A review by edwarde3ddd
Varieties of Disturbance by Lydia Davis

5.0

Only a couple of the stories in the entire collection are longer than a few pages. Some are as short as a sentence or two. However, this is a wonderful collection. Lydia Davis plays with language and words, tenses and images. I purposely disciplined myself to only read one story a night until near the very end so I wouldn't rush through them. I enjoyed reading some of the shorter pieces to my wife, friends, and colleagues. Many of the stories were intelligent and witty. I would recommend to fans of Barthelme, but mixed in with writers like Aimee Bender or Kelly Link...writers who really stretch the boundaries of ideas and wordplay.