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biolexicon's review
3.0
So I've now read a bunch of these short story collections. And, after a while, all the stories begin to feel the same. I know that there's supposed to be no unifying aesthetic for our literary time, that we've now become a multitude of voices from different walks of life and that this excludes any consensus. But the stories all follow the same narrative arc. They're like a section taken from a novel. Drop the reader in, spend a long time piecing the character's emotional life and personality together, build up to a scene (often an event of daily life, like a dinner) that has far reaching emotional significance and cut it off, leaving the reader feeling the desired feeling and leaving the actual ending of the events ambiguous. I don't have any problem with that style, it just seems to be the only style featured. I thought reading a bunch of these with different editors would feature vastly different collections but that doesn't seem to be true. They all read the same after a while.
matthewwester's review
3.0
As with any anthology, I enjoyed certain stories while not enjoying others. Overall this selection fell short for me and I'm not totally sure why. I did enjoy my used copy, though, because the previous owner had written some interesting notes in the margins.
dajenny's review
3.0
The writing is superb. The stories themselves? Not so much.
I think I am beginning to fall for the short story form, but not the tales in this volume. It felt as though every one of them was depressing or sad or melancholy in some way. I don't need my fiction to be all sunshine and roses and rainbows, but I like to feel as though there's some meaning behind the darkness.
Beyond that, several of the stories in this collection left me thinking, "Huh?" at the end of them. I may not have the insight or patience to plumb all the layers of meaning and metaphorical allusions in these works. While I appreciate subtlety, I tend to like tales that are a bit more straightforward.
I think I am beginning to fall for the short story form, but not the tales in this volume. It felt as though every one of them was depressing or sad or melancholy in some way. I don't need my fiction to be all sunshine and roses and rainbows, but I like to feel as though there's some meaning behind the darkness.
Beyond that, several of the stories in this collection left me thinking, "Huh?" at the end of them. I may not have the insight or patience to plumb all the layers of meaning and metaphorical allusions in these works. While I appreciate subtlety, I tend to like tales that are a bit more straightforward.
bryce_is_a_librarian's review
4.0
It's an anthology, so by it's very nature it's a mixed bag.
The heavy hitters (Lehane, Perotta) bring their A game. Some of the stories are intriguing (Game) others are locked in the clever Grad Student trap that 80% of modern Short Fiction is trapped in.
The heavy hitters (Lehane, Perotta) bring their A game. Some of the stories are intriguing (Game) others are locked in the clever Grad Student trap that 80% of modern Short Fiction is trapped in.
literatehedgehog's review
3.0
A solid, enjoyable collection.
Favorites
Perrotta - The Smile of Happy Chang's Face
Lehane - Until Gwen
Lennon - Eight Pieces for the Left Hand (Short fiction!)
Bellows - First Four Measures
Williams - The Girls
Oates - The Cousins (unsettling epistolary!)
Good but Reminiscent of Others/Other Things/Typical Tropes
D'Ambrosio - The Scheme of Things
Ohlin - Simple Exercises for the Beginning Student
Mean - The Secret Goldfish
Bezmozgis - Natasha
What I expected and not much more [I wonder if this is because of genre?]
Link - Stone Animals
Doctorow - Anda's Game
Super Star I'd Read Anything and Everything Else
Munro - Silence
Saunders - Bohemians
Skipped Due to Content or Style Not My Jam
Bissell - Death Defier
Jones - Old Boys, Old Girls
Pratt - Hart and Boot
Reddi - Justice Shiva Ram Murthy
Favorites
Perrotta - The Smile of Happy Chang's Face
Lehane - Until Gwen
Lennon - Eight Pieces for the Left Hand (Short fiction!)
Bellows - First Four Measures
Williams - The Girls
Oates - The Cousins (unsettling epistolary!)
Good but Reminiscent of Others/Other Things/Typical Tropes
D'Ambrosio - The Scheme of Things
Ohlin - Simple Exercises for the Beginning Student
Mean - The Secret Goldfish
Bezmozgis - Natasha
What I expected and not much more [I wonder if this is because of genre?]
