The essays in Selected Misdemeanors are unapologetic word grenades
lobbed into an otherwise complacent forgetfulness. Throughout the collection,
Sue William Silverman focuses on pivotal, often fleeting moments that defined
the course of her life, such as a fraught family vacation; an evening watching
the Chippendale dancers’ extravaganza; a Pac-Man-and-bourbon-fueled
rumination on failed relationships; and the way melodramatic movies such as
Rome Adventure shape an adolescent’s idea of love. Ranging from short to
flash to micro length, these emotionally courageous writings imbue minimalist
forms with maximalist emotions and an unrepentant, no-holds-barred attitude.
Each action explored in this collection produces the Butterfly
Effect—seemingly quotidian events rippling into emotional tsunamis.