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sarahglen's review
3.0
Enjoyed this collection of short stories and found it it be a pretty fast read— probably more like a 3.5.
starbuck2233's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
litdoes's review against another edition
4.0
Bausch’s flair in short fiction is very much still in evidence in this latest collection. Despite the false start of the first story “Walking Distance”, the rest of the stories sparkle with the wit and acerbic dialogue that his characters are best known for. That first story was an unpleasant surprise, given the abruptness of the action and the unrealistic turn of events and most surprisingly, the stilted dialogue. And breaking one of the cardinal rules of storytelling, “Chekhov’s Gun”, it literally featured a gun that failed to be fired.
Thankfully, Bausch recovers his form in the stories that follow, often featuring men and women attempting to establish some equilibrium in their lives but making unexpected connections with the least expected people. In “The Bridge to China”, a woman experiencing the empty nest syndrome, decides to try out an online dating service on her son’s casual advice, and finds out that instead of quelling her loneliness, she gains a kind of uneasy acceptance of her condition and even an ambivalent sympathy for her emotional date.
Elsewhere, in “We Belong Together”, “Unknown”,”Sympathy”, and “The Lineaments of Gratified Desire”, though they are hardly morality tales, adulterers and unfaithful lovers and their betrayed or spurned partners deal with the pangs of heartache and distress in variously comic, tragic and eventful situations.
An imaginative take on JFK’s assassination in “The Knoll” and the unlikely friendship between two soldiers on opposite sides in “Still Here, Still There” showcase Bausch’s nuanced perspectives on individuals whose personal dramas are no less than the macrocosmic events that they are caught up in.
Overall, like the title suggests, this highly enjoyable collection shows the different weather conditions one goes through in life, and that all you can do is to try to press on till the storm subsides, if it ever does.
Thankfully, Bausch recovers his form in the stories that follow, often featuring men and women attempting to establish some equilibrium in their lives but making unexpected connections with the least expected people. In “The Bridge to China”, a woman experiencing the empty nest syndrome, decides to try out an online dating service on her son’s casual advice, and finds out that instead of quelling her loneliness, she gains a kind of uneasy acceptance of her condition and even an ambivalent sympathy for her emotional date.
Elsewhere, in “We Belong Together”, “Unknown”,”Sympathy”, and “The Lineaments of Gratified Desire”, though they are hardly morality tales, adulterers and unfaithful lovers and their betrayed or spurned partners deal with the pangs of heartache and distress in variously comic, tragic and eventful situations.
An imaginative take on JFK’s assassination in “The Knoll” and the unlikely friendship between two soldiers on opposite sides in “Still Here, Still There” showcase Bausch’s nuanced perspectives on individuals whose personal dramas are no less than the macrocosmic events that they are caught up in.
Overall, like the title suggests, this highly enjoyable collection shows the different weather conditions one goes through in life, and that all you can do is to try to press on till the storm subsides, if it ever does.
sarahglen's review against another edition
3.0
Enjoyed this collection of short stories and found it it be a pretty fast read— probably more like a 3.5.
litdoes's review
4.0
Bausch’s flair in short fiction is very much still in evidence in this latest collection. Despite the false start of the first story “Walking Distance”, the rest of the stories sparkle with the wit and acerbic dialogue that his characters are best known for. That first story was an unpleasant surprise, given the abruptness of the action and the unrealistic turn of events and most surprisingly, the stilted dialogue. And breaking one of the cardinal rules of storytelling, “Chekhov’s Gun”, it literally featured a gun that failed to be fired.
Thankfully, Bausch recovers his form in the stories that follow, often featuring men and women attempting to establish some equilibrium in their lives but making unexpected connections with the least expected people. In “The Bridge to China”, a woman experiencing the empty nest syndrome, decides to try out an online dating service on her son’s casual advice, and finds out that instead of quelling her loneliness, she gains a kind of uneasy acceptance of her condition and even an ambivalent sympathy for her emotional date.
Elsewhere, in “We Belong Together”, “Unknown”,”Sympathy”, and “The Lineaments of Gratified Desire”, though they are hardly morality tales, adulterers and unfaithful lovers and their betrayed or spurned partners deal with the pangs of heartache and distress in variously comic, tragic and eventful situations.
An imaginative take on JFK’s assassination in “The Knoll” and the unlikely friendship between two soldiers on opposite sides in “Still Here, Still There” showcase Bausch’s nuanced perspectives on individuals whose personal dramas are no less than the macrocosmic events that they are caught up in.
Overall, like the title suggests, this highly enjoyable collection shows the different weather conditions one goes through in life, and that all you can do is to try to press on till the storm subsides, if it ever does.
Thankfully, Bausch recovers his form in the stories that follow, often featuring men and women attempting to establish some equilibrium in their lives but making unexpected connections with the least expected people. In “The Bridge to China”, a woman experiencing the empty nest syndrome, decides to try out an online dating service on her son’s casual advice, and finds out that instead of quelling her loneliness, she gains a kind of uneasy acceptance of her condition and even an ambivalent sympathy for her emotional date.
Elsewhere, in “We Belong Together”, “Unknown”,”Sympathy”, and “The Lineaments of Gratified Desire”, though they are hardly morality tales, adulterers and unfaithful lovers and their betrayed or spurned partners deal with the pangs of heartache and distress in variously comic, tragic and eventful situations.
An imaginative take on JFK’s assassination in “The Knoll” and the unlikely friendship between two soldiers on opposite sides in “Still Here, Still There” showcase Bausch’s nuanced perspectives on individuals whose personal dramas are no less than the macrocosmic events that they are caught up in.
Overall, like the title suggests, this highly enjoyable collection shows the different weather conditions one goes through in life, and that all you can do is to try to press on till the storm subsides, if it ever does.
howifeelaboutbooks's review
4.0
Bausch was my creative writing professor in college so I love reading his work and thinking of him reading/writing it. I especially liked that this collection was basically set in my neighborhood, so I could picture the places he wrote about. His writing is so descriptive, you can imagine it without seeing the streets, but it’s a nice touch. He writes relationships so well.
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