Short Story Collections Community Read-Along June 2013
DiscussionsShort Stories
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1richardderus
This month's highlight and treat will be my ARC of the current Tartt Award-winning collection THE LOVE BOX.
I almost always love Livingston Press's books. I'm really looking forward to this one. The publisher's pretty laconic: "Winner! Tartt First Fiction Award! The Love Box is a camera, a fight, an oven, a heart. These 22 stories document the torments of young men and women haunted by unreasonable attachments to other human beings."
Not much to go on there, is there...still looking forward to it, since I didn't get to read it in May!
2Crazymamie
Hoping you get to read it in June! Since I loved Brokeback Mountain so much, I will be dipping into Annie Proulx's Close Range - really looking forward to it. And it's my very own copy because I purchased it for my veryownself!
3richardderus
>2 Crazymamie: I am a big Proulx fan, so I hope the other stories please you as much as Brokeback Mountain did.
5CarolynSchroeder
I won Bobcat And Other Stories by Rebecca Lee through Early Reviewers here on LT, so if I get it this month, it will be my selection. If not, I'm not sure which one to choose ... I have a few on Mount TBR!
6bell7
I started Selected Stories by Nadine Gordimer in May, and will continue to dip into it this month as well.
7alphaorder
Reading Wendell Berry's Fidelity. Started with the title story - loved it!
8jldarden
Just finished up a Member Giveaway win of short ghost stories, From the Angry to the Sublime. My review is on LT.
9jldarden
Another Member Giveaway - Souvenir and three more not-quite-straightforward tales by Daniel Kelley. Review here on site.
A couple of stories into While I'm Still Myself by Jeremy Mark Lane. Enjoying it so far.
A couple of stories into While I'm Still Myself by Jeremy Mark Lane. Enjoying it so far.
10Cariola
I'm doing some catching up here; kind of forgot about this group, but I HAVE been reading some short stories!
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
As one of the apparently rare few who wasn't blown away by Half of a Yellow Sun, I took a gamble on Adichie's short story collection, The Thing Around Your Neck--and I'm very glad that I did. These twelve stories all feature Nigerian protagonists, but the settings, time periods, and situations shift from the 1967 Biafran war, to immigrants in the contemporary United States, back to a time when white missionaries were still a rare sight in Nigeria. Many of the stories deal with women struggling to balance between the old ways and the new, but Adichie also focuses on Nigeria's brutal politics, history of violence, divisive class system, and exploitation by the west. But behind those messages are real characters--real people--working hard at relationships and trying to make tomorrow just a little better than today. Adichie's writing itself is engaging and compelling, and the stories have encouraged me to seek out her other novels. Perhaps even to give Half of a Yellow Sun another try.
Bodily Secrets by William Trevor
A fine little collection of five unusual love stories, all very Irish in content and tone. In "The Day We Got Drunk on Cake," Mike is looking for love in all the wrong places--and constantly ringing up Lucy in his efforts to escape. "Lovers of Their Time" is the story of Norman Britt, a henpecked travel agent who falls for a shop girl in the 1960s. The title story focuses on wealthy widow Norah O'Neill who, unhappy with the fact that her son is closing down the toy factory that helped to make the family fortunes, offers the 'job' of husband to one of the employees. "Honeymoon in Tramore" is a bittersweet story of one-sided love and the sacrifices young Davy makes in its name. Barney Prenderville recalls his days as a student boarder, when he fell "In Love with Ariadne," the landlady's reserved, old-fashioned daughter. Trevor is a master at conveying his character's thoughts and feelings. I highly recommend this charming collection, part of Penguin's 'Great Loves' series.
Playing Sardines by Michele Roberts
This collection of short stories reads almost like an experiment in sensuality. Many of the stories focus on food, describing in detail the textures, colors, aromas, and colors of various dishes. Others describe in detail the beauty of objets d'art or even the beauty of everyday things. Still others wallow in the sensuality of love and sex. Even religion is approached through the senses. Most of Roberts's protagonists are in rather bittersweet--if not simply bitter--situations, but they seem to be redeemed by their sensual memories.
While this is not the best of Roberts's works that I have read, it was certainly interesting.
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
As one of the apparently rare few who wasn't blown away by Half of a Yellow Sun, I took a gamble on Adichie's short story collection, The Thing Around Your Neck--and I'm very glad that I did. These twelve stories all feature Nigerian protagonists, but the settings, time periods, and situations shift from the 1967 Biafran war, to immigrants in the contemporary United States, back to a time when white missionaries were still a rare sight in Nigeria. Many of the stories deal with women struggling to balance between the old ways and the new, but Adichie also focuses on Nigeria's brutal politics, history of violence, divisive class system, and exploitation by the west. But behind those messages are real characters--real people--working hard at relationships and trying to make tomorrow just a little better than today. Adichie's writing itself is engaging and compelling, and the stories have encouraged me to seek out her other novels. Perhaps even to give Half of a Yellow Sun another try.
Bodily Secrets by William Trevor
A fine little collection of five unusual love stories, all very Irish in content and tone. In "The Day We Got Drunk on Cake," Mike is looking for love in all the wrong places--and constantly ringing up Lucy in his efforts to escape. "Lovers of Their Time" is the story of Norman Britt, a henpecked travel agent who falls for a shop girl in the 1960s. The title story focuses on wealthy widow Norah O'Neill who, unhappy with the fact that her son is closing down the toy factory that helped to make the family fortunes, offers the 'job' of husband to one of the employees. "Honeymoon in Tramore" is a bittersweet story of one-sided love and the sacrifices young Davy makes in its name. Barney Prenderville recalls his days as a student boarder, when he fell "In Love with Ariadne," the landlady's reserved, old-fashioned daughter. Trevor is a master at conveying his character's thoughts and feelings. I highly recommend this charming collection, part of Penguin's 'Great Loves' series.
Playing Sardines by Michele Roberts
This collection of short stories reads almost like an experiment in sensuality. Many of the stories focus on food, describing in detail the textures, colors, aromas, and colors of various dishes. Others describe in detail the beauty of objets d'art or even the beauty of everyday things. Still others wallow in the sensuality of love and sex. Even religion is approached through the senses. Most of Roberts's protagonists are in rather bittersweet--if not simply bitter--situations, but they seem to be redeemed by their sensual memories.
While this is not the best of Roberts's works that I have read, it was certainly interesting.
11Polaris-
Not really short fiction, but I am currently enjoying my sporadic forays into The Best Australian Trucking Stories compiled by Jim Haynes.
It's a fun collection of tales on the road with some of Australia's men and women who help to keep the country moving. There's pathos, drama, and a fair share of humour in these stories. I'm learning quite a bit about the tough souls whose vehicles I became mildly obsessed with photographing while I was visiting my brother down under earlier this year.
It's a fun collection of tales on the road with some of Australia's men and women who help to keep the country moving. There's pathos, drama, and a fair share of humour in these stories. I'm learning quite a bit about the tough souls whose vehicles I became mildly obsessed with photographing while I was visiting my brother down under earlier this year.
12jldarden
Just posted my review of Jeremy Mark Lane's While I'm Still Myself. A fine collection of stories.
Going back now to finish Doghouse Roses.
Going back now to finish Doghouse Roses.
