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Liked It “Each story was unique and engaging. I usually read novels, but discovered these short stories were the perfect length to read before falling asleep at night!” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Stephen King should know better. Most of these stories are rather dull and self-referential. "My Brother Eli," for instance, is only funny if you know the life of Saul Bellow--and even then it's not that funny. One excellent story in here worth reading: "The Bris," wherein a dutiful son has...” see full review » see other reviews » |
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“Each story was unique and engaging. I usually read novels, but discovered these short stories were the perfect length to read before falling asleep at night!”
Laura E wrote this review Sunday, October 25 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is a pretty amazing collection. As with any anthology, of course, I can't say that I enjoyed every single story (Alice Munro, as always, provides a convoluted and boring addition, and I wonder how she keeps getting chosen for these collections when her work does not stand up to that which surrounds it...it's frustrating), but when it was working, it was working.
nholic wrote this review Thursday, August 7 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
My favorites:
"St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves."
"The Bris."
"My Brother Eli."
"Balto."
There were a lot of first-person narrators in this collection (not sure if this indicates a trend in current short story writing), and several first person peripheral stories, where the narrator is actually telling the story about a mother, or a brother, or a friend. "My Brother Eli" is a great example of this; Eli is the central character, while the narrator (his brother) remains in the story only peripherally. It's a "Great Gatsby" sort of deal. And I love it when it works, because you're sort of getting two stories in one.
In any case, I was glad that Stephen King didn't try to be something he wasn't, and didn't simply select pretentious stories in an effort to appear more literary. He just found the best work he could, and even threw in a sci-fi story because...well...he's Stephen King. Good for him.”
“I've read quite a few books from this series and been consistently unimpressed until now. I'm so glad I listened to my friend Karen and read it anyway. It's filled with story after story that kicks you in the stomach. I even almost cried. I don't want to spend time reviewing each story, so I'll just list the ones that had that kick I mentioned... Pa's Darling, Toga Party, Balto, My Brother Eli, Eleanor's Music, L Debard and Aliette, Findings and Impressions, The Bris (wow), and Horseman.”
Joshua M wrote this review Tuesday, May 6 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I will lump the review of all of these books in one. There is something about these books that really appeals to my sense of a rushed life; I am always lacking time in my life to really seek out great writing. All of the short stories in these books are well written and meaningful. The stories are included because people that know a great deal about the form and function of short fiction has hand-chosen the stories for inclusion. I have nearly never been disappointed in these stories; when I have been less than happy about a story or two over the years, it was usually about topic, not content or structure. For those of us whom enjoy great short stories, but have difficulty taking the time to find the ones worth reading, these books are invaluable! ~RR”
Rebecca Reece wrote this review Thursday, May 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I skipped around as I read and missed some stories before I had to send this back to the library, but I hit some good ones:
Jodie R wrote this review Friday, April 18 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
*Balto by T.C. Boyle (so good I became an instant fan)
*Riding the Doghouse by Randy Derita
*My Brother Eli by Joseph Epstein
*Dimension by Alice Munro (She rarely disappoints)
As with all collections, a few left me flat, but they might be the ones that sing for you.”
“Stories I especially liked in this collection:
Liz J wrote this review Sunday, April 6 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
"Toga Party" by John Barth
"L.DeBard and Aliette: A Love Story" by Lauren Groff
"St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves" by Karen Russell”“Wonderful as usual.”
Erika H wrote this review Friday, March 28 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Stephen King should know better. Most of these stories are rather dull and self-referential. "My Brother Eli," for instance, is only funny if you know the life of Saul Bellow--and even then it's not that funny. One excellent story in here worth reading: "The Bris," wherein a dutiful son has to get his father circumsized before he dies. Funny but poingnant. As for the rest...dull and indulgent.”
Mark B wrote this review Saturday, March 1 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“An interesting collection of short stories by different authors with no common theme. The stories range from the mundane to the strange, from love stories to death stories. For me the best stories in the collection were in the first half of the book leaving the second half very underwhelming for me. None of the stories stick out as being absolutely fabulous but there are some that were very good. Overall, a decent collection of stories most suited to the literary reader. Follows are my brief synopses of each story (with no spoilers) with my thoughts.
Nicola M wrote this review Sunday, February 17 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
1. Pa's Darling by Louis Auchincloss - set in the sixties, a woman reflects on how her larger than life father overshadowed her life. Readable, but didn't really do anything for me.
2. Toga Party by John Barth - This story takes place in an affluent gated retirement community and centers around one aged couple who are invited by the new people on the street to their toga-themed housewarming party. I really enjoyed this. The characterization of this seventy-something couple was wonderful and I found it to be a fast-paced read with a startling climax. I would be interested in reading more by Barth.
