Reviews

The Coast Of Chicago: Stories by Stuart Dybek

satyridae's review against another edition

3.0

Smoky, atmospheric short and short-short stories. Pet Milk is a standout, while some of the short-shorts left me cold. Dybek has a singular voice, that isn't exactly haunting but is... well, muscular. Overwhelmingly male but not in a swaggering way.

amandam's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting stories, but the collection overall is a little uneven. "Pet Milk" is fantastic, though, capturing something amazing and fleeting.

hrhacissej's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories even though I'm not sure that I understand a few of the endings since Dybek writes poetically. My favorite is Lights because I had totally forgotten about this childhood activity..."Lights! Your lights! Hey, lights!" Makes me smile every time I think about it. I also like the lines from Strays..."I never give any of them names. We don't know an animal's name. A name's what we use instead of smelling." Have no fear...I'll continue to name my pets lest I mortify my family.

I think Dybek really captures the essence of the near South side of Chicago. The Coast of Chicago reminded me of Sandra Cisneros' The House of Mango Street...another author/poet who writes about her hometown of Chicago.

geriatricgretch's review against another edition

4.0

This is the second selection for Chicago History Book Club and I am super excited to talk about it. It reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver and that whole late 80s/early 90s era of short story lyrical realism. I especially enjoy Dybek's micro-stories, although I think Nighthawks was my favorite of the bunch.