Become a Readings Member to make your shopping experience even easier. Sign in or sign up for free!

Become a Readings Member. Sign in or sign up for free!

Hello Readings Member! Go to the member centre to view your orders, change your details, or view your lists, or sign out.

Hello Readings Member! Go to the member centre or sign out.

Smart Ovens for Lonely People

Paperback

Smart Ovens for Lonely People

$32.99

Add to wishlist

Sign in or become a Readings Member to add this title to your wishlist.

Winner of The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize 2020

Conspiracies, memes, and therapies of various efficacy underpin this beguiling short story collection from Elizabeth Tan.

In the titular story, a cat-shaped oven tells a depressed woman she doesn’t have to be sorry anymore. A Yourtopia Bespoke Terraria employee becomes paranoid about the mounting coincidences in her life. Four girls gather to celebrate their underwear in ‘Happy Smiling Underwear Girls Party’, a hilarious take-down of saccharine advertisements.

With her trademark wit and slicing social commentary, Elizabeth Tan’s short stories are as funny as they are insightful. This collection cements her role as one of Australia’s most inventive writers.

‘The stories collected in Smart Ovens for Lonely People made me laugh out loud with surprise and delight - not only because they are very funny, conveying enviable literary skill, but also because I have simply never read anything like them, and that is such a pleasure and a delight.’ - Alice Robinson

Read More

In Shop

Available at 7 locations

Carlton
Doncaster (Low stock)
Emporium (Low stock)
Hawthorn (Low stock)
Malvern (Low stock)
St Kilda (Low stock)
State Library (Low stock)

Shipping & Delivery

Available to order, ships in 3-4 days

$9.00 standard shipping within Australia
FREE standard shipping within Australia for orders over $100.00
Express & International shipping calculated at checkout

MORE INFO

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Brio Books

Country

Australia

Date

1 June 2020

Pages

224

ISBN

9781922267191

Winner of The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize 2020

Conspiracies, memes, and therapies of various efficacy underpin this beguiling short story collection from Elizabeth Tan.

In the titular story, a cat-shaped oven tells a depressed woman she doesn’t have to be sorry anymore. A Yourtopia Bespoke Terraria employee becomes paranoid about the mounting coincidences in her life. Four girls gather to celebrate their underwear in ‘Happy Smiling Underwear Girls Party’, a hilarious take-down of saccharine advertisements.

With her trademark wit and slicing social commentary, Elizabeth Tan’s short stories are as funny as they are insightful. This collection cements her role as one of Australia’s most inventive writers.

‘The stories collected in Smart Ovens for Lonely People made me laugh out loud with surprise and delight - not only because they are very funny, conveying enviable literary skill, but also because I have simply never read anything like them, and that is such a pleasure and a delight.’ - Alice Robinson

Read More

Format

Paperback

Publisher

Brio Books

Country

Australia

Date

1 June 2020

Pages

224

ISBN

9781922267191

Featured in

See what the Readings’ team have to say on the blog, discover related events and podcast episodes.

Books
16 Dec 2020

My five favourite reads of 2020

Our incoming Readings Monthly editor Jackie Tang shares five of her favourite books from the past year, including poetry, memoir, essays, short stories and YA Forgotten Corners by Pete Hay Have you ever read a book and thought to yourself,…

News
10 Nov 2020

Mark’s Say, November 2020

Well, Readings and most other Victorian bookshops are open again and it has been wonderful to see real people discovering books in our shops. Sadly, our shop in the State Library is yet to open and may not reopen before…

News
4 Nov 2020

Announcing Readings Rewards for November

The motto for Christmas gift buying this year is ‘shop early’ and we’re launching a special offer for our customers this month to help you get started. We know the festive season often means buying several books, music and other…

News
28 Oct 2020

Elizabeth Tan wins the Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction 2020

It is a great pleasure to announce Elizabeth Tan’s Smart Ovens for Lonely People as the 2020 winner of The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction. This is a truly exciting work; Tan’s stories push the form, and offer a…

Winners of The Readings New Australian Fiction Prize

View All

Cover image for Thanks for Having Me

Cover image for All That's Left Unsaid

Cover image for Cold Enough for Snow

Cover image for Lucky's

Cover image for Smart Ovens for Lonely People

Cover image for The Glad Shout

View More

The Readings Prize for New Australian Fiction shortlist 2020

View All

Cover image for The House of Youssef

Cover image for Dolores

Cover image for Lucky Ticket

Cover image for The Animals in That Country

Cover image for A Lonely Girl is a Dangerous Thing

Cover image for Smart Ovens for Lonely People

View More

Exciting sophomore books in 2020

View All

Cover image for Smart Ovens for Lonely People

Cover image for The Animals in That Country

Cover image for A Year of Simple Family Food

View More

Looking for something in particular?

Search our extensive online catalogue.