Don’t Cry

Already purchased

Click to open directly in the xigxag app.

Standard price shown. Sign in for personalised pricing.

Send as a gift Get in the xigxag app

Added to cart

Continue shopping or head to checkout

View cart

Listen to a sample

What to expect

Mary Gaitskill returns with a luminous new collection of stories—her first in more than ten years.

In “College Town 1980,” young people adrift in Ann Arbor, Michigan, debate the meaning of personal strength at the start of the Reagan era; in the urban fairy tale “Mirror Ball,” a young man steals a girl’s soul during a one-night stand; and in “The Little Boy,” a woman haunted by the death of her husband is finally able to grieve through a mysterious encounter with a needy child.

Each story delivers the powerful, original language and the dramatic engagement of the intelligent mind with the craving body—or of the intelligent body with the craving mind—that has come to be seen as stunningly emblematic of Gaitskill’s fiction.

Critics Review

u201c[A] mind-searing, soul-rattling, gratitude-inducing collection.u201d

O, The Oprah Magazine

u201cSavagely intelligent talesu2026Gaitskill has consistently plumbed the farther reaches of psychic extremis with power and passion.u201d

Elle

u201cMasterfulu2026Past, present, future; heartbreak, desire, and lossu2014none of it is quite beyond her. Gaitskillu2019s prose glides lightly over unsoundable depths.u201d

Village Voice

u201cA gathering of fiercely observed portraits of cultural unease, from the Reagan years to the early days of the Iraq War.u201d

Vogue

u201cEvocative yet efficient descriptions that remind you why you read in the first placeu2026Gaitskill never loses sight of her ambition to claim her readersu2019 heartsu2026With unpretentious yet heartbreaking linesu2026Gaitskill owns you, and earns the right to put you through the ringer of vulgarity.u201d

Newsweek

u201cGaitskill writes with visceral poweru2026[She] commands her readersu2019 attention as few fiction writers can.u201d

New York Times Book Review

u201cExquisiteu2026Gaitskill never stops at surfacesu2026She believesu2014maybe reluctantlyu2014in the absolute primacy of human connections, no matter what mess we tend to make of them.u201d

Chicago Tribune

u201cIntense and thought-provoking, compelling and often tragic, yet filled with a subtle magicu2026Gaitskill explores the spectrum of emotion: lust, greed, sorrow, hope, anger, and many forms of love.u201d

Los Angeles Times

u201cGaitskill is a fiercely emphatic writeru2014her concern always how close we can get to the pith of a protagonist or relationshipu2014and Donu2019t Cry is wonderfully Machiavellian in its excavation of character.u201d

San Francisco Chronicle

u201cGaitskill seems to have traveled through a lifetime of perception, moving in a progression from raw and violently sexualized to tender and regretful, with every character knowing the intimacy and exhaustion of sorrow.u201d

Boston Globe

u201cAnother accomplished collection from an American original.u201d

Kirkus Reviews

About xigxag

Experience the best audiobooks with xigxag, an innovative and user-friendly audiobook platform designed for seamless discovery, purchase, and enjoyment of your favorite titles. Our flexible pricing model offers bestselling audiobooks for less, providing affordable prices and the best audiobook deals without requiring a subscription. Perfect for gifting, xigxag also features convenient audiobook gift cards and in-app audiobook gifting options.

 

Beyond the listening experience, xigxag stands as an exciting alternative to big tech, embodying a strong commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. As the only B Corp certified UK audiobook service, we ensure a guilt-free listening experience from a leader in audiobook innovation.

 

Effortlessly search audiobooks, access honest audiobook reviews that evaluate both the content and narration, and easily discover hidden gems. Whether you prefer to download or stream top audiobook titles, xigxag provides the best possible listening experience anytime, anywhere, on the UK’s best independent audiobook app. Discover the future of audiobooks today.