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seebrandyread's review
4.0
This is the first edition of The O. Henry Awards that I've read. Best American tends to receive the most attention, but they're of equal quality. Famous writers choose the stories included in Best American whereas the editors for O. Henry seem to be editors first, writers second for the most part. The winning stories are chosen by writers, and in this edition the judges were Louise Erdrich, David Foster Wallace, and Thom Jones, a very interesting grouping.
I'll be honest, the 3 stories that took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd were three of the least memorable. George Saunders's "The Falls" won 2nd, but it's not even the best from Pastoralia, the collection in which it was eventually published. The winners may not have even been the judges' favorites, but the ones most agreed upon. The introduction isn't super clear as to how the winners are chosen.
A common thread I found in many of the stories were inciting incidents, premises, or characters that bordered on the extreme, absurd, or melodramatic. Crashed UFOs, crashed planes, a cat-faced characters, a wife who acts like a dog all appear in the anthology. The purpose of these people and incidents is to reveal something about human nature, not just within the story but within the reader.
One of my favorite stories, "The Balm of Gilead Tree" by Robert Morgan, follows a narrator who, after witnessing a plane crash, joins a mob of other witnesses racing to loot the victims. Writing that synopsis, I know that what this person is doing is deplorable, but while reading the story, I rooted for him to get away with his spoils. In "The Lipstick Tree" by Kiana David, another favorite, a young woman struggles with the choice to escape her patriarchal indigenous tribe. It seems like an easy choice if the options are between freedom and oppression, but she must also choose between identity and anonymity.
This is the first edition of O. Henry to award a lit mag for publishing outstanding fiction. It went to Eooch, I think because more stories came from it than any other magazine. I'm not sure if they still present this award, but I appreciate any recognition given to these publications, especially ones outside of The New Yorker and The Paris Review.
I'll be honest, the 3 stories that took 1st, 2nd, and 3rd were three of the least memorable. George Saunders's "The Falls" won 2nd, but it's not even the best from Pastoralia, the collection in which it was eventually published. The winners may not have even been the judges' favorites, but the ones most agreed upon. The introduction isn't super clear as to how the winners are chosen.
A common thread I found in many of the stories were inciting incidents, premises, or characters that bordered on the extreme, absurd, or melodramatic. Crashed UFOs, crashed planes, a cat-faced characters, a wife who acts like a dog all appear in the anthology. The purpose of these people and incidents is to reveal something about human nature, not just within the story but within the reader.
One of my favorite stories, "The Balm of Gilead Tree" by Robert Morgan, follows a narrator who, after witnessing a plane crash, joins a mob of other witnesses racing to loot the victims. Writing that synopsis, I know that what this person is doing is deplorable, but while reading the story, I rooted for him to get away with his spoils. In "The Lipstick Tree" by Kiana David, another favorite, a young woman struggles with the choice to escape her patriarchal indigenous tribe. It seems like an easy choice if the options are between freedom and oppression, but she must also choose between identity and anonymity.
This is the first edition of O. Henry to award a lit mag for publishing outstanding fiction. It went to Eooch, I think because more stories came from it than any other magazine. I'm not sure if they still present this award, but I appreciate any recognition given to these publications, especially ones outside of The New Yorker and The Paris Review.
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