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Saints And Sinners: Stories (2011)

by Edna O'Brien(Favorite Author)

3.47 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0316122726 (ISBN13: 9780316122726)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Back Bay Books

review 1: I guess the title sums up this book better than anything else can. It's about human beings. Not some who are sinners and some who are saints but all of us who are both saints and sinners at the same time. I love the way the author gets right under the skin of her characters; we think, feel, suffer, rejoice with them as they go through life. Obviously, in a collection of this kind some of the stories will appeal more than others. My particular favourite was "Send My Roots Rain." I love the way the author slowly revealed elements of her character's backstory until everything just fell into place. As a short-story writer myself, I'm going back to this one to study just what made it work.
review 2: I must be (fingers crossed) experiencing intellectual growth and cu... moreriosity because I've come to appreciate and enjoy short stories. I consider my strength to be creative non-fiction writing and yet, short fiction's call grows louder each day (to read it, definitely, but perhaps to try my hand at writing it, too). O'Brien writes knowingly of Irish-American and Irish life in all its complexity--religion, country vs. city animosity, importance but controlling nature of family, the pull to stay, and the urge to flee. If you know about O'Brien's life, you'll see her shadow in these stories, especially as she writes in first person, which I don't see much in short story fiction. Favorites include: Manhattan Medley, Shovel Kings, Send My Roots Rain, Black Flower, Plunder, and Green Georgette. less

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