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15th out of 214 books
—
68 voters
The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories
by
Tobias Wolff
The thirty-three stories in this volume prove that American short fiction maybe be our most distinctive national art form. As selected and introduced by Tobias Wolff, they also make up an alternate map of the United States that represents not just geography but narrative traditions, cultural heritage, and divergent approaches.
Contributors and stories include: Mary Gaitski...more
Contributors and stories include: Mary Gaitski...more
Paperback, 576 pages
Published
September 6th 1994
by Vintage
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It's a shame that short stories are a somewhat forgotten genre these days, because when they are good (as these ones are), they can contain the joy, profundity and impact of much longer works, without the necessity of hours of time commitment. There are too many first-rate stories in here to make individual remarks practical, but I would offer a general salute to Tobias Wolff, the editor, for making almost uniformly first-rate selections.
I've had to pace myself going through the book because al...more
I've had to pace myself going through the book because al...more
Nov 29, 2008
ginny
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to ginny by:
New Yorker Fiction podcast (?)
After listening to a New Yorker Fiction podcast reading of "Dog Heaven," I picked this up from the library because I was so drawn to this particular story about the military child--most stories about the military center on the service member. The tone is lightly nostalgic and the author teases out funny little anecdotes as she brings us to the bittersweet conclusion of youth and innocence. Everything is just right about this little story. So good.
Other favorites from the collection: Cathedral, T...more
Other favorites from the collection: Cathedral, T...more
I don't typically read short stories, but was given this book and quickly became hooked on it. I'm very impressed with the depth of emotion that some of these stories accomplish in 10 or 15 pages. My favorites from the book,
- A Vintage Thunderbird (*)
- Tall Tales From the Meekong Delta (*)
- Men Under Water
- The Things They Carried
- Lawns
Really great stuff.
- A Vintage Thunderbird (*)
- Tall Tales From the Meekong Delta (*)
- Men Under Water
- The Things They Carried
- Lawns
Really great stuff.
This collection was my textbook for Fiction Writing at the University of Memphis. My first real foray into the study of the short story and I must say that this volume would be an excellent start for anyone trying to hone their own skills at writing as well as anyone who would like to read work from the leading talent in this particular field.
A great read. A cultural snapshot--if indeed one can be taken of the United States. Each story is crisp and memorable. I received this as a gift from friends who know that I have a love for short fiction.
Although I was familiar with several of the stories, I nonetheless stumbled upon many new ones.
Try it out. It might not have the range of a true anthology, but it serves as a nice taste of the American brand of fiction.
Although I was familiar with several of the stories, I nonetheless stumbled upon many new ones.
Try it out. It might not have the range of a true anthology, but it serves as a nice taste of the American brand of fiction.
This is my favorite anthology of short stories. Mona Simpson's "Lawns" is probably my favorite because it is so disturbing, but I also love several of the teachable stories in here such as Carver's "Cathedral," Oates' "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been," Vaughn's "Dog Heaven," Dubus' "The Fat Girl," and so on.
I'm actually rereading this book right now in Creative Writing, but some of the selections are phenomenal like "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" and Tim 'O Brien's "The Things They Carried". Others are somewhat stagnant in my mind, but I enjoy the reread none-the-less.
The stories in this collection are inspiring. Wolff collected works from the best writers of our time. Stories like Joyce Carol Oates' "Where are you going? Where have you been?" and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried," while more wildly read and better know, fit in superbly with Andre Dubus' "Fat Girl," Jamaica Kincaid's "Girl" and Edward P. Jones' "The First Day." I was particularly happy to read Susan Power's "Moonwalk," a story about a dying native american woman's last gift to her grand...more
Jul 27, 2011
Abby
added it
All very good writing, although it requires a little cognition. Favorites include "Chopin In Winter" by Stuart Dybek, "Talk of Heroes" by Carol Bly, "Aunt Granny Lith" by Chris Offutt, "Moonwalk" by Susan Powers, and "Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan.
