It's unheard of for me to read not just one but three short story collections in less than a month. I'm typically more into novels, but I couldn't put these down.
Tag: Short Stories
A selection of new books
Here are a few titles I’ve gathered from my ongoing hunt for good books, including novels to anticipate in 2019, more Lucia Berlin stories, and the 2017 Prix Goncourt winner.
Stories of corruption, madness and thievery
Don't be quick to shy away from "The Man Who Shot Out My Eye Is Dead" because it's short stories. The collection offers a distinguished lot, full of crime and mayhem.
My picks from The Edgars® “Bests”
"Ordinary Grace" is one of the most enjoyable books I've read this year. Of note, it just won the the Edgar Award for best novel, announced last week. Two other winners appear here, as well as a link to the full list of nominees and winners in all the categories for the Mystery Writers of America 2014 Edgar Allan Poe Awards.
The morally bruising battlefield
"Redeployment" is a collection of 12 fictional stories written by a former U.S. Marine who served in the Iraq War. They are piercing in emotional honesty and unforgettable.
Reading Tessa Hadley
What happens when you read a book by an author whose work is consistently, highly praised, and yet you're unimpressed? I discovered the first take doesn't always ring true. Here's what I experienced when I read "Married Love," a collection of short stories by Tessa Hadley.
Confessions from American suburbia
The University of Georgia Press announced this week the winners of the 2012 Flannery O'Connor Short Fiction Awards, but I've been hooked by a previous winner -- Andrew Porter's "The Theory of Light & Matter." Here's why, plus an "all hail the short story" burst of thought.
How we get lost inside our lives
Linda McCullough Moore's new collection of short stories is narrated by a woman whose voice is unforgettable. She narrates all of them, because these are linked stories about moments in her life that began in the 1950s. "This Road Will Take Us Closer to the Moon" approaches readers with confessional intimacy.
A man sees a shark in a swimming pool…
Ben Loory's new "Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day" is a paperback collection of magical, fable-like stories that explore our inner-most fears and desires. They're short, enthralling and addictive.
“You Know When the Men Are Gone”
A great title for a debut collection of stories that focuses on the soldiers of Fort Hood, Texas, and the wives they leave behind when deployed to Iraq. It provided this reader an enjoyable respite from witches and vampires.
Good stories: “Something Is Out There”
Richard Bausch is one of our present-day masters of rich short fiction. His new collection is the usual good stuff. Here's a review.
The Longest Chapter 