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The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2012: Including Stories By John Berger, Wendell Berry, Anthony Doerr, Lauren Groff, Yi (2012)

by Laura Furman(Favorite Author)
3.73 of 5 Votes: 4
ISBN
0307947882 (ISBN13: 9780307947888)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Anchor
review 1: The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2012 do what any good anthology does: present a selection of some of the best stories of the year that cover all genres and styles. The selections were mostly impressive, but a few stood out as exceptional such as Slouka's The Hare's Mask, Li's Kindness, Sneed's The First Wife, and Ruddick's Leak. Of all the stories, Wilson's A Birth in the Woods left the strongest impression on me and caused me to marvel at the craft of writing short stories. Also, there were a few stories that seemed to fall short of being one of the best of the year, and I was pressed to find a reason they were included on the list. Overall, the book is an enjoyable read that is an easy way to keep abreast of what is trending in the world of short sto... moreries.
review 2: I am using this as my primary textbook for my upcoming Craft of Fiction class, so I won't write much here in case my students check into my Goodreads (hey, students!). But, as always, there are some wonders in this collection, and some stories that left me a little cold. Two of my favorites are Alice Munro's story, because, well, she's Alice Munro and amazing, and covers so many years with such ease. And the other favorite was Kindness by Yiyun Li is more like a Novella, and is simply stunning. All in all, a great collection, and I look forward to the discussions of craft that this book will generate amongst my English 456 students. less
Reviews (see all)
Alexis505406
As with almost any anthology, some stories left me in awe, others scratching my head.
Angie
Just read "The Deep." Wow. The Gilb story is really good too.
tresstooloyal
Marvelous book. Hardly a story in it I didn't enjoy.
Ammara
Perfect reading for the hurricane aftermath...
Tamilselvi90
Melodrama, boredom, mild interest.
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