A review by taliatalksbooks
The Best Short Stories 2023: The O. Henry Prize Winners by Lauren Groff, Jenny Minton Quigley

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

Spent the beginning of this year reading The Best Short Stories 2023, edited by Lauren Groff. This collection includes authors Ling Ma, Catherine Lacey, Jonas Eika (translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg), Gabriel Smith, Jamil Jan Kochai, Lisa Taddeo, Rachel B. Glaser, Naomi Shuyama-Gómez, Rodrigo Blanco Calderón (translated by Thomas Bunstead), Shelby Kinney-Lang, Jacob M’hango, ‘Pemi Aguda, Cristina Rivera Garza (translated by Francisca Gonzàlez-Arias), Grey Wolfe LaJoie, Kristin Valdez Quade, Arinze Ifeakandu, David Ryan, K-Ming Chang, Kathleen Alcott, and Eamon McGinness. These stories were all well written, but not all of them were as compelling as I expected. I found many of them to have some of the same themes, especially in the realm of realistic fiction. I enjoyed the collection, but do wish that there was more diversity in the kinds of stories included. I was really excited to see some translated pieces in here, and I think that at least helped increase the diverse elements slightly. A few of my standout pieces from this collection were “Ira & The Whale”, “Xífù” and “The Blackhills”. If you’re a fan of realistic fiction, and want to see some of the best recent publications, I would definitely check out these award winning short stories.