Link - Stone Animals
Doctorow - Anda's Game
Super Star I'd Read Anything and Everything Else
Munro - Silence
Saunders - Bohemians
Skipped Due to Content or Style Not My Jam
Bissell - Death Defier
Jones - Old Boys, Old Girls
Pratt - Hart and Boot
Reddi - Justice Shiva Ram Murthy
jtlars7's review
A few very memorable stories. I want to read J. Robert Lennon's _100 Pieces for the Left Hand_. 8 of these mini-stories were included in this collection, and they were wonderfully ironic and funny.
rjeffy's review
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
spiderfly's review
1.0
I usually really enjoy the best american short stories books, but not this one. "Anda's Game" was the only story in the book that I liked.
arielx's review
4.0
Noteworthy/memorable:
The Smile on Happy Chang's Face is just a great story about how you can never really know the motivations for other people's actions (and maybe not even your own). It's about other things too, but this idea is explored well, and I like the title for how it fits into this theme. The story also has a great ending.
Stone Animals by Kelly Link held me spellbound from beginning to end. I had never read anything like it before, and when I was done I couldn't stop thinking about it. It literally haunted me. There's a lot I want to say about this book...which I expand on in the review for [book: Magic for Beginners].
I don't want to spoil it too much. For now, suffice to say that the blending of fantasy and reality was awesome - I can see why Michael Chabon picked the story because he kinda does the same thing in [book: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier %26 Clay]. I can only anticipate reading her other work.
Anda's Game was a weird find considering I had just been reading about Cory Doctorow a few days before in an unrelated way. In the notes he admits that the story is a take on [book:Ender's Game], and indeed a lot of the mannerisms are the same. But it's a good exploration of the themes and politics, and being a gamer I have to give it a thumbs-up.
Simple Exercises for the Beginning Student is, I don't know, a fairly simple story but the description makes the characters engaging and the ending is perfect.
Hart and Boot is a compelling read that is actually based somewhat in fact. The nonfactual parts are what make the interpretation of this particular history interesting. Like the daemons in His Dark Materials, the use of a tulpa as foil and mirror to the real characters in the story is very effective.
Honorable mentions:
Until Gwen, Eight Pieces for the Left Hand, Silence, Death Defier, Natasha
Take-home message:
[author: Michael Chabon] is not only a great writer but an excellent editor. One of the best in the series.
The Smile on Happy Chang's Face is just a great story about how you can never really know the motivations for other people's actions (and maybe not even your own). It's about other things too, but this idea is explored well, and I like the title for how it fits into this theme. The story also has a great ending.
Stone Animals by Kelly Link held me spellbound from beginning to end. I had never read anything like it before, and when I was done I couldn't stop thinking about it. It literally haunted me. There's a lot I want to say about this book...which I expand on in the review for [book: Magic for Beginners].
I don't want to spoil it too much. For now, suffice to say that the blending of fantasy and reality was awesome - I can see why Michael Chabon picked the story because he kinda does the same thing in [book: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier %26 Clay]. I can only anticipate reading her other work.
Anda's Game was a weird find considering I had just been reading about Cory Doctorow a few days before in an unrelated way. In the notes he admits that the story is a take on [book:Ender's Game], and indeed a lot of the mannerisms are the same. But it's a good exploration of the themes and politics, and being a gamer I have to give it a thumbs-up.
Simple Exercises for the Beginning Student is, I don't know, a fairly simple story but the description makes the characters engaging and the ending is perfect.
Hart and Boot is a compelling read that is actually based somewhat in fact. The nonfactual parts are what make the interpretation of this particular history interesting. Like the daemons in His Dark Materials, the use of a tulpa as foil and mirror to the real characters in the story is very effective.
Honorable mentions:
Until Gwen, Eight Pieces for the Left Hand, Silence, Death Defier, Natasha
Take-home message:
[author: Michael Chabon] is not only a great writer but an excellent editor. One of the best in the series.