Reviews

The Palace Thief is a collection of four stories, each almost exactly 50 pages in length, and each centering on a male protagonist looking somewhat wide-eyed at the world, largely unawares that those around them are laughing gently behind their backs. In one story, an aging accountant wonders how, of all possibilities open to him, he'd ended up with the life he'd lived; in another, a young boy puzzles over a cryptic older brother; in the next, a divorced man's son tries to help him find happiness; and in the last, an elderly schoolteacher looks back over a mistake he allowed to happen over and over again. Canin's writing is delicious, like a masterfully prepared dessert which you can't decide whether to savor slowly or rush to devour. I ended up choosing the latter.

The storytelling is exquisite. The stories themselves are, from beginning to end, bittersweet, and each ends more with the protagonist settling and accepting his fate and past, than with a resolution or feeling of either happiness or sadness. And I just can't get over how well-written the stories are. I can't think of the last time I got THIS sucked into a text. Every few pages I'd tell myself I simply HAD to stop and put myself to bed, but I couldn't bear the thought of stopping before I'd devoured the whole thing. And I'm very glad I did, even though my poor aching body will probably try to convince me otherwise in the morning.

Read this. Right now.

shinysquares's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

A fascinating examination of education, power, and politics. I suppose it is the scholars that shine light into the shadows of the emperors.

hyacinth_girl's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

This was a pretty good collection of short stories. I know that "The Palace Thief" is probably the most famous of this collection, and though I did like it, my favorite story was "The City of Broken Hearts." I liked the relationships between everyone and the story was very touching. I'm glad I finally read this book. Plus, Ethan Canin is on the University of Iowa Writer's Workshop staff, and since I go to the University of Iowa and am an English major, the book was all the more enjoyable to read. The writing was very good and the story lines were original and well crafted. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

maddychance's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

I had to read this for school, and unlike a lot of the books forced upon us students, I quite enjoyed it. The language and way of writing was easy to follow, and the story was entertaining. This is a novelette I would read on my own time.

timsprincess's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

nikaa's review

Go to review page

5.0

Love love LOVE Ethan Canin!

alexislynae's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I read this in a day after expecting it would take me at least three, so I guess it was readable enough. I didn't much care for Accountant, but I did like the three other stories. My favorite was probably The Palace Thief followed by City of Broken Hearts. Not at all a bad collection seeing as I picked it up for $0.99. Not a collection I am confident I will revisit again, though. I will say The Palace Thief hit differently than it might have before 2016.

More...