Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket

 Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket

Reviewed By  Grasshopper2       November 24, 2021

 

Author  Hilma Wolitzer

Distributor:      Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN:                 9781526638717
Publisher:         Bloomsbury Publishing
Release Date:   November 2021  

Website:    https://www.bloomsbury.com 

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When Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket was published, Hilma Wolitzer was 90 years old. The short stories that make up the book are a collection of stories she has had published over the years and although they were written many years ago, they still bear a familiarity that we can relate to today.  Wolitzer feels that “All life is extraordinary,” and yet her stories are so recognisable. Because of the loose structure of these tales, we can easily put our own experiences into the gaps.

The first story is poignant because we would recognise how desperate that woman in the supermarket is and hope there would be someone to help her. Depression or post-natal depression was not a condition that was seen as a genuine illness. As with many of the other stories, we have a greater ability to understand tragedy or illness and rather than bury our feelings, we try to discuss them.

Another story deals with a young girl who is puzzled by the early disappearance of her father. When she asks her mother or grandmother, they just tell her that he vanished one day. The girl tries to compensate for her loss by experimenting with sex. The stories are vastly different. One dealing with a husband who has been arrested for exposing himself, and another describing a family obsessed with death.

Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket is certainly collection of quirky tales, but the dispassionate and observant way they are told makes the reader feel as if they too are an observer of the behaviours exhibited. It is unusual and rather unsettling, and different.

Non Fiction