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vanessakm's review against another edition
4.0
This short story (and one poem) collection was the basis for the Altman film of the same title. You probably know this if you are a Carver fan, but this is collection is selected reprints from earlier works, not original material.
Carver's fiction is a bit touch and go for me, but when his stuff is working, it's devastating perfection. And included here are some of my favorite stories of his: "A Small Good Thing","So Much Water So Close to Home", "Jerry and Molly and Sam", "Tell the Women We're Going" (That last one is so good, but holyshitthatending. Have you ever screamed at a book? I have.)
Since we're talking about him anyway, I really continue to feel the loss of Robert Altman. Like my opinion of Carver, I didn't love all of his movies (am I the only person who didn't really like The Player or Gosford Park?) As far as Altman films go, Short Cuts was one of my favorites, but it's a close race with a few others: MASH, Nashville, A Wedding.
Carver's fiction is a bit touch and go for me, but when his stuff is working, it's devastating perfection. And included here are some of my favorite stories of his: "A Small Good Thing","So Much Water So Close to Home", "Jerry and Molly and Sam", "Tell the Women We're Going" (That last one is so good, but holyshitthatending. Have you ever screamed at a book? I have.)
Since we're talking about him anyway, I really continue to feel the loss of Robert Altman. Like my opinion of Carver, I didn't love all of his movies (am I the only person who didn't really like The Player or Gosford Park?) As far as Altman films go, Short Cuts was one of my favorites, but it's a close race with a few others: MASH, Nashville, A Wedding.
bjr2022's review against another edition
3.0
I'd never read Carver before and probably won't read more even though I admired and liked his pithy "just-telling-what-happened" style. Most of these stories are slices of life: drinking men's dark nights of the soul, the unhappy women in their lives (even if the narrator is a woman), male violence, and the ultimate futility of existence. But then there was one story called "A Small Good Thing" about the death of a child, and it knocked the wind out of me. It was dark as well, but a lot more—worth reading the book.
waywardkangaroo's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
sushai's review against another edition
5.0
My second time reading this I apparently got a lot more out of it than the first. How can Carver's stories be both dated and timeless?
bookpanther's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4/5
"I look at all of Carver's work as just one story, for his stories are all occurrences, all about things that just happen to people and cause their lives to take a turn." -- Robert Altman on Carver
Short Cuts was the perfect bite-sized treat this week. Carver is known for his minimal writing style and his exploration of the mundane, but what I really enjoyed is the sense of eerie tension that he builds up within each story -- most of which is left unresolved. In my favorite of this collection, "A Small, Good Thing," the tension welling up was so palpable, but the way Carver ended it took me by surprise. Overall, the collection is well worth the read!
"I look at all of Carver's work as just one story, for his stories are all occurrences, all about things that just happen to people and cause their lives to take a turn." -- Robert Altman on Carver
Short Cuts was the perfect bite-sized treat this week. Carver is known for his minimal writing style and his exploration of the mundane, but what I really enjoyed is the sense of eerie tension that he builds up within each story -- most of which is left unresolved. In my favorite of this collection, "A Small, Good Thing," the tension welling up was so palpable, but the way Carver ended it took me by surprise. Overall, the collection is well worth the read!
bookisheunoia's review against another edition
3.0
꧁ 3 stars ꧂
not amazing, but not terrible either. it's a collection of stories about middle aged married couples and their marriage problems, so i didn't have high expectations. some stories really felt lackluster and had no real purpose or message, but some others were touching and felt complete. overall, i was just confused most of the time, since carver really doesn't like to spell it out for you. anyways, it's a quick, easy read.
my favorite of the collection was 'a small, good thing', perhaps followed by 'tell the women we're going' (which is so strange that it's interesting). i wish 'so much water so close to home' would just tell us if the husband and his clique of men killed the girl?? but it says nothing and i'm just so confused. my least favorite of the bunch was probably 'jerry and molly and sam' because it was just boring and the title makes no sense (who even is sam??).
anyways... some of the short stories were really good, and some were really boring. thanks ib i guess.
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not amazing, but not terrible either. it's a collection of stories about middle aged married couples and their marriage problems, so i didn't have high expectations. some stories really felt lackluster and had no real purpose or message, but some others were touching and felt complete. overall, i was just confused most of the time, since carver really doesn't like to spell it out for you. anyways, it's a quick, easy read.
my favorite of the collection was 'a small, good thing', perhaps followed by 'tell the women we're going' (which is so strange that it's interesting). i wish 'so much water so close to home' would just tell us if the husband and his clique of men killed the girl?? but it says nothing and i'm just so confused. my least favorite of the bunch was probably 'jerry and molly and sam' because it was just boring and the title makes no sense (who even is sam??).
anyways... some of the short stories were really good, and some were really boring. thanks ib i guess.
꧁ find me at my socials ꧂
insta | tiktok | youtube | twitter | blog
nathanjames's review against another edition
3.0
Repeats many I’ve already read from previous collections, but ends with my favourite Tell The Women We’re Going and I really loved the poem Lemonade which I hadn’t read before.
impatiens's review
slow-paced
2.0
just. not my thing. would not have bothered finishing it if not for the act i had to read it for class. small good thing was 100% the best one, that one i really liked.