A review by junkutopia
The Best American Short Stories, by Richard Russo

4.0

I'd been wanting to jump on these collections since I realised they existed about 6 months ago now, but with not knowing where to start, and some quiet mixed reviews of previous years on here, I decided to wait for the 2010 edition, and Mr. Russo hasn't disappointed with this cracking collection. I'm not really one for review writing so I won't go into details about each story, but out of the twenty here, only two could I class anywhere near not having enjoyed all that much, which is a much better attrition rate than any previous collections I've read. Essential to anyone who loves the art of the short story.

While being very hard to narrow down, here are the stories that really stood out for me (Originally to be be a top five, but I just enjoyed far too many.)

Someone Ought To Tell Her There's Nowhere To Go - Danielle Evans
The Valetudinarian - Joshua Ferris
Least Resistance - Wayne Harrison
Painted Ocean, Painted Ship - Rebecca Makkai
Further Interpretations Of Real-Life Events - Kevin Moffett
The Ascent - Ron Rash
The Seagull Army Descends On Strong Beach - Karen Russell
The Cowboy Tango - Maggie Shipstead
Raw Water - Wells Tower