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alisonhori's review against another edition
4.0
I am not really sure how to rate this book. I was very emgaged by these short stories...they were gripping and sometimes funny and always heartbreaking. Overall, many felt predictable to me and I wasn't sure if I liked that feeling or not. As a group, these stories are about the often small choices we make that can have profoundly devestating life effects. Or perhaps it is about the real anger and sadness that lies underneath what sometimes seems like small, possibly insignificant feeling choises that are in fact, life destroying. A drunken affair, a smack in a moment of rage..those types of choices are common in these stories...a few are about momentary breakdowns leading to more positive reaching out to others...but mostly, these are sad. Engagingly told...but not really life affirming-LOL.
chelsea_no_el's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this collection of stories...except the obsession with popularity. The "wallflowers" at the dance or senior party (can't remember which) were pitied. I am a "wallflower" and happy to be one. Just because a person is not popular doesn't mean they want to be or are unhappy because of it.
nuscheda's review against another edition
5.0
I usually hate short story collections and I don't always like Perrotta but this one is a winner from start to finish. highly recommended.
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
5.0
Nobody does suburban regret & melancholia like Tom Perrotta.
karenleagermain's review against another edition
5.0
I discovered Tom Perrotta back in 2008, when my mom was dying of cancer. I raced through all of his book as I sat with her through chemotherapy appointments and long nights in hospital rooms. Perrotta's keen mix of humor and heart, even amid awkward and morally tenuous situations, grabbed my attention. He is among a handful of authors of which I most eagerly anticipate their new releases and that I will purchase their books without a care towards reviews or subject matter. If he publishes, I'm buying.
Nine Inches Stories is Perrotta's second collection of shorts. Perrotta really excels at writing both novels and short stories, but as I have a huge affinity for shorts, making me extra excited for this collection.
It's strong and I enjoyed every story. However, the big stand-out was The Chosen Girl about a lonely senior citizen who reaches out to a young girl in a religious cult. It has a completely different feel from the other stories, yet it still keeps with Perrotta's usual theme of adult/teenager connections. Perrotta has a unique spin on what it means to grow up and often plays with ideas of how we are shaped by our childhood. The lines between adults and children are often blurred.
Another great piece was Senior Season, about a boy whose football injuries prevent him from playing in his senior year and the impact that it has both on his social life and the way that he views his life trajectory. As an adult reading this story, we know that high school is only a blip on the radar, but Perrotta so deftly writes the character's pain and frustration, that you can't help but have sympathy for him, even through his dramatic teenage gestures and complaints. Perrota writes teenage angst and awkwardness so well that I hope these are stories from a very active imagination and not ones that are developed out of experiences. His characters often do things that are very uncomfortable to read.
I was a little disappointed Senior Season was included in this collection, as over the summer, I purchased the story by itself on Amazon. I felt a bit cheated by this. It would have been nice to have been allowed the story for free as a teaser for preordering the book. Instead, I basically bought the story twice.
This however, was not enough to make me grumpy over the book. As with all of Perrotta's previous efforts, I throughly enjoyed Nine Inches Stories. I can't wait for Perrotta's next book and I'm also very much looking forward to the HBO Series adaptation of his novel The Leftovers .Damon Lindelof is involved, so that's another reason to get excited! If you've not done so already, make sure to read the book before the series starts airing.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
Nine Inches Stories is Perrotta's second collection of shorts. Perrotta really excels at writing both novels and short stories, but as I have a huge affinity for shorts, making me extra excited for this collection.
It's strong and I enjoyed every story. However, the big stand-out was The Chosen Girl about a lonely senior citizen who reaches out to a young girl in a religious cult. It has a completely different feel from the other stories, yet it still keeps with Perrotta's usual theme of adult/teenager connections. Perrotta has a unique spin on what it means to grow up and often plays with ideas of how we are shaped by our childhood. The lines between adults and children are often blurred.
Another great piece was Senior Season, about a boy whose football injuries prevent him from playing in his senior year and the impact that it has both on his social life and the way that he views his life trajectory. As an adult reading this story, we know that high school is only a blip on the radar, but Perrotta so deftly writes the character's pain and frustration, that you can't help but have sympathy for him, even through his dramatic teenage gestures and complaints. Perrota writes teenage angst and awkwardness so well that I hope these are stories from a very active imagination and not ones that are developed out of experiences. His characters often do things that are very uncomfortable to read.
I was a little disappointed Senior Season was included in this collection, as over the summer, I purchased the story by itself on Amazon. I felt a bit cheated by this. It would have been nice to have been allowed the story for free as a teaser for preordering the book. Instead, I basically bought the story twice.
