The writing is undoubtedly colored by dissatisfaction, but it never reads as veiled confession, much less indulgence, being smart enough to draw out the pleasure the malcontent finds skittering over the surface of her gloom ... There’s fun throughout Ghost Pains, but there is also an ambient dread that never quite goes away.
Delightful ... Stevens takes no word or phrase for granted. If she uses commonplace language, she typically does so in dialogue, or as a kind of punch line ... Stevens’s general willingness to stretch and rip at form gives the stories in Ghost Pains a ruffled quality. They’re stylish without being precious..
A skillful and expansive collection ... Though some of the entries feel more like exercises than fully-formed stories, Stevens remains a distinctive prose stylist with a wry sense of humor and an inventive approach to plot.
