Praise for Teardown
“Clea Young’s intelligent stories sparkle with life… clever and imaginative, an absolutely addictive read.”
— Zoe Whittall, author of The Best Kind of People
“Clea Young’s debut story collection Teardown is out-and-out beautiful. Marital bliss and blitzed marriages, smoking sex, friendship between women, between children; real love in the furniture aisle—all this and the opposite of all this—vulnerability, loneliness, all the tough/tender moments of pregnancy and parenthood, desire gone cold; the polar dip after the hot tub. These stories are elegant, clear-eyed, wry or hilarious, and ultra-attentive to the way we live now. Read this! These are the kind of stories that become a part of you!”
— Lisa Moore, author of Caught
“Clea Young writes vivid, whip-smart stories about people coping with the perils and pitfalls of modern life. I was bowled over by her talent as a storyteller and a stylist. Fans of Ann Beattie and Jennifer Egan will rejoice. A huge thumbs-up for Teardown.”
— Neil Smith, author of Boo
“By turns playful and tragic, Teardown captures a multitude of lives on the cusp of critical change. Young’s prose is nimble, her dialog smart. This is a remarkable debut.”
— Billie Livingston, author of The Crooked Heart of Mercy
“Young’s characters are people in motion, existing before and after our brief opportunity to peer into their lives. Beautifully nuanced, wise and energetic, this collection provides a rare and resonant encounter with characters we seem to understand everything—and nothing—about; as evident and unknowable as ourselves.”
—Miranda Hill, author of Sleeping Funny
