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53 reviews for:
The Best Short Stories 2022: The O. Henry Prize Winners
Jenny Minton Quigley, Valeria Luiselli
3.78 AVERAGE
53 reviews for:
The Best Short Stories 2022: The O. Henry Prize Winners
Jenny Minton Quigley, Valeria Luiselli
3.78 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Ahh, short stories, my nonexistent attention spans best friend
I was surprised by how predictable these short stories were (where is the punch?), as well as by the marked similarity in subject matter and execution among some of the winning entries. Altogether a little disappointing. Are these really the best short stories of 2022?
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The stories I loved involve caring, kindness but also anxiety, insecurity. They address relationships between adults and children during challenging times: the pandemic, a birth, existential crises.
And of course (because this is a collection) some of the stories were brilliant (an unlucky man, breastmilk, seams, the little widow from the capital, the wolves of Circassian) and some of theme were utterly repulsive (dengue boy, horse soup).
“The short story is like a slice of the immediate present.
Novels, because they are usually long term commitments, may encapsulate the ethos of an era; the short story, the temperature of a moment.” (Aus dem Vorwort von Valeria Luiselli, deren Roman Lost Children Archive eine meiner liebsten literarischen Entdeckungen der letzten Jahre war).
“She’s experienced in the art of reading, doesn’t let herself get distracted, because she knows that for a book to work its miracle the writer’s voice on the page has to become the reader’s voice in her head. She also knows that reading means tossing an anchor into deep waters, that reading is the third dimension of a two-dimensional person.”
“I read somewhere that love was about this, the nuggets of knowledge about our beloved that we so fluently hold.”
And of course (because this is a collection) some of the stories were brilliant (an unlucky man, breastmilk, seams, the little widow from the capital, the wolves of Circassian) and some of theme were utterly repulsive (dengue boy, horse soup).
“The short story is like a slice of the immediate present.
Novels, because they are usually long term commitments, may encapsulate the ethos of an era; the short story, the temperature of a moment.” (Aus dem Vorwort von Valeria Luiselli, deren Roman Lost Children Archive eine meiner liebsten literarischen Entdeckungen der letzten Jahre war).
“She’s experienced in the art of reading, doesn’t let herself get distracted, because she knows that for a book to work its miracle the writer’s voice on the page has to become the reader’s voice in her head. She also knows that reading means tossing an anchor into deep waters, that reading is the third dimension of a two-dimensional person.”
“I read somewhere that love was about this, the nuggets of knowledge about our beloved that we so fluently hold.”
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Pregnancy, Pandemic/Epidemic
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
fast-paced