Reviews

“Before reading I'd been following Trilety's work on her Substack for a good while and was excited to finally see the selected short pieces in physical form, a book of the same name " ‘I Won't Keep You". As for any anthology or short story collection, their order plays an important role. Carefully arranged, the book unfolds and echoes via associations, threads, recurring motifs and symbols: femininity, body, subtle emotions, deep feelings that stay with you, eroticism, animals, insects, our connection with nature, body, self — in that, the collection succeeds greatly. As for each of the pieces, be it an essay or a story — I wouldn't even make that distinction, for fact or fiction, what's important is the emotional and intellectual effect the book has on you — they are closer to poetry than prose: extremely lyrical, metaphorical, airy, yet bodily and grounded in reality, rather a remarkable quality that's hard to achieve and does show Trilety's unique voice and talent for it.
Despite its title, "I Won't Keep You", on the contrary, it "keeps you" — it keeps you turning pages, but at the same time, as any short story collection, it prevents you from turning pages, making you stop after each little story and think, paradoxically not keeping you (!) on the page yet still keeping you engaged with the material, building up the momentum.
I do highly recommend the book for all who like lyrical prose that is sincere, playful, inventive, and keeps surprising you with little but precise details.

— Vanya Bagaev, via Goodreads

“Essays, short stories and poetry impose rigorous demands on both the writer and the reader. Attention must be paid; every observation and explanation is necessarily compact, but must be lyrical and full of meaning without the lazy comfort of lengthy exposition. I Won't Keep You fulfills all of these demands. And it is so alive, so aware of the human body moving through the physical world. I must lean on the overused phrase, "a feast for the senses" to describe my delight in reading this collection by Trilety Wade. Read it and then take a walk and look around you with your mind's eye refreshed and invigorated. Highly recommended.”

— Cheryl Karnes, via Amazon

"I Won't Keep You: Short Essays and Little Fictions" by Trilety G. Wade is a book of refreshing perspectives on memorable moments in life, whether fiction or nonfiction. The writing throughout the book is silky smooth, intelligent, intriguing, thoughtful, and top notch. And whether a story was personally relatable to me or not, I found each to hold a surprise element that would make me laugh, or smile, or reflect, or give me that great AHA moment. Wade's book has definitely left me wanting more!”

— Lois Thomas, via Amazon

“Reading this book will delight you and transport you to 34 different worlds. As someone who mostly reads novels it was exciting to read these short form essays and short stories. It keeps you on your toes as you are immersed in so many different narratives, perspectives, and experiences. If you love words and word play this is definitely a book you should read. The sometimes whimsical, sometimes profound, sometimes breathtaking way of wording the narratives together is poetic. It is a joy to read, I highly recommend!”

— Kristin Lubbert, via Amazon