Take a photo of a barcode or cover
matthewcpeck 's review for:
99 Stories of God
by Joy Williams
Joy Williams' most outré book, a stunner with a title that's resulted in more than a few baffled Christian readers in the Amazon customer review section. It consists of 99 short pieces of a generously wide range: jokes, anecdotes, chilling tragedies, meditations, etc. Franz Kafka, O.J. Simpson, and the film 'A.I.' are all featured. And, indeed, there are stories in which God is a protagonist, frequently engaged in mundane earthbound chores.
If you've read Williams before, '99 Stories Of God' feels like the non-sequitur anecdotes that sprinkle her characters' dialogue, collected in a book of their own. But there's a structure to it that becomes clear as you advance, and a chunk of pieces united by a common thread (church, pets, suicide) gradually transitions into a new set with a new theme. And the pieces are arranged in a fashion I've never seen before: a chapter number followed by the story and followed finally by the title. This ending title serves sometimes as a self-effacing punchline, and at other times as a surprising spotlight aimed at an unexpected aspect of the preceding story.
That sort of wild push-and-pull is present throughout the stories. Even the tiniest tales end in an unpredictable event or observation. It's a haunting, hilarious, and absolutely compelling read throughout. Not a good Joy Williams book for a newbie, but readers already familiar with this wondrous writer will be rewarded and satisfied.
If you've read Williams before, '99 Stories Of God' feels like the non-sequitur anecdotes that sprinkle her characters' dialogue, collected in a book of their own. But there's a structure to it that becomes clear as you advance, and a chunk of pieces united by a common thread (church, pets, suicide) gradually transitions into a new set with a new theme. And the pieces are arranged in a fashion I've never seen before: a chapter number followed by the story and followed finally by the title. This ending title serves sometimes as a self-effacing punchline, and at other times as a surprising spotlight aimed at an unexpected aspect of the preceding story.
That sort of wild push-and-pull is present throughout the stories. Even the tiniest tales end in an unpredictable event or observation. It's a haunting, hilarious, and absolutely compelling read throughout. Not a good Joy Williams book for a newbie, but readers already familiar with this wondrous writer will be rewarded and satisfied.