"Anxious Objects", from Zsuzsi Gartner's admirably inventive collection of stories All the Anxious Girls on Earth, takes parental doting and achievement-anxiety to another level. With humor, a wonderful eye for detail and an acrobatic prose style, she holds a mirror up to the life of the modern parent. Like David Foster Wallace without the maximalism and footnotes, Zsuzsi is an immensely talented rule-bender and her work is an exciting addition to the world of contemporary fiction.