Scan barcode
lindserature's review against another edition
3.0
I expected to be rocked by this collection, but I was not. There are some moving stories in here, but there are others that I was unsure of why they were included. Three stars overall for some solid choices, especially toward the end of the anthology.
annebrooke's review against another edition
4.0
This is an excellent range of short stories and all are worth a read. There are some I preferred over others, of course, but I have also found one or two new authors to look into from this. Recommended.
bearbookshelf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
woolfardis's review against another edition
2.0
Short Story collections that are a collective of several authors seem to be entirely different animals to collections from only one writer. PKD and HP Lovecraft have amazed me with their short stories: some I've really disliked but on the whole they've all given me something. Possibly it is the genre in which they're written-sci-fi or fantasy horror-that allows me to forgive their weaknesses.
Contemporary fiction, that kind of genreless fiction that no-one can really define, is a genre I've never been particularly fond of, but can't quite put my finger on why. I think this collection exemplifies the kind of boring, monotone, obvious writing that makes me shy away from anything written in the last 90 years that isn't firmly planted in a genre.
This collection features some big names, all women, all about some kind of loss. That's the theme, and it's a wide-ranging theme that is supposedly chosen to bring forth some kind of emotion. I felt zero emotion reading any of the stories, though that may say more about me than the stories. The abiding memory of this collection is that it was boring, which is my main arguement for disliking contemporary genreless fiction in general. I feel it is the same reason why I don't watch soap operas: I don't care about the everyday, mundane lives of normal people. They're generally dull anyway, or are made to exist next to a fictional explosion in order to create more drama. The whole point of fiction is that it is not real.
I shall thank the collection for formally introducing me to a couple of authors I had been meaning to read for a while-Hilary Mantel and Susan Hill-but alas, the rest were lacklustre. I have nothing against female-only collections as long as there are men-only to compliment them, but when there are several stories within the collection by the same mediocre writer, you must wonder why other more talented contemporary writers couldn't have been found.
Below are mini reviews of all the stories to remind me of the contents;
'The Canary' by Katherine Mansfield, 4 Stars: Quite a heart-wrenching story that I can't seem to bring myself to call "an enjoyable little story" even though that is what it was. Written magnificently with undertones of something darker that you'd expect from Katherine Mansfield. A really good start to the collection and actually a nice introduction to that particular author as well.
'A Walk in the Woods' by Elizabeth Bowen, 2 Stars: Written really well and evocative of the period it is set in, but indelibly dull, equipt with that short story way of trying to say things without saying them that quite infuriates me.
'Sentiment' by Dorothy Parker, 2 Stars: A first Dorothy Parker read for me and still undecided. Written well with a definite edge to it, but this short story seemed a little... Trite.
'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson, 3 Stars: What an odd little story. Feels like it is supposed to be a dig at country ways, at traditions maybe, at the odd little ways of people, but a strange story no doubt. Written well and the suspense was created quite magnificently, but like all short stories the ending was unexplained and unnecessary, which is the main reason short stories infuriate me so.
'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' by Flannery O'connor, 1 Star: There comes a point in a short story collection when you despise one of them so fervently you feel you shouldn't pick up the collection again. This was that such one.
Written well, but nothing else. Rather pointless in my personal opinion, too American for me and dull, bland, awful.
'The Blush' by Elizabeth Taylor, 3 Stars: Reminiscent of Mollie Panter-Downes' War Time Short Stories, that middle class wonder and view of life. Written nicely with the ridiculous interwoven neatly. A possibly 4-stars but I hesitated in giving it, I think because it wasn't quite as good as Mollie.
'The Sound of the River' by Jean Rhys, 2 Stars: Like the rest, written really well just not particularly captivating. My first piece of Rhys. Perhaps the subject matter of the collection was not the best choice.
'A Visit' by Anna Kavan, 2 Stars: I feel bad for saying it, but this was quite bland. The story itself-like most of these stories-was inconsequential and it is more the poetry of the words that seem important. And, of course, that ever present metaphor that short stories seem to be solely built upon. Sadly, there was no poetry, only a bland kind of moping.
'Obsessional' by Anna Kavan, 1 Star: As well written as it might be, I don't particularly care to read the inner monologues of women detestably infatuated with men. I would read Romance novels if that were the case.
