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tomhill's review against another edition
5.0
"A Father's Story" alone is a masterpiece. Dubus often writes of everyday people's tragedy, but he does so with such warmth and compassion that his character's lives never seem ugly or completely hopeless. There's beauty in the way he depicts human frailness and sadness, both through his prose and his characterizations. For me, the only writing equal to Dubus's fiction is his non-fiction (read 'Broken Vessels'!) One might also flippantly describe Dubus's stories as about sad Catholics who smoke a lot, but as I feel a great affinity with that description, I'm okay with it.
parnassusreads's review against another edition
5.0
Andre Dubus is my favorite American short story writer. In fact, he is one of my few favorite American writers period. He has the realism of Cheever and Carver, but more warmth than Carver and Hemingway. His prose is understated and never unnecessary; he is one of the few writers I have read where every word in every sentence, and every sentence is not only necessary, but meaningful as well (Tom Robbins and Virginia Woolf are others). He is worth reading for his prose alone.
Many, if not most, of his stories take place in the New England area, and as such allow for an interesting portrait of that area. I used to want to live in Maine, before I wanted to live in Savannah, GA, so I have some interest in the area itself. Dubus was apparently born in Louisiana, but spent his later years in Haverhill, Massachusettes.
The characters are humanely and fully realized, as if they could be someone you pass on the street. The stories seem like briefly opened windows into the characters' lives. As I said above, Dubus has the realism of Carver and Hemingway, but his prose and his treatment of his characters is much warmer than Hemingway's sparse dialogue or Carver's post-modern coldness. The characters do struggle with how to connect to one another, but it doesn't feel cold, cut off or lifeless; it doesn't feel bleak (even though some of the subject matter certainly is). I don't need warm fuzzies to make me a happy reader, and Dubus offers few of these, but I do need a certain level of humanity to be present in what I read. And it's this, the variety of humanity, that Dubus offers us.
Many, if not most, of his stories take place in the New England area, and as such allow for an interesting portrait of that area. I used to want to live in Maine, before I wanted to live in Savannah, GA, so I have some interest in the area itself. Dubus was apparently born in Louisiana, but spent his later years in Haverhill, Massachusettes.
The characters are humanely and fully realized, as if they could be someone you pass on the street. The stories seem like briefly opened windows into the characters' lives. As I said above, Dubus has the realism of Carver and Hemingway, but his prose and his treatment of his characters is much warmer than Hemingway's sparse dialogue or Carver's post-modern coldness. The characters do struggle with how to connect to one another, but it doesn't feel cold, cut off or lifeless; it doesn't feel bleak (even though some of the subject matter certainly is). I don't need warm fuzzies to make me a happy reader, and Dubus offers few of these, but I do need a certain level of humanity to be present in what I read. And it's this, the variety of humanity, that Dubus offers us.
laurenbdavis's review against another edition
5.0
Master of the short story form. Wonderful reading.
bondebonde's review against another edition
5.0
Dubus reminds me of Elliott Smith's music: sparkling with reality, terribly beautiful and sad. He's characters are delicate, lovable, very flawed and searching. One of the very few books I have re-read, it lands in my top-five of all time.
gelbot5000's review
3.0
All throughout reading this book I was thinking about what I would say about it, and now that I'm finished, I don't know what to say. Objectively, it's good. It's ripe with human emotion, folly, insight. The writing is well crafted. I think this may have to do with collections of short stories in general, so this isn't necessarily a fault of the book but a fault of the form--it took me ages to get through Selected Stories. And I think this is because it's difficult to keep the momentum going after you finish a story. You constantly have to start over again. Psychologically it's taxing as a reader. That being said, I usually enjoyed the stories when I put aside time and sat down and read the book. Dubus writes from many perspectives, which I enjoyed, and he doesn't overstep his bounds when he's writing from the point of view of a woman. I mostly enjoyed his child perspectives, because at least the children still have hope. Dubus' characters are so goddamn defeated. Everyone is settling for what they think they deserve or less. As a "young person," this idea is unsettling to me. I want to believe I can change the world. Dubus would have me think differently. Recurring themes in his stories include: fatherhood, adultery, manhood, sin, and living with yourself, just to name a few. Although goddamn depressing, Dubus' writing is goddamn beautiful. It's the kind of writing that strikes you when you least expect it.
spacenoirdetective's review
3.0
I know that he's gotten a lot of acclaim. I just can't find room in my heart for this, the only book of his I've read. Pointless character studies abound, mostly they are slice of life stories. Nicely written at times, but still...gah. There is one story about a janitor that is perhaps one of the most boring things I've ever read. Is he lucid? Mostly. He is the next Chekhov? No. NO.
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