slice through."
--Louisiana Loses Its Cricket Hum by Amanda Davis
In a tribute to Amanda on the McSweeney's site I wrote:
"The title of her novel, Wonder When You'll Miss Me, the flight motifs in her work � I'm thinking especially of the novel and the title story from her collection, Circling The Drain � in those first dark days seemed eerie, an uncanny foreshadowing, and yet now, knowing Amanda better through remembering and stretching the moments with her, re-seeing those tiny details: her pushing her curls behind her ears, the clink of her charm bracelet, the blue stars tattooed on her forearm, the "come-on" gesture she'd make with her hands and arms ....... I now see the motifs in her work not as disturbing given her tragic death, but instead as themes that attest to the short but zesty life that she led, during which she soared."
Please read Amanda's story "Louisiana Loses Its Cricket Hum" online at Failbetter.com. It's terrific. So too is her story collection CIRCLING THE DRAIN. I can think of no better way to honor Amanda's memory than to encourage others to read her powerful work, her legacy.
An excerpt:
"We who were not there cannot possibly understand how they came like flies: swarming up all of a sudden and buzzing over the horizon, thickening the sky with their heavy shadows. We were playing poker at Jimmy's-beer sweating, fans going round and round, the sound of pool clicking the moments by. Everyone admits it: we all felt the dense Louisiana air disappear and an icy breeze slice through."
--Louisiana Loses Its Cricket Hum by Amanda Davis
March 27, 2011
A little uneven but ultimately haunting. Davis's prose is a force to be reckoned with; there are many moments of true power here, and throughout all a sense of aching loss.
November 22, 2008
Startling, surrealistic tales with the immediacy of photograph taken at high noon. Seamlessly blends reality with the interior world of memorable characters.
December 6, 2018
3 1/2 stars. This is a difficult one to rate. The writing is frequently original and wonderful. So sad that Davis lost her life at such a young age - I imagine her more mature writing would be even better. On the other hand, the pain is so real it is hard to say I "enjoyed" the stories. I got a bit frustrated with the women who can't free themselves from men who are destructive for them. "Red Lights Like Laughter" and the last story, "Faith, or Tips for the Successful Young Lady," are particularly good. As a reader in her 60's, I wonder if the book might appeal more to younger women.
April 19, 2019
3.5 stars.
April 30, 2020
Amanda Davis is an incredible writer. I didn’t necessarily love every story, but I think she’s a master at the craft of short story writing. I look forward to reading more of her work.
January 5, 2021
This is a nostalgia pick for me. A good collection of stories. She knew how to turn a phrase.
April 17, 2021
Leggere qualcosa di Amanda Davis è sapere che continuerà a tormentati a lungo. Non credo lo facesse apposta ma non ne sono del tutto sicura.
November 3, 2021
3.5 â�
May 22, 2023
Mostly good with some spectacular stories, a deeply haunting collection.
July 30, 2010
Although I enjoyed reading these stories, I don't understand the rave reviews for this collection. There are a couple of really good ones, notably "Fat Ladies Floated in the Sky Like Balloons" and "Faith, or Tips for the Successful Young Lady", which was later expanded into Davis' first novel, "Wonder When You'll Miss Me." But the rest of them seem rather unfinished, and like they need some further editing and rewriting to make them truly great. I think perhaps if the book wasn't covered in fawning quotes about how amazing and original these stories are, I wouldn't have been expecting masterpieces of short fiction and I could be a little more giving in my praise. Right now I'm reading Aimee Bender's "Willfull Creatures" and though I'm only two stories in, they are already more masterful, interesting and original than Ms. Davis' work here. But one shouldn't speak ill of the dead, so I'll end with something nice--yes, she had talent, and yes, her first novel was lovely. These short stories are a good beginning for a writing career that was sadly cut short.
March 22, 2016
This author's stories switch back and forth between realistic fiction and magical realism. Although it can be jarring after finishing a realistic story to then readjust to a whole new set of rules the author has created for another, I overall really enjoyed Davis's writing. All the tales end without true closure, which can leave the reader hopeful, uncertain, or depressed. The chosen order of the stories arranges these endings nicely though. I must warn you, however, the final story is quite somber, which definitely leaves the reader a bit haunted. Quite fitting though, considering I read the brief author blurb and discovered that Davis published only two books with quite the acclaim before she died (no cause was listed).
April 11, 2013
I read this after reading Davis's Wonder when you'll miss me, which I completely loved. This series of short stories is an excellent sampling of Davis's broad artistic ability. Her real strength for me is her ability to describe moments of intense emotion be it sorrow or lust. I felt pulled in by her lines, lured slowly then thrust full force into the moment before a kiss, or the swell or sorrow. Her ability is great and I'm very sad that she will not be able to give this world more of her talented words.
September 27, 2010
I'm not exactly sure where Amanda Davis has been all my life, but now that I've found her I won't let her go. This is one of those collections that I read straight through. You know how sometimes story collections have this whole range, everything from AMAZING to blah. This one ran up on AMAZING almost the entire time. There was one story in the middle that I kind of skipped through, it was about a guy who made soup but the soup wasn't really soup even though it kind of was and then a lady came in who also made soup and she fed him his own ego, but everything else? WOW.
