Scan barcode
mazaatee's review against another edition
4.0
Probably the best short stories collection I've read or rather listened to in a long time. Well written with elegant prose and stories that don't leave you with the longing for a proper ending. Highly recommend it.
bgg616's review against another edition
4.0
These are the kind of short stories I really like. They are all set in Western PA, an area I know pretty well as I went to college in Pittsburgh. They span approximately 100 years and involve the residents of a small, and at the end of the book, declining,mining town.
dannb's review against another edition
5.0
Maybe it's because I am a eastern Ohio/western PA steel valley girl, maybe it's just because they are wonderfully written and woven, but I loved every one of these short stories. Might be my favorite of Ms. Haigh's.
cheryl1213's review against another edition
3.0
I've started a number of reviews by noting that I don't tend towards short stories. Still, I have found they abound of late and I picked this one (a review copy from Harper) because I'd enjoyed two of Haigh's novels (Faith and The Condition, I also read Mrs. Kimble but didn't realize immediately that it was the same author). This is a set of stories all tied to the town of Bakerton, PA, a small town that grew around a single coal mining company). Some characters reappear, others you can sense in the distance since the stories ranged from the boom days of the 1940s through the town's decline as the coal company shut its operations. Apparently some of the characters had also appeared in a prior work, Baker Towers. I hadn't read that and it wasn't any problem, although some reviewers seemed to have really loved it and that made revisiting Bakerton an exciting treat.
The stories are both character and place driven (which is always a plus for me). The protagonists vary widely including a teen girl meeting an exciting aunt, a young woman leaving to work as a maid in New York City in the '30s, a life-long resident reflecting on her brother's passing, and a woman experiencing a later-in-life relationship. Some of the stories simply left me cold and I struggled to get through those. Other stories had characters that felt vivid and whom I wished I could "visit" for longer. I enjoyed the concept of watching the town evolve through the years, although I had trouble connecting to some of the latter day tales, despite a strong interest in what happens to industry towns as the industry fades. The concepts of family and home are key throughout all the stories.
There were definite highs and lows for me in this one. I'd rate Broken Star (a woman reflecting on a summer in her teens when a relative returned, bringing a feeling of excitement that contrasts with her rather staid family) and Something Sweet (a portrait of a young schoolteacher in the mid-40s, including a glimpse at a student who has trouble fitting in small-town life) as my favorites. On the other end of the spectrum, I didn't care for A Place in the Sun (a visit to Las Vegas focused on a man who left Bakerton but never really found his way) or What Remains (other townspeople watch the decline of one of the last members of the family that owned the mines and look towards a new industry that may bring back the struggling town). Haigh is clearly a gifted writer and her prose can be pitch-perfect at times, but something about it can also drag when the story isn't connecting. There are moments that are beautifully sad and poignant. There are other times when I thought I should feel something but instead felt cold and unconnected.
3.5 stars. I feel reluctant to round either way...I plan to include this on two sites that favor full stars so I'll put one at 3 and one at 4....
http://clg1213.blogspot.com/2013/03/on-not-quite-feeling-like-class-reader.html
The stories are both character and place driven (which is always a plus for me). The protagonists vary widely including a teen girl meeting an exciting aunt, a young woman leaving to work as a maid in New York City in the '30s, a life-long resident reflecting on her brother's passing, and a woman experiencing a later-in-life relationship. Some of the stories simply left me cold and I struggled to get through those. Other stories had characters that felt vivid and whom I wished I could "visit" for longer. I enjoyed the concept of watching the town evolve through the years, although I had trouble connecting to some of the latter day tales, despite a strong interest in what happens to industry towns as the industry fades. The concepts of family and home are key throughout all the stories.
There were definite highs and lows for me in this one. I'd rate Broken Star (a woman reflecting on a summer in her teens when a relative returned, bringing a feeling of excitement that contrasts with her rather staid family) and Something Sweet (a portrait of a young schoolteacher in the mid-40s, including a glimpse at a student who has trouble fitting in small-town life) as my favorites. On the other end of the spectrum, I didn't care for A Place in the Sun (a visit to Las Vegas focused on a man who left Bakerton but never really found his way) or What Remains (other townspeople watch the decline of one of the last members of the family that owned the mines and look towards a new industry that may bring back the struggling town). Haigh is clearly a gifted writer and her prose can be pitch-perfect at times, but something about it can also drag when the story isn't connecting. There are moments that are beautifully sad and poignant. There are other times when I thought I should feel something but instead felt cold and unconnected.
3.5 stars. I feel reluctant to round either way...I plan to include this on two sites that favor full stars so I'll put one at 3 and one at 4....
http://clg1213.blogspot.com/2013/03/on-not-quite-feeling-like-class-reader.html
bethreadsandnaps's review against another edition
4.0
Set in fictional, coal mining Bakerton, this series of semi-connected short stories had interesting although mostly sad, situations and characters. It seemed reflective of any small town that was founded on one employer. Learning that Haigh wrote this after Baker Towers (which I didn't read), this feels like a supplement where she explores more with her favorite characters. These might have been story threads that got axed when she got to the final draft of Baker Towers.
Small towns, loneliness and regret are some of the universal themes. It seemed that those who got out of the small town didn't fare any better than those that ended up staying--not getting out.
Some of the stories had the same characters but years later or interconnected characters. It was hard to keep them straight, as I hadn't read Baker Towers. I felt like I missed some important character connections.
Small towns, loneliness and regret are some of the universal themes. It seemed that those who got out of the small town didn't fare any better than those that ended up staying--not getting out.
Some of the stories had the same characters but years later or interconnected characters. It was hard to keep them straight, as I hadn't read Baker Towers. I felt like I missed some important character connections.
mythyagain's review against another edition
1.0
To me, these stories seemed flat, dull, and dreary. I struggled to finish the book thinking that the next story would be better, but it rarely was the case.
wordnerdy's review against another edition
5.0
http://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2013/01/2013-book-7.html
serenaac's review against another edition
4.0
News From Heaven by Jennifer Haigh is a collection of interconnected short stories about Bakerton, Pa., and while the characters in these stories all have roots in that former coal-mining town, the town itself is a character — matter of fact, it is the character — that holds these stories together. Haigh has created a heartbreaking and hopeful story about the death and rebirth of a town and its people. As the founding members, the Bakers, brought glory and industry to the town that ensured its prosperity, they also have a hand in its decline.
From WWI to the 1970s and 1990s, Haigh chronicles the rise and fall of a town tied closely to its founding family and the coal beneath its hills. By the end, readers will be as connected to Bakerton as they are to their own hometowns and families. From the coal hacked out of the mines to the black lungs carried by its resident miners, there is a deep sense of place and the people who inhabit it are as flawed and as memorable as the school teachers, mechanics, small business owners, and others of memory.
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2013/02/news-from-heaven-by-jennifer-haigh.html
From WWI to the 1970s and 1990s, Haigh chronicles the rise and fall of a town tied closely to its founding family and the coal beneath its hills. By the end, readers will be as connected to Bakerton as they are to their own hometowns and families. From the coal hacked out of the mines to the black lungs carried by its resident miners, there is a deep sense of place and the people who inhabit it are as flawed and as memorable as the school teachers, mechanics, small business owners, and others of memory.
Read the full review: http://savvyverseandwit.com/2013/02/news-from-heaven-by-jennifer-haigh.html
mholles's review against another edition
4.0
Short stories ll linked to Bakerton, PA - the site of her first novel Baker Towers. Covering 80 years and people who stayed and those who left. All of the characters were so interesting. And Bakerton becomes a character in itself. Haigh could take any character from these stories and write a full length novel about them and I would be happy.