eileen_critchley's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed most of these stories and I also enjoy the stories behind the stories provided by the authors.
tymgabriel's review against another edition
5.0
Compendiums are always hard to rate, when they consist of various authors in such a format as this. The 2017 edition of America's best short stories is as subjective as it is every year. Yet, I feel that Meg Wolitzer explains what she was looking for - and found - in each story very well. They meet the criteria of the editor, and they live up to the standards of the publication. Yes, I can imagine two, possibly three, of these stories not making my cut, but nobody asked me to be the editor. I simply enjoyed a very good couple of weeks with some of the best short fiction writers all in one place.
dllh's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a sucker for this series of anthologies, and I've read more by a number of authors I first learned about in the short story series. This one got off to a slow start for me. I very much liked the opening story by T.C. Boyle ("Are We Not Men?"), though I've been sort of meh about a lot of his stuff. Then I didn't much love anything in the collection until "Ugly" by Mary Gordon, which I liked a lot. Apparently authors in the last half of the alphabet really did the trick for me in 2016, as I dog-eared these stories after that early drought:
- "Ancient Rome" by Kyle McCarthy
- "Last Day on Earth" by Erick Puchner
- "Novostroika" by Maria Reva
- "Gender Studies" by Curtis Sittenfeld
- "Famous Actor" by Jess Walter
None of these made me think "I must go out right away and acquire all of this author's work" but I found these worthwhile or fun. Others in the collection ranged from "pretty good" to "meh" to "well 25 minutes sure did go by while I read that."
- "Ancient Rome" by Kyle McCarthy
- "Last Day on Earth" by Erick Puchner
- "Novostroika" by Maria Reva
- "Gender Studies" by Curtis Sittenfeld
- "Famous Actor" by Jess Walter
None of these made me think "I must go out right away and acquire all of this author's work" but I found these worthwhile or fun. Others in the collection ranged from "pretty good" to "meh" to "well 25 minutes sure did go by while I read that."
julsmarshall's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.5
This was ok, a couple of great stories, a couple of duds and most in between. Glad I read it, even more glad it is off the #TBR pile
chiyeunglau's review against another edition
4.0
A very strong collection of short stories that I thoroughly enjoyed. There were many stories that left me with a lasting impression -- I couldn't stop thinking about them for days.
My favorite in this year's collection:
Are we not men? - T.C Boyle
Campoamor - Patricia Engel
Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain - Danielle Evans
The Midnight Zone - Lauren Groff
The Chicane - Amy Hempel
Gabe Dove - Sonya Larson
Let's Go to the Video Tape - Fiona Mazel
Famous Actor - Jess Walter
My favorite in this year's collection:
Are we not men? - T.C Boyle
Campoamor - Patricia Engel
Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain - Danielle Evans
The Midnight Zone - Lauren Groff
The Chicane - Amy Hempel
Gabe Dove - Sonya Larson
Let's Go to the Video Tape - Fiona Mazel
Famous Actor - Jess Walter
sharonbakar's review against another edition
5.0
I look forward to Best American Stories each year. I very much enjoyed all but two or three of the stories Meg Wolitzer selected - clearly her criteria included strong storytelling, memorable characters, and so much truth it almost hurt.
My favourite story was The Midnight Zone by Lauren Groff in which a mother is stuck with her two small sons in a cabin in the Florida wilds. There's a panther prowling nearby, it's impossible to get a mobile phone signal unless you stand on the roof, and the husband has been called back to the city after one of his tenants dies. What more could go wrong? If one of the classic ways to generate energy for short story is to throw your characters into as much trouble as possible, this story illustrates that beautifully ... but then it goes on to completely surprise us.
I also loved Last Day on Earth by Eric Puchner, Jess Walter's Famous Actor, Mary Gordon's Ugly, and Jim Shepard's Telemachus.
The author notes at the back of the book, in which they explain how the story came to be provide brilliant insights into the creative process.
My favourite story was The Midnight Zone by Lauren Groff in which a mother is stuck with her two small sons in a cabin in the Florida wilds. There's a panther prowling nearby, it's impossible to get a mobile phone signal unless you stand on the roof, and the husband has been called back to the city after one of his tenants dies. What more could go wrong? If one of the classic ways to generate energy for short story is to throw your characters into as much trouble as possible, this story illustrates that beautifully ... but then it goes on to completely surprise us.
I also loved Last Day on Earth by Eric Puchner, Jess Walter's Famous Actor, Mary Gordon's Ugly, and Jim Shepard's Telemachus.
The author notes at the back of the book, in which they explain how the story came to be provide brilliant insights into the creative process.
wellfleetbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mandareads1690's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
toryhallelujah's review against another edition
3.0
"Maidencane" was an interesting treatise on the impermanence of memories; TC Boyle's "Are We Not Men?" was a cool departure into a future where designer dogs come in ROYGBIV colors; speaking of ROYGBIV, "Richard of York Gave Battle in Vain" had the uh-MAY-zing line "...you don't put a redhead in orange unless you're angry at her. Girl is being punished for something." "Ugly" was so heart-wrenching, even though it was just furniture and dishes being judged so harshly. "The Midnight Zone," by Lauren Groff -- oh geez. Mom falls off a stool and whangs her head, and has to still try to keep her little boys safe. I'll be seeking out more of Groff's work. "Let's Go to the Videotape" made me want to smack that damn dad in his fking face, and "Novostroiika" was nearly a direct homage to 1984's doublespeak/think, complete with incredible workday tasks to "ENGINEER TRIANGULAR VEGETABLE."