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A review by snowmaiden
News from Heaven: The Bakerton Stories by Jennifer Haigh
4.0
When I found out that I'd won a free copy of this book from the Goodreads First Reads program, I was obviously excited. Then when I figured out it was the second book this author has written about Bakerton, Pennsylvania, I was afraid I'd be totally lost, since I've never read the first one. It turned out there was no cause for alarm, as the short stories in this book stand completely on their own. (I still do want to read the first book, [b:Baker Towers|72876|Baker Towers|Jennifer Haigh|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349018149s/72876.jpg|1701483], but only because I like the author's writing style and the characters she has created here.)
The stories in this book are very good. In her writing style, Jennifer Haigh reminded me of [a:Alice Munro|6410|Alice Munro|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1245100102p2/6410.jpg], which is high praise coming from me, as Munro is one of my favorite short story writers. Both of them are able to give you a sense of a person's whole life in just a few pages by sketching a few well-chosen details and letting you fill in the rest. In subject matter, this book reminded me more of [b:A Gravestone Made of Wheat|455667|A Gravestone Made of Wheat|Will Weaver|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312063263s/455667.jpg|444215] by [a:Will Weaver|39792|Will Weaver|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1310363183p2/39792.jpg]. Although Weaver writes about small agricultural towns in Minnesota and this book is set in a mining town in Pennsylvania, there's the same feeling of having two choices-- striking out on your own in the big outside world or living a small and unfulfilling life where you grew up. Haigh captures that dichotomy very well.
The stories in this book are very good. In her writing style, Jennifer Haigh reminded me of [a:Alice Munro|6410|Alice Munro|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1245100102p2/6410.jpg], which is high praise coming from me, as Munro is one of my favorite short story writers. Both of them are able to give you a sense of a person's whole life in just a few pages by sketching a few well-chosen details and letting you fill in the rest. In subject matter, this book reminded me more of [b:A Gravestone Made of Wheat|455667|A Gravestone Made of Wheat|Will Weaver|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312063263s/455667.jpg|444215] by [a:Will Weaver|39792|Will Weaver|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1310363183p2/39792.jpg]. Although Weaver writes about small agricultural towns in Minnesota and this book is set in a mining town in Pennsylvania, there's the same feeling of having two choices-- striking out on your own in the big outside world or living a small and unfulfilling life where you grew up. Haigh captures that dichotomy very well.