Try as I might to slow down and savor Lauren Groff’s books, I can’t help but devour them in huge gulps, never really coming up for air until the last page! I come to Groff’s looking for humanity in the grey areas, and I always find it. She mines human emotion for the layers underneath the surface, and while her novels are some of my favorites, I can’t help but think that she shines in her short stories. Brawler is brilliant in it’s range while keeping a through line of central themes that masterfully connect each story. Through the book runs a current of deep longing, each story hums with desire: physical and emotional. Every time I think Lauren Groff can’t make me think and feel more, she moves the needle!
Brawler by Lauren Groff, (List Price: $29, Riverhead Books, 9780593418420, February 2026)
Reviewed by Kelsey, Tombolo Books in St. Petersburg, FL