Scan barcode
A review by seanmcfinn
The Best American Short Stories 2010 by Richard Russo, Heidi Pitlor
4.0
This year's - wait, last year's - Best American Short Stories is a great collection. It's not that some years are bad; it's that the editor's picks don't jibe with my sensibilities, tastes or whatever those things are that make me like one order of sentences and choice of words over another.
There are no weak link stories in this collection. I could name the ones I liked least, but I they're still good stories; I will say that Ron Rash's 'Ascent', Maggie Shipstead's 'The Cowboy Tango' and Brendan Mathews 'Last Attempt To Explain To You What happened To The Lion Tamer' crushed me. I want to read the collection again because right now I don't even remember them all! The second reading of a story is usually deeper, and more rewarding for me anyway. I could hear echoes of Richard Russo's voice in the stories; in all the writing there is the pathos of people doing their best but knowing struggle and sabotage as hard habit, and an always honest, sometimes weary humor. And all the stories are so personal. None of them skim the water, there's just a plunge happening. Thanks for the collection Mrs Pitlor and Mr Russo.
There are no weak link stories in this collection. I could name the ones I liked least, but I they're still good stories; I will say that Ron Rash's 'Ascent', Maggie Shipstead's 'The Cowboy Tango' and Brendan Mathews 'Last Attempt To Explain To You What happened To The Lion Tamer' crushed me. I want to read the collection again because right now I don't even remember them all! The second reading of a story is usually deeper, and more rewarding for me anyway. I could hear echoes of Richard Russo's voice in the stories; in all the writing there is the pathos of people doing their best but knowing struggle and sabotage as hard habit, and an always honest, sometimes weary humor. And all the stories are so personal. None of them skim the water, there's just a plunge happening. Thanks for the collection Mrs Pitlor and Mr Russo.