'The First Year of My Life' by Muriel Spark, 1 Star: An enjoyable idea, just not particularly well-done. As per, trying to say things it doesn't say and, honestly, the humour was forced beyond being any good.
'Indignities' by Ellen Gilchrist, 1 Star: Written well, again, but just so boring.
'The Pill-Box' by Penelope Lively, 5 Stars: Wonderfully written, superbly paced, enough mystery to last and no metaphors in sight. I was compelled from the beginning I think by the writing, perhaps by the subject matter. Almost philosophical in tone, yet that kind of writing that makes you think but doesn't force you to. Perhaps also just set in my kind of place and in my mind of time, as well.
'Miles City, Montana' by Alice Munro, 1 Star: Forgot to review this directly after reading it and, wouldn't you know, I can't remember a single thing about it. Hence the rating.
'Fragility' by Carol Shields, 2 Stars: It does seem a little cruel to give only 2 stars to a story about the loss of a child, but then it is fiction and it was unutterably boring.
'The Merry Widow' by Margaret Drabble, 3 Stars: Written really nicely and kept me very interested for quite some time, though I expected a much better punch line considering how long the story was. It began in earnest but ended in quite dreary company.
'The I of It' by A. M. Homes, 1 Star: Seemed to be obvious and mysterious all at the same time. Nothing particularly wrong with this story, just felt like a pointless one.
'The First Time' by Marina Warner, 1 Star: Collections of Short Stories are a good way to hide away little pointless ones like this one. As before, it is written well but I just didn't enjoy it nor felt like it gave me anything.
'Inside Information' by Nicola Barker, 5 Stars: I honestly found this short story to be nothing short of sublime. It had the right amount of wit and humour, of perception and dignity, and lashings of superb magical realism. Written well and actually quite very short, but a really good read.
'Desideratus' by Penelope Fitzgerald, 2 Stars: Not particularly bad, just tried to evoke the spirit of 19th Century stories but didn't quite make it. Full of the metaphoric, as well. Dull.
'Agnes of Iowa' by Lorrie Moore, 1 Star: I had a break reading this half way through for Christmas and couldn't really remember it when I got back to it. Says everything about it, I suppose. Just one of those contemporary stories, y'know.
'Curved is the Line of Beauty' by Hilary Mantel, 2 Stars: The first piece of writing by Hilary Mantel I have ever read, and I'm definitely looking forward to more, though of course of the longer variety. I can taste the wonder of her prose here, but sadly my dislike of contemporary short stories stops me from enjoying it any further.
'Father, Father' by Susan Hill, 3 Stars: Another first from an author whom I hope to read more of in the near future (and longer things from), and another enjoyable read (inasmuch as you can enjoy a tale of loss, bereavement and focused change like this). However, it is becoming clear-as I rediscover my old idea-that short stories are redundant. I think the main problem is closure, though this needs to be explored in the longer, main review of this collection.
'Renaissance' by Colette Paul, 4 Stars: Reviewing stories confuses me beyond anything else, because really this story is no different to any of the others and when I think of it a little more, it is in its simplicity boring. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and I don't know why. So there.
'After A Life' by Yiyun Li, 2 Stars: A good read, written well and had nice pace, but at its heart boring.
'Sorry?' by Helen Simpson, 1 Star: The idea is a very intriguing one, but not necessarily unique. All of these stories are written well, but sadly this one is boring. With a hint of the mysterious metaphoooooorrrr.
'Up At a Villa' by Helen Simpson, 1 Star: A humorous, very short short story that is trying to say a million things all at once. Fair enough, but boring.
'Plunder' by Edna O'Brien, 1 Star: Yeah. But boring.
'Aunt Telephone' by Edith Pearlman, 1 Star: Like the others. Written well but boring.
'Varitas' by Emma Donaghue, 1 Star: Whilst the plot intrigued me at first, the culmination and writing style did not deliver. Also, boring.
'Gravel' by Alice Munro, 2 Stars: Finding it difficult to rate these, but I did find myself enjoying the ending to this one a little more than the others, hence the extra star. It had a decent attempt at some kind of closure, which I appreciate.
'The Eye' by Alice Munro, 1 Star: No.
'Before He Left the Family' by Carrie Tiffany, 1 Star: No.
