Newest Short Stories Reviews
From TheBookbag
Dark Alchemy: Magical Tales from Masters of Modern Fantasy by Gardner Dozois (Editor), Jack Dann (Editor)
I'm always in two minds about short story collections. On the one hand it's a bit of a risk – there could be one or two really good stories and a load of rubbish. But, the great thing about them is they can introduce you to writers you might never have read otherwise. While you probably wouldn't be prepared to invest time and money into a book you aren't sure you'll like, spending half an hour or so reading a short story won't leave you feeling too robbed if you don't enjoy it. Full review...
Our Story Begins by Tobias Wolff
Tobias Wolff's short stories offer few easy solutions. His troubled characters face choices they are ill-equipped to make. You do not go to Wolff for a satisfying, tidy tale, neatly wrapped, or for an entertaining twist. Full review...
Jung's People by Kay Green
These short stories offer fantasy, sci-fi, historical and contemporary angles on human personality. Kay Green used Jung's writing on dreams to delve into her own subconscious and has come up with an eclectic mix of stories. A crisp commentator's voice observes life through different lenses and perspectives. I often felt that I was trapped in a nest of boxes with the characters, not quite sure which way was out. My interest hooked, I delved into the fifteen stories and enjoyed their surprising twists and multiple layers as characters discover their tragic destiny within whatever happens to be the chance setting of their lives. I'll just give you a flavour of three of them. Full review...
Knockemstiff by Donald Ray Pollock
Welcome to Knockemstiff, a quiet little town in Ohio, USA. Wait, I take it back. You are not welcome. Strangers do not come to Knockemstiff. Unless you are lost of course, like that Californian photographer woman, who took random pictures and could not believe the town was for real: so poor, so lost, so abandoned. Come to think of it, the people of Knockemstiff would be more than happy to leave the place themselves. It is just that they never have the chance, or never quite make it. Full review...
Armageddon in Retrospect by Kurt Vonnegut
I have been a fan of Kurt Vonnegut since the early 1970s. I still have the old paperbacks – Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, Slaughterhouse 5. There was something about his style, and especially about the things he had to say, that was refreshing and new. But he began to go off the boil, or fell out of style, and I stopped reading his books around about the time I stopped buying Crosby, Stills and Nash LPs. For me, Breakfast of Champions was both the last decent book he wrote, and the first of the stream of below-par books that followed. I just checked my bookcase – Slapstick in 1976 was the last Vonnegut book I bought, and the ancient bookmark stuffed midway through shows I never managed to finish it. And I had problems trying to finish his 'new' collection, too. Full review...
Caravan Thieves by Gerard Woodward
Gerard Woodward is a much short-listed novelist & poet: the Whitbread First Novel Award (2001), Man Booker Prize (2004), T S Eliot Prize (2005). If it hasn't been already, I can well see this collection being equally short-listed for whatever the 'short-story' equivalent is. (Is there even a major prize for short stories?) Full review...