This however, was not enough to make me grumpy over the book. As with all of Perrotta's previous efforts, I throughly enjoyed Nine Inches Stories. I can't wait for Perrotta's next book and I'm also very much looking forward to the HBO Series adaptation of his novel The Leftovers .Damon Lindelof is involved, so that's another reason to get excited! If you've not done so already, make sure to read the book before the series starts airing.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
dianametzger's review against another edition
4.0
I blazed through these stories super quick. He's a great storyteller and they're all really entertaining--only downside is that their themes of adultery and divorce (which play background in almost every single story) feel really stale and rote. I get that divorce is a commonplace part of suburban middle age, but maybe bc of that it's stopped becoming so interesting to read. Kind of wished he shook things up a bit, talked about married couples with more diverse problems than infidelity.
karenleagermain's review against another edition
5.0
I discovered Tom Perrotta back in 2008, when my mom was dying of cancer. I raced through all of his book as I sat with her through chemotherapy appointments and long nights in hospital rooms. Perrotta's keen mix of humor and heart, even amid awkward and morally tenuous situations, grabbed my attention. He is among a handful of authors of which I most eagerly anticipate their new releases and that I will purchase their books without a care towards reviews or subject matter. If he publishes, I'm buying.
Nine Inches Stories is Perrotta's second collection of shorts. Perrotta really excels at writing both novels and short stories, but as I have a huge affinity for shorts, making me extra excited for this collection.
It's strong and I enjoyed every story. However, the big stand-out was The Chosen Girl about a lonely senior citizen who reaches out to a young girl in a religious cult. It has a completely different feel from the other stories, yet it still keeps with Perrotta's usual theme of adult/teenager connections. Perrotta has a unique spin on what it means to grow up and often plays with ideas of how we are shaped by our childhood. The lines between adults and children are often blurred.
Another great piece was Senior Season, about a boy whose football injuries prevent him from playing in his senior year and the impact that it has both on his social life and the way that he views his life trajectory. As an adult reading this story, we know that high school is only a blip on the radar, but Perrotta so deftly writes the character's pain and frustration, that you can't help but have sympathy for him, even through his dramatic teenage gestures and complaints. Perrota writes teenage angst and awkwardness so well that I hope these are stories from a very active imagination and not ones that are developed out of experiences. His characters often do things that are very uncomfortable to read.
I was a little disappointed Senior Season was included in this collection, as over the summer, I purchased the story by itself on Amazon. I felt a bit cheated by this. It would have been nice to have been allowed the story for free as a teaser for preordering the book. Instead, I basically bought the story twice.
This however, was not enough to make me grumpy over the book. As with all of Perrotta's previous efforts, I throughly enjoyed Nine Inches Stories. I can't wait for Perrotta's next book and I'm also very much looking forward to the HBO Series adaptation of his novel The Leftovers .Damon Lindelof is involved, so that's another reason to get excited! If you've not done so already, make sure to read the book before the series starts airing.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
Nine Inches Stories is Perrotta's second collection of shorts. Perrotta really excels at writing both novels and short stories, but as I have a huge affinity for shorts, making me extra excited for this collection.
It's strong and I enjoyed every story. However, the big stand-out was The Chosen Girl about a lonely senior citizen who reaches out to a young girl in a religious cult. It has a completely different feel from the other stories, yet it still keeps with Perrotta's usual theme of adult/teenager connections. Perrotta has a unique spin on what it means to grow up and often plays with ideas of how we are shaped by our childhood. The lines between adults and children are often blurred.
Another great piece was Senior Season, about a boy whose football injuries prevent him from playing in his senior year and the impact that it has both on his social life and the way that he views his life trajectory. As an adult reading this story, we know that high school is only a blip on the radar, but Perrotta so deftly writes the character's pain and frustration, that you can't help but have sympathy for him, even through his dramatic teenage gestures and complaints. Perrota writes teenage angst and awkwardness so well that I hope these are stories from a very active imagination and not ones that are developed out of experiences. His characters often do things that are very uncomfortable to read.
I was a little disappointed Senior Season was included in this collection, as over the summer, I purchased the story by itself on Amazon. I felt a bit cheated by this. It would have been nice to have been allowed the story for free as a teaser for preordering the book. Instead, I basically bought the story twice.
This however, was not enough to make me grumpy over the book. As with all of Perrotta's previous efforts, I throughly enjoyed Nine Inches Stories. I can't wait for Perrotta's next book and I'm also very much looking forward to the HBO Series adaptation of his novel The Leftovers .Damon Lindelof is involved, so that's another reason to get excited! If you've not done so already, make sure to read the book before the series starts airing.
Like my review? Check out my blog!
rocketiza's review against another edition
3.0
Was close to giving it a 4 stars but the stories are all a bit the samey
d_saff's review
4.0
Review posted here https://55booksin52weeks.wordpress.com/2016/07/31/review-nine-inches/