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aleffert's review against another edition
3.0
This was a solid collection of stories largely about incompetent gangsters and ludicrous jews or the occasional ludicrous incompetent gangster jew. The author is one of the Coen brothers, who have made some of my favorite films. It had much of the fun of a Coen brothers movie, but seemed to be lacking the variety, ambition, and artistry of their best stuff.
nickdleblanc's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of mostly B-sides of Coen Brothers' movies and sketched ideas. I could do without the radio plays and he relies a bit heavily on characters' voices in a narrative--which can come off as sort of grating when not being filtered through the mouth of great actors. Lots of these stories are just character sketches masquerading as stories. I didn't mind this so much as characters and good dialogue are usually my favorite parts of stories. But, I could have used a bit more narrative voice separated from the characters. But, that's a challenge of reading a short story collection straight through. Coen really shows his command of natural dialogue and sly dark wit throughout. My favorites were The Old Country, A Morty Story, A Fever in the Blood, The Boys, Gates of Eden, and Red Wing. The other stories weren't really worth the time to me. Considering this was from 1999, there are some indications of the films that were to come as well as shades of the previous movies they had worked on up until this point. You can really detect A Serious Man, Fargo, and Miller's Crossing.
If you're a fan of the Coens' work it is worth reading. If not, or if you don't know who I'm talking about, there might be something better out there for you to read.
If you're a fan of the Coens' work it is worth reading. If not, or if you don't know who I'm talking about, there might be something better out there for you to read.
adforperu's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of short stories that range from pretty funny to quite boring. Thankfully, he saves himself for his (mostly) excellent films
goomz's review against another edition
3.0
If you're not sure what the Coen Bros. voice sounds like, it's all laid out in text—it's amazing how Coen-sy these stories are. And I guess that makes sense. It's not like these read like rejected movie ideas, these are bona fide short stories and pull off things only short stories can. A majority of them start with a shocking case of violence, and spend the rest of the story explaining them. I have absolutely nothing against violence in stories, but here there's a bit of a case of diminishing returns going on—the most extraneous case being in I Killed Phil Shapiro (a mostly personal story about going to a Jewish summer camp and other childhood memories) and probably Red Wing (a great story about a life-draining marriage that bookends with a silly murder. There are other ways to show people's breaking points when you've already done a husband-murder two stories back). But just because there's some repetition doesn't make it bad—it's more like Ethan Coen does something he's great at multiple times in a row. It's the small personal stories and moments (and wonderfully dark humor) throughout this collection make this well worth anyone's time.
booksnguitars's review against another edition
4.0
Fans of the Coen brothers' films will surely find something to like in this short story collection. "Hector Berlioz, Private Eye" is a send-up of the noir genre starring the famous classical composer. Coen nails the tough guy 30's lingo. Google for a picture of Berlioz, play a bit of Symphonie Fantastique, imagine a dame with a thing for redheads falling all over him. This and several other stories read like film scripts, with the action taking place "off-camera" to hilarious effect. Particularly enjoyed "Gates of Eden" About an overly aggressive agent for the California Bureau of Weights & Measures.
franchescanado's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A solid short story collection.
Mid-west setting. Dialogue heavy. Repetition in dialogue. Sad childhoods. Fear of aging. Angry and scared men. Toxic masculinity. Fragile male egos who build monsters from the women in their life. Murder. Infidelity. Hard boiled plots, noir pastiches. Dark comedy. Authority figures being destroyed through ineptitude or karma.
Mid-west setting. Dialogue heavy. Repetition in dialogue. Sad childhoods. Fear of aging. Angry and scared men. Toxic masculinity. Fragile male egos who build monsters from the women in their life. Murder. Infidelity. Hard boiled plots, noir pastiches. Dark comedy. Authority figures being destroyed through ineptitude or karma.
elewylewy's review against another edition
4.0
I laughed. I cried. Not really— did giggle and felt like I was in a Coen brothers movie. Now I have to go on a walk so I can stop thinking about headless gamblers and explosive diarrhea.
coljac's review against another edition
5.0
Gold. A couple of stories built around nostalgia of a jewish childhood in America did little for me, but the rest were pure gold. A particular favourite was "Have You Ever Been to Electric Ladyland", a one-sided interview between a police officer and a record company exec with a long list of enemies. Classic.
robk's review against another edition
3.0
This collection of short stories and screenplays reflects several of the themes and elements of the Coen brothers' films. Dark, hilarious, and completely absurd. I thought some of the stories lacked development--they were generally quite short and fast paced--but they were still fun. I particularly enjoyed reading things in the stories that have since been written into some of the Coen's newer movies.