'Diving Belles' by Lucy Wood, 2 Stars: Toyed between 2 and 3 stars for this, because I enjoyed the imagination and the writing was nice for a first published piece, but the metaphor and mystery that it ends with made me go for the former.
Contemporary fiction, that kind of genreless fiction that no-one can really define, is a genre I've never been particularly fond of, but can't quite put my finger on why. I think this collection exemplifies the kind of boring, monotone, obvious writing that makes me shy away from anything written in the last 90 years that isn't firmly planted in a genre.
This collection features some big names, all women, all about some kind of loss. That's the theme, and it's a wide-ranging theme that is supposedly chosen to bring forth some kind of emotion. I felt zero emotion reading any of the stories, though that may say more about me than the stories. The abiding memory of this collection is that it was boring, which is my main arguement for disliking contemporary genreless fiction in general. I feel it is the same reason why I don't watch soap operas: I don't care about the everyday, mundane lives of normal people. They're generally dull anyway, or are made to exist next to a fictional explosion in order to create more drama. The whole point of fiction is that it is not real.
I shall thank the collection for formally introducing me to a couple of authors I had been meaning to read for a while-Hilary Mantel and Susan Hill-but alas, the rest were lacklustre. I have nothing against female-only collections as long as there are men-only to compliment them, but when there are several stories within the collection by the same mediocre writer, you must wonder why other more talented contemporary writers couldn't have been found.
Below are mini reviews of all the stories to remind me of the contents;
'The Canary' by Katherine Mansfield, 4 Stars: Quite a heart-wrenching story that I can't seem to bring myself to call "an enjoyable little story" even though that is what it was. Written magnificently with undertones of something darker that you'd expect from Katherine Mansfield. A really good start to the collection and actually a nice introduction to that particular author as well.
'A Walk in the Woods' by Elizabeth Bowen, 2 Stars: Written really well and evocative of the period it is set in, but indelibly dull, equipt with that short story way of trying to say things without saying them that quite infuriates me.
'Sentiment' by Dorothy Parker, 2 Stars: A first Dorothy Parker read for me and still undecided. Written well with a definite edge to it, but this short story seemed a little... Trite.
'The Lottery' by Shirley Jackson, 3 Stars: What an odd little story. Feels like it is supposed to be a dig at country ways, at traditions maybe, at the odd little ways of people, but a strange story no doubt. Written well and the suspense was created quite magnificently, but like all short stories the ending was unexplained and unnecessary, which is the main reason short stories infuriate me so.
'The Life You Save May Be Your Own' by Flannery O'connor, 1 Star: There comes a point in a short story collection when you despise one of them so fervently you feel you shouldn't pick up the collection again. This was that such one.
Written well, but nothing else. Rather pointless in my personal opinion, too American for me and dull, bland, awful.
'The Blush' by Elizabeth Taylor, 3 Stars: Reminiscent of Mollie Panter-Downes' War Time Short Stories, that middle class wonder and view of life. Written nicely with the ridiculous interwoven neatly. A possibly 4-stars but I hesitated in giving it, I think because it wasn't quite as good as Mollie.
'The Sound of the River' by Jean Rhys, 2 Stars: Like the rest, written really well just not particularly captivating. My first piece of Rhys. Perhaps the subject matter of the collection was not the best choice.
'A Visit' by Anna Kavan, 2 Stars: I feel bad for saying it, but this was quite bland. The story itself-like most of these stories-was inconsequential and it is more the poetry of the words that seem important. And, of course, that ever present metaphor that short stories seem to be solely built upon. Sadly, there was no poetry, only a bland kind of moping.
'Obsessional' by Anna Kavan, 1 Star: As well written as it might be, I don't particularly care to read the inner monologues of women detestably infatuated with men. I would read Romance novels if that were the case.
'The First Year of My Life' by Muriel Spark, 1 Star: An enjoyable idea, just not particularly well-done. As per, trying to say things it doesn't say and, honestly, the humour was forced beyond being any good.
'Indignities' by Ellen Gilchrist, 1 Star: Written well, again, but just so boring.
'The Pill-Box' by Penelope Lively, 5 Stars: Wonderfully written, superbly paced, enough mystery to last and no metaphors in sight. I was compelled from the beginning I think by the writing, perhaps by the subject matter. Almost philosophical in tone, yet that kind of writing that makes you think but doesn't force you to. Perhaps also just set in my kind of place and in my mind of time, as well.
