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newfylady's review against another edition
3.0
This is an interesting concept handled very well. The author found real postacards from the early 20th century and wrote fictional accounts of the the postcard writers lives. It's a great glimpse into life at that time. And, it went well with my recent reading of The Last Town on Earth.
srogan88's review against another edition
4.0
4.25*
I often remark about the uneven quality of short story collections but this was rather consistent - and quite enjoyable. The idea - creating sometimes crazy stories based on the short notes scribbled on postcards from over 100 years ago - appealed to me. Some were funny, some terrifying, some quite touching, but few disappointed.
I often remark about the uneven quality of short story collections but this was rather consistent - and quite enjoyable. The idea - creating sometimes crazy stories based on the short notes scribbled on postcards from over 100 years ago - appealed to me. Some were funny, some terrifying, some quite touching, but few disappointed.
canadianbookworm's review
5.0
This collection of short stories by Pulitzer Prize winning author Butler was inspired by early 20th century postcards that Butler collected. The collection begins with a newspaper article from August 7, 1910 on the subject of picture postcards. Each story also ends with a newspaper article from August 7, 1910 that has some subject link to the preceding story, sometimes very tenuous. I found these most interesting as there was no explanation of them in the book, so I was left to my own devices in interpreting their inclusion.
Each story begins with the front and back of the original postcard, and the message on it written out (in case one has difficulty reading the original). The stories come out of the postcards, and they are wonderfully imagined. Butler is a master of character and these stories show how a simple idea can inspire.
A great collection that will leave you wanting more.
Each story begins with the front and back of the original postcard, and the message on it written out (in case one has difficulty reading the original). The stories come out of the postcards, and they are wonderfully imagined. Butler is a master of character and these stories show how a simple idea can inspire.
A great collection that will leave you wanting more.
otterno11's review
4.0
I had not been aware of Robert Olen Butler's work before picking up "Had a Good Time: Stories from American Postcards," but his writing here shows a great recreation of the United States at the turn of the century and the surprisingly familiar problems that affect people, then and now. The short fiction in this surprisingly diverse collection are set in the 1900s and 1910s (the golden age of the postcard), each told in the voice of a person inspired by an actual message written on the back of a vintage American postcard. Butler does a great job making each of these men and women feel unique, with their own voices and experiences. Postcards were in many ways the "instant message" of the time, when a cheap and fast way to communicate with friends and loved ones back home were as important as the image included, and Butler vibrantly animates these slices of preserved life.
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