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A review by caleb_tankersley
Best New American Voices 2009 by Natalie Danford, John Kulka, Mary Gaitskill
4.0
I read this book in order to get a better understanding of what is expected/revered at MFA programs, from which all the stories in the collection are derived. Upon finishing the last page, I was struck with hope from this book, although, if you read only the ending story, you might not feel the same. Some of these stories, especially "Salvation Army" and "Love and Honor and Pity and Pride and Compassion and Sacrifice," were especially astounding. After reading these stories, I had to put the book down and just lay back and think for awhile. Brilliant work.
But, to my great surprise, the styles of these works were not too terribly far from my own, albeit perhaps a bit more refined. I was even more surprised to find some stories, namely "Little Stone, Little Pistols, Little Clash," and "The Still Point," went beyond bad and, dare I say, sucked.(apologies to the authors, who I'm sure are great writers, but maybe just not my kind.)
There were also a great number of stories that, how shall I put this, milked whatever vain or fainting wisp of a multicultural or international experience these writers had. I found this somewhat pathetic. Nam Le actually addressed this in his story, in a very frank and ashamed manner. He basically admits to the hypocrisy and exploitation of the idea, which I felt commendable. I would, perhaps, blame the editor more for this than anything else. Perhaps it's not a problem at all, and I'm only a bitter WASP. At least I get to be gay, but that's hardly story-worthy. It's been exploited to death.
Anyways, the overall quality of the collection was astounding. Even if I didn't like the story, the talent of each and every writer in this collection cannot be refuted. It's worth checking out. I hope I can make it into one of these, someday.
But, to my great surprise, the styles of these works were not too terribly far from my own, albeit perhaps a bit more refined. I was even more surprised to find some stories, namely "Little Stone, Little Pistols, Little Clash," and "The Still Point," went beyond bad and, dare I say, sucked.(apologies to the authors, who I'm sure are great writers, but maybe just not my kind.)
There were also a great number of stories that, how shall I put this, milked whatever vain or fainting wisp of a multicultural or international experience these writers had. I found this somewhat pathetic. Nam Le actually addressed this in his story, in a very frank and ashamed manner. He basically admits to the hypocrisy and exploitation of the idea, which I felt commendable. I would, perhaps, blame the editor more for this than anything else. Perhaps it's not a problem at all, and I'm only a bitter WASP. At least I get to be gay, but that's hardly story-worthy. It's been exploited to death.
Anyways, the overall quality of the collection was astounding. Even if I didn't like the story, the talent of each and every writer in this collection cannot be refuted. It's worth checking out. I hope I can make it into one of these, someday.