Bad Behavior: Stories

National Book Award finalist Mary Gaitskill's classic debut collection from the 1980s--powerful stories of dislocation, longing, and desire

Now towering and inevitable in its influence on writing by and for young urbanites, Bad Behavior heralded Mary Gaitskill's arrival on the literary scene and her establishment as one of the sharpest writing talents of her time, or any time: exquisitely funny and startlingly honest; bold and eye-opening on relationships, sex, and the erotic.

Set in Manhattan's Lower East Side and peopled with artistic freelancers and intelligent sex workers, smug yuppies and love-torn masochists, Bad Behavior depicts a world equally cruel and tender, where romance and danger go hand in hand. Gaitskill delivers unforgettable stories of a disenchanted and rebellious urban fringe generation groping for human connection.

Author: Mary Gaitskill
Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 07/08/2025
Series: Vintage Contemporaries
Pages: 224
Weight: 0.5lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.10w x 0.70d
ISBN: 9780593689400