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larrydavid's review against another edition
4.0
I have some issues with this book:
First is the subtitle, “The Best Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” Well, a brief comparison of the table of contents and his bibliography will show this would more accurately be called “Very Nearly All The Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” As the author’s notes on the stories at the end make clear, too, some of these stories don’t really work. There are a few early pieces that lack Joyce’s fully developed style and that range from basically competent to entirely forgettable, and a couple of interesting failures.
Secondly, for a book costing a minimum of £25 this is shockingly sloppily produced. You will find typos and careless editing throughout and the aforementioned author’s note contains an explanation of a story that isn’t even featured in the collection. (My guess is that this story is included in the £60 signed hardcover, and if it is the only change then I hope that story is worth £35. But it would have been the work of a moment to remove the entry in the note.)
Finally I am a little disappointed that the introduction is by Owen King, who has only empty platitudes to say. Owen King introducing Graham Joyce is like Dan Brown introducing Tolstoy.
However other than these small complaints, I can only praise this lovely book, collecting the excellent work of one of the finest writers I have ever read. I will always enjoy his novels more than his short fiction I think, but this collection contains perhaps 8 or 9 stories that are unforgettable and unique. They are quietly magical in the type of way Joyce wrote so often in his novels: almost without noticing it, you realise on finishing a story that something profound has happened.
First is the subtitle, “The Best Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” Well, a brief comparison of the table of contents and his bibliography will show this would more accurately be called “Very Nearly All The Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” As the author’s notes on the stories at the end make clear, too, some of these stories don’t really work. There are a few early pieces that lack Joyce’s fully developed style and that range from basically competent to entirely forgettable, and a couple of interesting failures.
Secondly, for a book costing a minimum of £25 this is shockingly sloppily produced. You will find typos and careless editing throughout and the aforementioned author’s note contains an explanation of a story that isn’t even featured in the collection. (My guess is that this story is included in the £60 signed hardcover, and if it is the only change then I hope that story is worth £35. But it would have been the work of a moment to remove the entry in the note.)
Finally I am a little disappointed that the introduction is by Owen King, who has only empty platitudes to say. Owen King introducing Graham Joyce is like Dan Brown introducing Tolstoy.
However other than these small complaints, I can only praise this lovely book, collecting the excellent work of one of the finest writers I have ever read. I will always enjoy his novels more than his short fiction I think, but this collection contains perhaps 8 or 9 stories that are unforgettable and unique. They are quietly magical in the type of way Joyce wrote so often in his novels: almost without noticing it, you realise on finishing a story that something profound has happened.
larrydavid's review
4.0
I have some issues with this book:
First is the subtitle, “The Best Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” Well, a brief comparison of the table of contents and his bibliography will show this would more accurately be called “Very Nearly All The Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” As the author’s notes on the stories at the end make clear, too, some of these stories don’t really work. There are a few early pieces that lack Joyce’s fully developed style and that range from basically competent to entirely forgettable, and a couple of interesting failures.
Secondly, for a book costing a minimum of £25 this is shockingly sloppily produced. You will find typos and careless editing throughout and the aforementioned author’s note contains an explanation of a story that isn’t even featured in the collection. (My guess is that this story is included in the £60 signed hardcover, and if it is the only change then I hope that story is worth £35. But it would have been the work of a moment to remove the entry in the note.)
Finally I am a little disappointed that the introduction is by Owen King, who has only empty platitudes to say. Owen King introducing Graham Joyce is like Dan Brown introducing Tolstoy.
However other than these small complaints, I can only praise this lovely book, collecting the excellent work of one of the finest writers I have ever read. I will always enjoy his novels more than his short fiction I think, but this collection contains perhaps 8 or 9 stories that are unforgettable and unique. They are quietly magical in the type of way Joyce wrote so often in his novels: almost without noticing it, you realise on finishing a story that something profound has happened.
First is the subtitle, “The Best Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” Well, a brief comparison of the table of contents and his bibliography will show this would more accurately be called “Very Nearly All The Short Fiction of Graham Joyce.” As the author’s notes on the stories at the end make clear, too, some of these stories don’t really work. There are a few early pieces that lack Joyce’s fully developed style and that range from basically competent to entirely forgettable, and a couple of interesting failures.
Secondly, for a book costing a minimum of £25 this is shockingly sloppily produced. You will find typos and careless editing throughout and the aforementioned author’s note contains an explanation of a story that isn’t even featured in the collection. (My guess is that this story is included in the £60 signed hardcover, and if it is the only change then I hope that story is worth £35. But it would have been the work of a moment to remove the entry in the note.)
Finally I am a little disappointed that the introduction is by Owen King, who has only empty platitudes to say. Owen King introducing Graham Joyce is like Dan Brown introducing Tolstoy.
However other than these small complaints, I can only praise this lovely book, collecting the excellent work of one of the finest writers I have ever read. I will always enjoy his novels more than his short fiction I think, but this collection contains perhaps 8 or 9 stories that are unforgettable and unique. They are quietly magical in the type of way Joyce wrote so often in his novels: almost without noticing it, you realise on finishing a story that something profound has happened.
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