'Miles City, Montana' by Alice Munro, 1 Star: Forgot to review this directly after reading it and, wouldn't you know, I can't remember a single thing about it. Hence the rating.
'Fragility' by Carol Shields, 2 Stars: It does seem a little cruel to give only 2 stars to a story about the loss of a child, but then it is fiction and it was unutterably boring.
'The Merry Widow' by Margaret Drabble, 3 Stars: Written really nicely and kept me very interested for quite some time, though I expected a much better punch line considering how long the story was. It began in earnest but ended in quite dreary company.
'The I of It' by A. M. Homes, 1 Star: Seemed to be obvious and mysterious all at the same time. Nothing particularly wrong with this story, just felt like a pointless one.
'The First Time' by Marina Warner, 1 Star: Collections of Short Stories are a good way to hide away little pointless ones like this one. As before, it is written well but I just didn't enjoy it nor felt like it gave me anything.
'Inside Information' by Nicola Barker, 5 Stars: I honestly found this short story to be nothing short of sublime. It had the right amount of wit and humour, of perception and dignity, and lashings of superb magical realism. Written well and actually quite very short, but a really good read.
'Desideratus' by Penelope Fitzgerald, 2 Stars: Not particularly bad, just tried to evoke the spirit of 19th Century stories but didn't quite make it. Full of the metaphoric, as well. Dull.
'Agnes of Iowa' by Lorrie Moore, 1 Star: I had a break reading this half way through for Christmas and couldn't really remember it when I got back to it. Says everything about it, I suppose. Just one of those contemporary stories, y'know.
'Curved is the Line of Beauty' by Hilary Mantel, 2 Stars: The first piece of writing by Hilary Mantel I have ever read, and I'm definitely looking forward to more, though of course of the longer variety. I can taste the wonder of her prose here, but sadly my dislike of contemporary short stories stops me from enjoying it any further.
'Father, Father' by Susan Hill, 3 Stars: Another first from an author whom I hope to read more of in the near future (and longer things from), and another enjoyable read (inasmuch as you can enjoy a tale of loss, bereavement and focused change like this). However, it is becoming clear-as I rediscover my old idea-that short stories are redundant. I think the main problem is closure, though this needs to be explored in the longer, main review of this collection.
'Renaissance' by Colette Paul, 4 Stars: Reviewing stories confuses me beyond anything else, because really this story is no different to any of the others and when I think of it a little more, it is in its simplicity boring. But I thoroughly enjoyed it and I don't know why. So there.
'After A Life' by Yiyun Li, 2 Stars: A good read, written well and had nice pace, but at its heart boring.
'Sorry?' by Helen Simpson, 1 Star: The idea is a very intriguing one, but not necessarily unique. All of these stories are written well, but sadly this one is boring. With a hint of the mysterious metaphoooooorrrr.
'Up At a Villa' by Helen Simpson, 1 Star: A humorous, very short short story that is trying to say a million things all at once. Fair enough, but boring.
'Plunder' by Edna O'Brien, 1 Star: Yeah. But boring.
'Aunt Telephone' by Edith Pearlman, 1 Star: Like the others. Written well but boring.
'Varitas' by Emma Donaghue, 1 Star: Whilst the plot intrigued me at first, the culmination and writing style did not deliver. Also, boring.
'Gravel' by Alice Munro, 2 Stars: Finding it difficult to rate these, but I did find myself enjoying the ending to this one a little more than the others, hence the extra star. It had a decent attempt at some kind of closure, which I appreciate.
'The Eye' by Alice Munro, 1 Star: No.
'Before He Left the Family' by Carrie Tiffany, 1 Star: No.
'Diving Belles' by Lucy Wood, 2 Stars: Toyed between 2 and 3 stars for this, because I enjoyed the imagination and the writing was nice for a first published piece, but the metaphor and mystery that it ends with made me go for the former.
miramanga's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting collection of short stories about love in all its viciousness and glory. Not for the faint of heart.
seonaidrogers's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent collection including one of my favourite short stories, Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, as well as stories by great authors like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Can't review each individual piece but I loved the collection as a whole.
More...