The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
a_serpent_with_corners's review
What initially comes off as sadism ends up drawing the reader's attention the the constructed nature of the stories - not a new technique in metafiction by any stretch, but Coover does it well.
How much the reader gets out of the grotesque and playful stories that make up collection will partially depend on how compelling they find the author's particular preoccupations - he comes back to the same ideas a lot.
Although there were other stories in the collection I liked better, "The Hat Act" stood out to me as a self-deprecating look at the writer's process and what his stories actually do to the audience (i.e. not much but to give them something to gawp at and discard).
How much the reader gets out of the grotesque and playful stories that make up collection will partially depend on how compelling they find the author's particular preoccupations - he comes back to the same ideas a lot.
Although there were other stories in the collection I liked better, "The Hat Act" stood out to me as a self-deprecating look at the writer's process and what his stories actually do to the audience (i.e. not much but to give them something to gawp at and discard).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
nora_knight's review against another edition
read "The Brother" (a reimagining of Noah's Ark), part of Seven Exemplary Fictions for class
rustbeltjessie's review against another edition
2.0
To tell the truth, I didn't actually finish it. Just coulnd't get into it, and since it's not something I have to read, I decided to quit.
emtur007's review against another edition
I felt the prose was overbearing and trying too hard to convey meaning but it was fine. It wasn't until the author started to compare himself to Cervantes that I couldn't take the stories seriously anymore.
adamz24's review against another edition
3.0
the last two stories here are really the classics, not the whole collection. They are flat-out classics, though. Like, really.
noursie22's review against another edition
2.0
The Babysitter is phenomenal. Rest of the stories just did not hold my attention.
casparb's review
my last longer read of the year it seems Coover is lumped in with that difficult section of American lit that includes people like Pynchon, which in itself doesn't make too much sense to me - pynchon writes like pynchon, for better or worse. Anyway I really like Coover and as much as I enjoyed my time with something like Gravity's Rainbow, I find myself preferring this prose style enormously. He's a natural
Pricksongs is one of those cacophonous short story collections that races everywhere it's po-mo to the nines we have leaping chronologies all over the shop and he seems a little obsessed with his sexual themes which range from high-literary eroticism to the up-and-down pornographic to writing something all too similar to the aristocrat's joke. The Babysitter is the clear winner of the collection, I believe it's his most famous story. good times
Pricksongs is one of those cacophonous short story collections that races everywhere it's po-mo to the nines we have leaping chronologies all over the shop and he seems a little obsessed with his sexual themes which range from high-literary eroticism to the up-and-down pornographic to writing something all too similar to the aristocrat's joke. The Babysitter is the clear winner of the collection, I believe it's his most famous story. good times
diannamorganti's review against another edition
4.0
As part of my "Reading Resolutions", Lyle recommended the short story "A Pedestrian Accident" to me. This was an interesting short story -- it was not a plot truncated, which is my major annoyance with short stories in general. The characterization didn't matter one little whit -- since it was just a situation. It's a bit like a painting or a work of art rather than a story or work of fiction. It's a glimpse at a situation.
Paul has just been run over by a truck. He's totally paralyzed but for his eyes which roam around watching those around him from his vantage point, contorted and still under the truck. He becomes the inspiration for a few sideshows as the people around him react absurdly to the situation. As the scene ends hours later still laying on the asphalt, part of Paul's flesh is being dragged away by a dog under the neglectful eyes of a hobo, and he wonders how long it will go on.
I would recommend this to someone else who typically doesn't enjoy short stories.
Paul has just been run over by a truck. He's totally paralyzed but for his eyes which roam around watching those around him from his vantage point, contorted and still under the truck. He becomes the inspiration for a few sideshows as the people around him react absurdly to the situation. As the scene ends hours later still laying on the asphalt, part of Paul's flesh is being dragged away by a dog under the neglectful eyes of a hobo, and he wonders how long it will go on.
I would recommend this to someone else who typically doesn't enjoy short stories.
drewsof's review against another edition
5.0
5+ out of 5.
I love a good brain tease and Robert Coover's collection brings together some of the very best I've ever experienced, all in one package. This is an exemplary set of stories and not just because most of the tales are delightfully mind-bending, but because reading this collection helps me better understand other works. There's a story in Alexandra Kleeman's new collection, "A Brief History of Weather", that I was suddenly awakened to after reading Coover - and I wonder what the next volume of The Familiar or the next time I re-read Angela Carter might bring. I will say this: I'm reluctant to read another Robert Coover story or novel or even to consider rereading some of these stories, because I know that I'll never have the first experience again. But perhaps, like any good magic trick, it'll be just as fascinating and awe-inspiring knowing how it ends. Regardless, just remember as you read these tales a quote from Alfred Borden: "Are you watching closely?"
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2016/08/29/pricksongs-and-descants/
I love a good brain tease and Robert Coover's collection brings together some of the very best I've ever experienced, all in one package. This is an exemplary set of stories and not just because most of the tales are delightfully mind-bending, but because reading this collection helps me better understand other works. There's a story in Alexandra Kleeman's new collection, "A Brief History of Weather", that I was suddenly awakened to after reading Coover - and I wonder what the next volume of The Familiar or the next time I re-read Angela Carter might bring. I will say this: I'm reluctant to read another Robert Coover story or novel or even to consider rereading some of these stories, because I know that I'll never have the first experience again. But perhaps, like any good magic trick, it'll be just as fascinating and awe-inspiring knowing how it ends. Regardless, just remember as you read these tales a quote from Alfred Borden: "Are you watching closely?"
More at RB: http://ragingbiblioholism.com/2016/08/29/pricksongs-and-descants/
readingisadoingword's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very unusual read. I can't say I really enjoyed it. I found it uncomfortable, grotesque and having a somewhat bleak outlook on human nature.
Although very different the stories somehow reminded me of Flannery O'Connor.
Although very different the stories somehow reminded me of Flannery O'Connor.