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nikogatts's review
4.0
This year's favorites:
-"The Magic Bangle" by Shastri Akella
-"Democracy in America" by Allegra Hyde
-"Privilege" by Jim Shepard
-"Mall of America" by Suzanne Wang
I really wish LeVar Burton's podcast was still going, because I think "Mall of America" would fit right in with the stories he usually chose to read.
Alexandra Chang's "Phenotype" was also a standout for the visceral emotions it provoked in me.
-"The Magic Bangle" by Shastri Akella
-"Democracy in America" by Allegra Hyde
-"Privilege" by Jim Shepard
-"Mall of America" by Suzanne Wang
I really wish LeVar Burton's podcast was still going, because I think "Mall of America" would fit right in with the stories he usually chose to read.
Alexandra Chang's "Phenotype" was also a standout for the visceral emotions it provoked in me.
ricktheule's review
4.0
Overall, a good collection of short stories. A couple of them I could do without, but there are several great stories in here. Definitely a worthy read for my first book of 2025.
bookishlibrarian's review
3.75
I really liked most of the stories in this collection. Three were ones I'd read and enjoyed previously: "Blessed Deliverance" by Jamel Brinkley, "Phenotype" by Alexandra Chang, and "P's Parties" by jhumpa Lahiri. Of the rest, my favorites were Steven Duong's "Dorchester", "Seeing Through Maps" by Madeline Ffitch, "Viola in Midwinter" by Marie-Helene Bertino. But probably my two favorites were "A Case Study" by Daniel Mason, about a man's visits to a psychologist, and "Mall of America" by Suzanne Wang, about a shopping mall AI and an immigrant grandfather.
karencarlson's review
4.75
This year’s anthology felt hopeful. There was, of course, a certain darkness to many of the stories – that’s the bread and butter of much literary short fiction – but overall I found the stories to have endings that indicated change was possible, even if it didn’t happen within the story’s timeline. There was drug addiction, but a counterweight of the person recovery could release. Loneliness – of age, of language barriers, of introversion – found remedies in unusual places: music, a shopping mall, fantasy. This wasn’t universal, of course; some stories were pretty downbeat. But overall, I saw optimism.
FMI see my blog posts for each individual story at A Just Recompense.
FMI see my blog posts for each individual story at A Just Recompense.
edorend's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
davidabrams's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
I always look forward to reading the "best" fiction of the year, the literary cream that has risen to the top, as selected first by the series editor and then finally chosen by the guest editor. This year marks the last of the BASS editions edited by Heidi Pitlor, who has been at the helm since 2007--next year's series editor has some wide shoes to fill and I look forward to seeing what direction they'll steer the series in. I hope the legacy of greatness continues. Well, of course the stories don't always hit the mark, and are nearly always first rate. Even when they're merely "good," they are still better than a lot of other short fiction being published these days. In recent years, the choice of authors has been even more diverse, leading to an even more robust chorus of voices every year. The latest 2024 volume, guest edited by Lauren Groff, is no different--I was unfamiliar with at least half of the authors' names before starting to read this year's collection. Those undiscovered (to me) authors were every bit as good as the more established masters chosen alongside them. They took me to fresh and unexpected places. After reading these stories, I'm happy to say--once again, as I feel I must all too often--that the heart of fiction is very much alive and beating. My favorites in this year's harvest: stories by Marie-Helene Bertino, Jamel Brinkley, Katherine Damm, Madeline Ffitch, and Jim Shepard.