#3. Solid Wood by Ann Beattie - An elderly man and his sister have dinner with the recent widow of his best friend. There are some undercurrents that come to light for the reader as the dinner progresses. I didn't enjoy this one at all. It basically had no plot and, frankly, was boring. There is more to the story than appears at first but I prefer to read and think "wow, that was good" rather than "hmm, I wonder what this means".
#4. Balto by T.C. Boyle - A man and his 12-year-old daughter are on their way to court. This story recounts the events that lead up to the trial. The plot is more involved but any further description would contain spoilers. I was eager to read this story as Boyle is on my list of authors I'd like to read one day and this was my first sampling of his. I wasn't disappointed. This was a compelling story with a fast-paced read. I loved this one.
#5. Riding the Doghouse by Randy Devita - An eerie, disquieting story of father and son. A man remembers back to the year he was twelve and accompanied his trucker father for a week in the summer. The uneasiness in this story slowly builds and I really enjoyed it.
#6. My Brother Eli by Joseph Epstein - A man's younger brother (in his seventies) commits suicide and the older brother tells the story of his life. He was a famous writer, self-centered, egotistical, married five times with various children the brother has never met. The author contemplates whether an 'artist' is entitled to special rights and should be excluded from normal, decent behaviour because of their 'gift'. This story was longer than the others in this collection I've read so far and by far the best up to this point. It made me wish for a whole novel about these characters.
#7. Where Will You Go When Your Skin Cannot Contain You? by William Gay - I can't give a plot summary of this because I haven't a clue. I don't know what it was about or what it meant and what's with all the dialogue and no quotation marks? Ugh.
#8. Eleanor's Music by Mary Gordon - This was beautifully written and a haunting story. Eleanor is 51 and though she was married once she has lived with her parents for the last 18 years. They lead a lovely, simple old-fashioned life. Even their language to each other is quaint, as if from another generation. At first I felt nostalgic for their life and thought it was beautiful but slowly an uneasiness arises as we realize Eleanor's life is not what it seems on the surface. Then something drastic happens to her whole conception of her life and what she does and doesn't do after that event leaves this as a haunting tale.
#9. L. DeBard and Aliette: A Love Story by Lauren Groff - The title calls this a love story and it is that but it is also a tragedy of epic proportions. When I finished reading this my first thought was a stunned, "Wow." Set in 1918 this is the tragic love story of a former Olympic medalist swimmer and a young woman stricken with polio. The best story in this collection so far.
#10. Wake by Beverly Jensen - An interesting story of family dynamics. A brother and sister accompany their father's coffin as they bring him home for his funeral.
#11. Wait by Roy Kesey - Not impressed with this one at all. A bunch of people wait in an airport terminal as their flight is delayed over and over again.
#12 Findings & Impressions by Stellar Kim - I quickly realized this story was about someone dying of cancer so I skipped it as I don't read about that topic.
#13 Allegiance by Aryn Kyle - Glynnis and her parents have recently moved to America from England and she finds herself in the position of new girl at school. An unpopular girl has made moves to befriend her but Glynnis must choose between being unpopular also or making the right moves to become one of the popular crowd. There also is an unraveling story of why the parents moved to America and why the mother is so embittered.
#14 The Boy in Zaquitos by Bruce McAllister - A man gives a talk to a class about how he used to work for the government spreading deadly diseases in other countries. Strange.
#15 - Dimension by Alice Munro - skipped. This was an Andrea Yates type of story, only the father was the murderer, and that's not a spoiler.
#16 - The Bris by Eileen Pollack - skipped. A dying parent story.
#17 - St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell. This is one of my favourite stories in the collection. Young werewolves are sent to the 'Home' to be raised by nuns and taught to behave like their human side and forget their wolf side.
#18 - Horeseman by Richard Russo - A University professor grapples with what her life has become over what she could have become.
#19 - Sans Farine by Jim Shepard - This concerns the man who was the executioner at the time of the French Revolution. The men in his family had been executioners for seven generations, only now he is facing problems as his wife does not agree with the royal executions. Just ok.
#20 - Do Something by Kate Walbert - Basically this was just a depressing story of a woman whose son died of leukemia and she has turned to making protest demonstrations on her own.”
“This 2008 edition had many excellent selections. Toga Party resonated, especially after having read Boomsday. These stories can be re-read, giving a little variance of nuance with each reading, depending on what's latest in the reader's mind. Wait can be interpreted on different levels. Findings and Impressions and Wake will likely stay with me also. ”
cha2cha wrote this review Tuesday, February 5 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
