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The Best American Short Stories 2013 (2013)

by Elizabeth Strout(Favorite Author)

3.59 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0547554826 (ISBN13: 9780547554822)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

review 1: Oh, bummer. This collection wasn't much to my taste, though there were a few highlights: I liked "Malaria", by Michael Byers, and "Horned Men", by Karl Taro Greenfeld, and the bizarre, Bridget-Jones-esque "Semplica-Girl Diaries" by George Saunders (I know, what a shock). Some of the others were interesting enough, but didn't really grab me. Full disclaimer: I had a baby in the middle of this, so my perception might be a little warped by late pregnancy distraction/newborn sleep deprivation.
review 2: I've been reading this annual anthology every year since I took a creative writing class in college for which it was the textbook in 1998. Since 2003, it has been an annual Christmas present from my wife, Becky, and the collection now fills up a three-foot shelf in... more our bedroom. This year's installment was excellent--great stories by twenty authors, and here are the ones that stand out to me: Gish Jen, "The Third Dumpster," about parents and children. Bret Anthony Johnston, "Encounters with Unexpected Animals" about sexual power and its uses. David Means, "The Chair," about parenting. Alice Munro, "Train," about the choices we make in life. George Saunders, "The Semplica-Girl Diaries," about parenting and the inexorable lure of consumerism. And fifteen other fantastic works of short fiction, some surprisingly, wonderfully short. Already looking forward to next year's volume! less

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