Rate this book

The Best American Short Stories 2011 (2011)

by Geraldine Brooks(Favorite Author)

3.81 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0547242166 (ISBN13: 9780547242163)

languge

English

genre

Fiction

publisher

Mariner Books

review 1: I've only read the first 3 1/2 stories so far; however, "A Bridge Under Water" by Tom Bissell is one of the best short stories I've ever read and would be worth the price of the entire book. If, as the author said in the end note "a large part of the reason I wrote this story was to determine why I can sometimes be an insufferable dick," well, I'm glad he went through this exercise and, whether or not he's still an insufferable dick, he wrote an amazing short story! I'll just make sure never to go see him speak at an author event. Okay, back to the rest of the book now. . .
review 2: This collection from 2011 was not one of the most effective of the Best series, and it was disappointing in many ways. That said, there were some moments that stood out as masterf... moreul - Englander, McCracken, and Saunders were some of the most notable and pleasurable pieces in the book, but some of the other pieces felt as though they were included to pique the interest and tastes of all audiences, and I felt like Brooks’ editing was all over the place in tone, scope, and even the general ordering of the pieces seemed not to make much sense. The central thread seemed as though there was a non-fiction journalistic sort of approach, and while I tend to normally enjoy these books, this collection was disappointing in this manner as some of these choices weren’t very pleasant or refreshing. I felt some of the pieces were bland, and I was not enjoying getting through them. I felt like it was a classroom of writers exercise in collection, rather than an exercise in editing and choice. This is one of the few times I have been disappointed in Best American, so I will certainly continue to read them, but the energy that is normally infused in these collections is simply a cold rubber bladder rather than something I enjoyed. less

Download links for: The Best American Short Stories 2011

Advertising