booksafterten's review against another edition
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
not_mike's review against another edition
3.0
Paperback.
Sitting with the dead, justina's priest, and an evening out were great.
Sitting with the dead, justina's priest, and an evening out were great.
alyshalea's review against another edition
2.0
This book took me a bit to get through as I attempted to quit reading it several times and forced myself to pick it back up. 12 short stories and only a few caught my attention. I would like to give this author another shot though and will try and find another of his books that might peak my interest.
jannie_mtl's review against another edition
4.0
Trevor's stories never disappoint, and this collection is no exception.
deea_bks's review
5.0
How some authors can express so much in just a few words I will never cease wondering. How they have that ability to make the story on the page speak to you about your own, without it really having any similarities with it, will never cease making me stand in awe of those authors! I just love William Trevor’s style because his glimpses of people’s lives always manage to do this, “to speak to me”.
A man refusing an inheritance from an ex-lover because of being afraid of what the world would say reminisces about how the lover was the only person he felt he could connect with. Two people having a blind date realize that their expectations are ill-matched, but they deal with the date honorably while they face their past regrets quietly. A girl feels guilty for having gossiped about the cuckolded man who had tutored her. An accountant tells his lover his reasons for ending their love affair in spite of the fact that he loves her. A girl realizes that she had been in love with the future she imagined with her lover, not with the man himself. Trevor’s vignettes are sometimes really unexpected, but they still leave a print on you no matter how bizarre the stories seem.
A feeling of regret permeates the whole volume, but also one of quiet acceptance. And also, every single story has a conclusion that really touched me one way or another and even though some of them might have been weaker than others (like in any volume of short stories), I choose to rate this book with a five for the overall feeling that kept lingering over me after having finished the majority of them.
***
A man refusing an inheritance from an ex-lover because of being afraid of what the world would say reminisces about how the lover was the only person he felt he could connect with. Two people having a blind date realize that their expectations are ill-matched, but they deal with the date honorably while they face their past regrets quietly. A girl feels guilty for having gossiped about the cuckolded man who had tutored her. An accountant tells his lover his reasons for ending their love affair in spite of the fact that he loves her. A girl realizes that she had been in love with the future she imagined with her lover, not with the man himself. Trevor’s vignettes are sometimes really unexpected, but they still leave a print on you no matter how bizarre the stories seem.
A feeling of regret permeates the whole volume, but also one of quiet acceptance. And also, every single story has a conclusion that really touched me one way or another and even though some of them might have been weaker than others (like in any volume of short stories), I choose to rate this book with a five for the overall feeling that kept lingering over me after having finished the majority of them.
***
*“She wondered if in his life, too, there had been a mistake that threw a shadow, if that was why he was looking around for someone to fill a gap he had never become used to.”
*“It would not have seemed unusual to speak about his marriage, about love’s transformation within it, about his grief when it was no longer there, about the moments and occasions it had since become.”
*“The silence was different when the music stopped, as if the music had changed it.”
sabinereads's review against another edition
3.0
Incredibly (and depressingly) Irish - the first story is gorgeous, the last uninteresting.
e_ramirez_ortega's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoy Trevor's work, his great handle of nuance and emotion in such a short length of work. Rose Wept was the first I read in this collection and it was a good introduction back into Trevor's work after a while. Grailles's Journey for me required a second pass, since it was a bit convoluted and after reading a review about that particular story, cleared up some questions I had.
laurenbdavis's review
4.0
Trevor is a lovely writer, and these stories are full of heart, sorrow and shining talent. Lovers of Chekhov will feel right at home here.
maccymacd's review against another edition
2.0
I apologise to anyone who is a William Trevor fan profusely! But maybe I wasn't in the right mood for his short stories. I know he is very popular and many people rave about how beautiful and thought-provoking his stories are, but I just found my mind wandering by the time I got just over half way. I just found them too slow. This isn't in any way a criticism on William Trevor - I can see why his writing is so revered, I think it was more that I wasn't in the right frame of mind to read the stories, and instead of stopping, I ploughed on ahead which then gave the impression of being forced to continue reading and was therefore not as enjoyable. I am not put off his writing however, and might decide to pick up one of his novels at a later date - maybe the short stories weren't for me.
chloehamburn's review against another edition
3.0
Really closer to a 3.5 stars because I enjoyed the beginning, but couldn't help draw comparisons between another Irish writer who wrote an incomparable book of short stories about dear dirty Dublin. James Joyce and [b:Dubliners|11012|Dubliners|James Joyce|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334138184l/11012._SX50_.jpg|260248] are truly incomparable for their complexity, density, vivacity. If I hadn't read Dubliners a month ago, I would probably give more credit to William Trevor who is not without merit, but James Joyce. Sorry.