A review by dilan11
The Best American Short Stories of the Century by Katrina Kenison, John Updike
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
A hefty book to tote around but one of the best short story anthologies I have (and I have quite a few). It's always fun to read the latest hot hip thing but sometimes it's better to go back a few decades and read the work that has stood the test of time. Yes, there are way too many white men but there is still some excellent work particularly for those who write short stories themselves.
I also love the variety of stories. - there are more traditional longer stories and some shorter advant- garde stories.
Just read "My Dead Brother Comes to America" by Alexander Godin. Fascinating, heart-breaking story and then you learn that Godin worked in a bottling plant, suffered from schizophrenia and died in poverty.
Thom Jones story is chilling. The description of the pain of the dissolution of the body is almost more than I could read.
I normally don't like the Susan Sontag's types of stories but in this case it really works and can understand why it's included. All that interwoven dialogue conveys perfectly the collective and individual feelings during the AIDS crisis. How much more perfectly done than a maudlin story where someone gets the disease and dies and everyone mourns.
I see how masterful the story by Updike is but it's just not my kind of materials. White upper class suburban couple who are full of themselves. I see that it was published in 1980 but it really feels like a 1950s story which I guess is where Updike was stuck.
Carver is a classic. It is refreshing for someone to write from less than a privileged perspective. And the Gellhorn is masterful.
I also love the variety of stories. - there are more traditional longer stories and some shorter advant- garde stories.
Just read "My Dead Brother Comes to America" by Alexander Godin. Fascinating, heart-breaking story and then you learn that Godin worked in a bottling plant, suffered from schizophrenia and died in poverty.
Thom Jones story is chilling. The description of the pain of the dissolution of the body is almost more than I could read.
I normally don't like the Susan Sontag's types of stories but in this case it really works and can understand why it's included. All that interwoven dialogue conveys perfectly the collective and individual feelings during the AIDS crisis. How much more perfectly done than a maudlin story where someone gets the disease and dies and everyone mourns.
I see how masterful the story by Updike is but it's just not my kind of materials. White upper class suburban couple who are full of themselves. I see that it was published in 1980 but it really feels like a 1950s story which I guess is where Updike was stuck.
Carver is a classic. It is refreshing for someone to write from less than a privileged perspective. And the Gellhorn is masterful.