April 4, 2012
A collection of great short stories-only a couple that I didn't care for. The last story featured a brilliantly original character, the wise-cracking and insatiable former self of the main character (who has recently lost much weight). The tension between the main character and this haunting ghost of herself makes this story gripping.
A few of the stories just reminisce of the experience of young love, or love unrequited, or special high school dances that will probably appeal to younger female readers exclusively.
A few of the stories just reminisce of the experience of young love, or love unrequited, or special high school dances that will probably appeal to younger female readers exclusively.
May 28, 2007
I really enjoyed Davis's novel Wonder When You'll Miss Me, which is actually an expansion on one of the short stories from Circling the Drain. The overall tone of the short stories is melancholy but there are moments of humor. The stories focus on young women who are all feeling some sort of loss in their lives. There's a little bit of magical realism going on in the stories as well.
Davis was a very talented author and it is tragic that she had to die at such a young age.
Davis was a very talented author and it is tragic that she had to die at such a young age.
November 26, 2007
i love, in deep and unexpected ways, davis' novel "wonder when you'll miss me." and there wasn't a story in this slim collection that i didn't enjoy. the emotional landscapes of the women in these stories unite them, even as they are divided from whoever they love. "chase" and "sticks and stones" and "the visit" stood out for me. there's a gently magical quality to the storytelling. i know i'll read this many times - maybe even as often as i revisit the novel.
June 7, 2008
I'm beginning to think my lack of enthusiasm for Davis is the result of some blindness on my part. I stopped reading this collection after I made it through a few of the pieces, which seemed only like drafts of fiction. The title story in particular, with its melodramatic premise of a woman jumping off a bridge because she caught her hunky boyfriend in bed with a boy, struck me as an undergraduate effort that should have been filed away, not published.
October 4, 2012
Reread "Chase" and the title story and still think this collection deserves 5 stars. For me, Amanda Davis ranks up there with Jonathan Safran Foer, Marcus Zusak, and Sylvia Plath. Intelligent, funny, inspired.
I liked this collection better than Aimee Bender's, esp "Spice" and "Chase," and I love Aimee Bender. What a loss--imagine all the other good books Amanda Davis would have written if she hadn't passed away so young.
I liked this collection better than Aimee Bender's, esp "Spice" and "Chase," and I love Aimee Bender. What a loss--imagine all the other good books Amanda Davis would have written if she hadn't passed away so young.
May 26, 2014
The bulk of this work presents startling and often off-putting stories. The art of the short story is perhaps one of the most challenging forms of writing where depth must be communicated in the least amount of words as possible that serve to create a fully lived history of the characters who move through the pages. This book is haunting and well crafted. To say it is enjoyable negates the complex topics but nevertheless if you want quality short stories this is it.
June 21, 2011
It is spooky how this young writer's mortal intimations are reflected through this and her novel Wonder When You'll Miss Me. Cruelly taken by fate foreshadowed, a small airplane crash in 2003 with her family while promoting her second book. Her writing had promise, and was ironically a testament to having survived a particularly turbulent coming of age.
March 4, 2014
I first heard about Amanda Davis because McSweeney's had a tribute section, and the memories of her from her friends and colleagues made me want to get to know her. This was her first book, and the short stories are unbelievably good. There are common themes in some of them, but tied together in a marvelous way. Highly recommended.
July 18, 2018
"Testimony" and "Faith" and "Circling the Drain" are the highlights here, dazzling stories that I want to saturate in forever, but I loved "Fat Ladies Floated in the Sky Like Balloons" and "The Very Moment They're About" and "True Story," too. An overall very tight collection. Would read again.
4.5/5
4.5/5
August 24, 2007
Amanda Davis liked to flirt in her short stories. Details of characters and events are lightly brushed against your mind through the tales. It's a challenge to not get wrapped up in this book. I cannot recommend the reading of the first and last chapters of this book enough.
July 14, 2008
eh. some of the stories were good. some of them relatively terrible. it was a book i was excited to read and very disapointed to actually spend time on. it was one of those ones i had to make myself finish. it's a good thing it was short.
March 20, 2012
Oh, she was a fantastic writer. Sometimes she's a bit out there for me, but the talent is clear even in the stories that weren't my thing. There is a great example of 2nd perspective in this work, and it brought home why an author might want to choose 2nd for a story (who knew?).
January 10, 2015
Davis writes about really tough subjects. You feel them. Why is it women writers get a rap for not being tough? Writing is imaginative yet quite real. [Davis died in a plane crash 2003, but fans may already know that.]
April 22, 2007
I think these short stories are wonderful. There wasn't one that didn't get me hooked.
June 26, 2007
Sad, funny, touching, etc.
August 8, 2007
This one was okay, not as good as her other one. A lot of it was magical realism which annoys me these days. However, she had some beautiful descriptions and words in there.
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