A review by audjmo91
Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson
5.0
Y'know, each of these stories is longer than your typical short story, but they are all deeply engrossing and the worlds they have built are exhilarating.
If I had to rank them (there are only 6), I think I would say my favorite was, "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine," followed by "Interesting Facts," "Hurricanes Anonymous," "Dark Meadow," "Nirvana," and "Fortune Smiles." The Stasi prison guard's tale will stick with me for a very long time, and is the primary reason I recommended the collection to someone else.
One final note: I admit I was a little pained to realize (there is an interview and some discussion questions in the back of my edition) that "Interesting Facts" was semi-autobiographical. Told from the perspective of his wife who herself had cancer, that story puts you so soundly on her side and in her perspective, and thus I couldn't help but resent Johnson a little for telling it. All the same, 5 stars.
If I had to rank them (there are only 6), I think I would say my favorite was, "George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine," followed by "Interesting Facts," "Hurricanes Anonymous," "Dark Meadow," "Nirvana," and "Fortune Smiles." The Stasi prison guard's tale will stick with me for a very long time, and is the primary reason I recommended the collection to someone else.
One final note: I admit I was a little pained to realize (there is an interview and some discussion questions in the back of my edition) that "Interesting Facts" was semi-autobiographical. Told from the perspective of his wife who herself had cancer, that story puts you so soundly on her side and in her perspective, and thus I couldn't help but resent Johnson a little for telling it. All the same, 5 stars.