I've never seen someone with such rich observations and such rich material (observing the characters around her in a Chicago psychiatric ward following a suicide attempt) keep repeatedly tripping over their own writing. It's almost heartbreaking because the book is crazy interesting, if only you can get past a writer who can pull a pretty good (if often ill-timed) turn of phrase but who also appears to constantly, seemingly inadvertently, confuse you. Two stars.
"Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage" by Bette Howland (2019)
Off the top of my head I'm not totally sure of her background but I'd imagine these are the kinds of short stories you'd get if a lifelong copy editor decided to try their hand at fiction—meticulously assembled and boring as fuck. "Public Facilities" is pretty good though. One star.