Reviews

Lost in the City by Edward P. Jones

shalms's review against another edition

5.0

Mr. Jones is one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Short stories are not my jam, but this book's stories swept me into times and neighborhoods that I did not know, despite more than two decades of living in D.C. his man is so deft with his characters, so careful with their hearts and souls, and so expert at drawing them for the reader in only a few pages, that I couldn't help fall in to each story as it came. I can't tell you I can explain each story's meaning to you, but I can feel it and will remember many of them for a long time to come.

ezraindited's review

5.0

4.5 star, so I rounded up. Jones is an expert craftsman with an understated brilliance in his descriptions and his flashbacks...and oh, his flashbacks! Jones has a remarkable command of time, and he’s able to give so much life to the characters in each story. Incredible work.

kay_ampersand's review against another edition

5.0

It's nice to read real stories set in my city (most others are political/partisan BS), even though DC does not look like this anymore. Vivid, well-developed characters spanning all walks of life.

indiarose8's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Very slow and felt dated. While I appreciated some of the perspectives this book was misogynistic and abelist. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Rape

Moderate: Racial slurs and Ableism

Minor: Misogyny

rusalka's review against another edition

5.0

This is an excellent book of short stories centered on life in Washington, DC in the second half of the 20th century. Jones' diverse range of characters is his biggest strength - his stories center on men and women; children, teenagers, adults and the very old; educated government workers, drug dealers, auto mechanics; folks from the rural South and city folks who look down on them; rich people and poor people. The characters are often morally ambiguous, and are written with humanity, sensitivity and believability. The Washington they inhabit is intimately local and geographically exact; to me, as a white reader, it was both foreign and familiar, inhabited by people whose lives and language are largely outside my sphere of experience, but marked out by references to streets and neighborhoods that I know very well. I'd recommend this collection to any DC resident, anyone looking to read more writers of color, and anyone who appreciates short stories.

patrick_114's review against another edition

4.0

So very good. Lots of sadness, loss, relationship issues galore. People making it anyway.

emojidelimitedvalues's review against another edition

5.0

Great variety of stories. An odd sense of dread accompanies some of the stories in that their endings feel too real, too incomplete, but they all gave me a lot of space to think about characters actions and the environment they are in.

sarahjsnider's review against another edition

5.0

I don't normally feel satisfied after reading short story collections (I just prefer novels), but Caroline T gave such a glowing review I had to check this out. I enjoyed the stories a lot, especially since this collection was light on the "epiphany stories" that are so prevalent these days. The characters, however, pushed this to 5 stars.

bookofcinz's review against another edition

3.0

I am usually picky on which short stories I decide to read but based on the reviews I gave "Lost In The City" a shot. I did like most of the stories but I found at the end I was more clueless and puzzled. I kept wondering whether I "missed" something, a lesson I was supposed to learn but didn't.
What I will say is this, Jones is a writer, his characters though only 20-30 pages long are developed and evoke deep emotions. On this basis, Ill have to give him a four.

andrealc23's review

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0