Reviews

The Best American Short Stories 2018 by Heidi Pitlor, Roxane Gay

ckporier's review against another edition

3.0

3-1/2 stars. Some of these stories were great, some were "eh.". Enjoyed it overall.

mich_gal18's review against another edition

4.0

(3.5 stars) Coronavirus book #15. This is another book that I wouldn’t normally read, but hey, coronavirus. I enjoyed this book and there is an appeal to every chapter being a new story. However, short stories make me feel like I got dropped into the middle of something or I left too soon. I feel like there should be more story. Or maybe I’m not “literary” enough to really appreciate it-so much open to interpretation-but it feels unfinished to me. The 3.5 stars is more my feel about short stories than it is about the writing itself, which was wonderful. I did really enjoy “The Prairie Wife” by Curtis Sittenfeld. That felt finished and relatable.
Also--if you choose to read this book, I enjoyed the last chapter, "Contributors' Notes", which gives you a brief backstory on the authors thought/writing process. Difficult to do with a Kindle, but reading each author's thoughts immediately after you read each story would be a good way to approach this chapter!

ehawk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

0liviar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

jdgcreates's review against another edition

4.0

This was such a strong and salient collection of stories and all really different. I love that Roxane Gay chose stories to collectively represent & explore America as it is now (in all its horrific dysfunction) rather than just choose some great short stories.

My favorites, in order of appearance:
-Boys Go to Jupiter
-Everything is Far from Here
-Control Negro
-The Brothers Brujo
-Items Awaiting Protective Enclosure
-Whose Heart I Long to Stop with the Click of a Revolver
-What Terrible Thing It Was

The authors' explanations of their inspiration for the selected stories were the perfect palate cleansers between stories!
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jcpanache's review against another edition

4.0

Highly recommend "Boys Go to Jupiter" by Danielle Evans, "What Got Into Us" by Jacob Guajardo, "The Prairie Wife" by Curtis Sittenfeld, "Whose Heart I Long to Stop with the Click of a Revolver" by Rivers Solomon, "Come On, Silver" by Ann Glaviano, and "The Art of Losing" by Yoon Choi. Super solid collection.

flaviaaalouise's review against another edition

4.0

3.625 stars

maddiekelly's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

Cougar - 2
A Family - 3.5
The Art of Losing - 4
Los Angeles - 4
Unearth - 4.5
Boys Go to Jupiter - 5
A History of China - 3.5
Come On, Silver - 4.5
What Got Into Us - 5
Everything is Far From Here - 4.5
Good With Boys - 4.25
Control Negro - 5
The Brothers Brujo - 4.5
A Big True - 4
Items Awaiting Protective Enclosure - 5
The Baptism - 3.25
Suburbia! - 4.25
The Prairie Wife - 4.25
Whose Heart I Long to Stop with the Click of a Revolver - 3.5
What Terrible Thing It Was - 3.75

morgananne's review against another edition

emotional funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

rozereads's review against another edition

4.0

Stories that make you think and are diverse and interesting. There are a great short stories out there!