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A review by declaired
The Best of Connie Willis: Award-Winning Stories by Connie Willis
4.0
One of my favorite things about this book is that all of the connecting ligaments (the author's notes at the end of each story, the introduction, the final speeches at the back) are love notes to other books. It's a collection of short stories on a range of topics, some of which I enjoyed very much, some of which I was less interested in (although I didn't skip any; Connie Willis is a very proficient and funny writer. It's more that politically I am not sure we are seeing eye-to-eye, which is Fine of course). But I am very into books that are love notes to other books; I spent a lot of time building a "to read" collection out of what My Heroes kept on their shelves. This seems to be a somewhat dated practice in modern books, unless they are being Pretentiously Literary, and that makes me sad! Bring back intertextual book recommendations.
The short stories themselves are often love notes to various things-- the Tube, for instance, and St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and dogs, and Christmas Hymns.
I will say that "The Soul Selects Her Own Society" is one of the greatest short stories I've ever read, ft. footnotes, zombie Emily Dickens, and alien invasion, plus plenty of academic skewering.
"All Seated on the Ground" gave me a lot of feelings about recontextualizing Christmas Carols in a spirit of love and humanity, actually. Maybe I'll read it again 'round Christmas time and see if I can sing guilt-free.
I have another book of Connie Willis short stories, & am looking forward to seeing if there are enough different stories to count as a different book. She is also just very funny, and there's usually a romantic subplot that I get all suckered into every time.
The short stories themselves are often love notes to various things-- the Tube, for instance, and St. Paul's Cathedral in London, and dogs, and Christmas Hymns.
I will say that "The Soul Selects Her Own Society" is one of the greatest short stories I've ever read, ft. footnotes, zombie Emily Dickens, and alien invasion, plus plenty of academic skewering.
"All Seated on the Ground" gave me a lot of feelings about recontextualizing Christmas Carols in a spirit of love and humanity, actually. Maybe I'll read it again 'round Christmas time and see if I can sing guilt-free.
I have another book of Connie Willis short stories, & am looking forward to seeing if there are enough different stories to count as a different book. She is also just very funny, and there's usually a romantic subplot that I get all suckered into every time.