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thebobsphere's review
3.0
No matter how hard I try, I don't really like short stories, I hate the inconsistencies . I thought that with this McSweeney's anthology I would warm up to the medium.
As alwaysthe same problem started to occur. For every one I like, I'd dislike and skim through another three. Granted there are quite a few gems here but not everything will be to everyone's taste.
As alwaysthe same problem started to occur. For every one I like, I'd dislike and skim through another three. Granted there are quite a few gems here but not everything will be to everyone's taste.
kawai's review
5.0
An outstanding collection. From the typography and jacket design to the deluxe edition's great collection of uniquely designed excerpts, the collection shows the passion and dedication that McSweeney's has for the written word.
The anthology itself is full of gems. I particularly enjoyed the 'dead form' (Pantoum) poetry, a form I'd love to see more of in contemporary lit mags, as well as most of the essays. Surprisingly, it's not the heavy-hitters that deliver the best short fiction here: I didn't care much for the Lydia Davis, David Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith, et. al pieces, but rather preferred the great work from authors I'd never heard of, which constitutes a good portion of the anthology.
Well worth the time and money, and is a testament to the quality of McSweeney's.
The anthology itself is full of gems. I particularly enjoyed the 'dead form' (Pantoum) poetry, a form I'd love to see more of in contemporary lit mags, as well as most of the essays. Surprisingly, it's not the heavy-hitters that deliver the best short fiction here: I didn't care much for the Lydia Davis, David Foster Wallace, Zadie Smith, et. al pieces, but rather preferred the great work from authors I'd never heard of, which constitutes a good portion of the anthology.
Well worth the time and money, and is a testament to the quality of McSweeney's.
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