Valerie Trueblood
Auteur de Seven Loves
Œuvres de Valerie Trueblood
Étiqueté
Partage des connaissances
- Sexe
- female
- Nationalité
- USA
- Lieux de résidence
- Seattle, Washington, USA
Virginia, USA
Chicago, Illinois, USA - Études
- Brown University
- Relations
- Rapport, Richard (husband)
Membres
Critiques
Listes
Prix et récompenses
Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 5
- Membres
- 135
- Popularité
- #150,831
- Évaluation
- 3.2
- Critiques
- 6
- ISBN
- 14
Search Party is a remarkably strong collection of stories. I enjoy short fiction but, as I mentioned in my review of Lorrie Moore's Bark, I think some of the recent stuff is highly overrated. Not this collection, though. "The Magic Pebble" and "The Stabbed Boy" just about broke my heart with their bits of tragedy; "The Blue Grotto," a tale of a babysitter whose overnight charge has a 105-degree fever and requires a trip to the ER, terrified me; "Later or Never" (about a caretaker) and "Street of Dreams" (about a father shepherding his homeless family) were poignant vignettes; and the opening of "Who Is He That Will Harm You" reveals its events, little by little, until the full scene pops startlingly into your mind's eye.
The main disappointment for me was the final -- and titular -- tale. At 45 pages, it creates a slowly-dragging finish to what is otherwise a smooth-moving collection. It's not a bad story, but it keeps adding new elements just when you think it's going to wrap things up. This was the only story in the book during which I found myself flipping ahead -- multiple times -- to see how much I had left. Don't let that one downfall steer you away from this book, though, because you'd be missing out.
All in all: One of the better story collections I've read recently. I still haven't decided whether to send my copy to a friend or not. I want to share it but also feel like keeping it for myself, which is high praise.… (plus d'informations)