A lot of old standards in here. Good for getting familiar with some famous stories, though I have to say that I don't like all of them. Some more than others, in any case. All in all, though, a solid, if traditional, collection.
I picked up this collection of short stories because it was edited by Tobias Wolff, who has recently become one of my favorite authors. Practically every story in this collection is breathtaking. Each is engaging in its own way. If you're hoping to discover some new authors as well as read some absolute classics by people like Carver, and Denis Johnson, then this is a great place to look.
There are some classics here, but not all readers will agree with Wolff's choices and there's definitely a lot of important--ahem--experimental work left out.
The title says it all - Vintage, Contemporary, American, Short Stories. A great collection from a variety of well-known and not so well-known authors.
This is my favorite short story anthology of all time. I am always raving about it.
Perfect collection for instructors teaching beginning/intermediate creative writers.
There are a whole lot of extremely good short stories in this book, highly recommend.
Outstanding anthology of American short stories from the '80s and early '90s.
I think I taught from this book one year? It's OKish.
Text book used for my Creative Writing class.
Good anthology of dirty realists.
I bought this book when I was 14, and I read it from beginning to end a couple of times in a row. Before then I hadn't been to interested in short stories, but afterwards, they were all I would read. This book houses some of my all-time favorite short stories: Cathedral, The Fat Girl, Rock Springs, others whose names I can't remember right now. Also, it introduced me to Tobias Wolff, who I still love. I could still read it cover to cover.
A great collection, and I'm a man who knows collections. This has many of the greats that I think are essential in any collection as well as some others I hadn't ever seen before. The first story, which I can't remember the name of, really hit me, as did a magnificent and horrifying piece near the middle called "Wickedness." Scribner anthology is still my favorite, but this is a close second.
Best short stories ever!! Loved it!
This book will make you love short stories. I won't say every page was amazing, and in fact there were two or three stories in here I didn't think were all that great. But the other twenty or so were great. Some were amazing. So seeing as this book is roughly 95% great, I'm giving it 5 stars. This is fiction that sticks to your ribs, not in your teeth.
This is one of the best story anthologies I've ever read. Some of my all-time favorite short stories, such as "The Fat Girl" by Andre Dubus, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates, "Train" by Joy Williams, "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver and "Men Under Water" by Ralph Lombreglia, are in this book.
Highlights: "All The Way In Flagstaff, Arizona" by Richard Bausch;
"Rock Springs" by Richard Ford;
"Testimony Of Pilot" by Barry Hannah;
"Emergency" by Denis Johnson;
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates;
"Cody's Story" by Robert Olmstead;
"Helping" by Robert Stone
"Rock Springs" by Richard Ford;
"Testimony Of Pilot" by Barry Hannah;
"Emergency" by Denis Johnson;
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates;
"Cody's Story" by Robert Olmstead;
"Helping" by Robert Stone
The first story, "River of Names," by Dorothy Allison ripped my friggen head off. Brutally good. Another favorite was, "Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta," by Kate Braverman. A few stories are already heavily anthologized (Oates, Tan, Carver) but overall this was a spectacular anthology with only a few misses.
Amazing. I'm not normally a literature consumer, but this one hit the spot. Most of the stories are sad, compelling and rich. Strong character development in each, a punch to the gut in most, an interesting piece of what it is to be human and american captured in all. Loved it. Highly recommended.
All great, of course, although I'm not sure that all of Wolff's choices deserved to be in this "prestigious" of a volume. Nearly all were very enjoyable; every one boasted top-notch craftsmanship (again, given the volume, this should be expected, though).
Many stories blew me away. A few did not.
The very best: Raymond Chandler's Cathedral, Amy Tan's Rules of the Game, Jamaica Kincaid's Girl, Andre Dubus's The Fat Girl, Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
The very best: Raymond Chandler's Cathedral, Amy Tan's Rules of the Game, Jamaica Kincaid's Girl, Andre Dubus's The Fat Girl, Joyce Carol Oates's Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
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Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff is a writer of fiction and nonfiction.
He is best known for his short stories and his memoirs, although he has written two novels.
Wolff is the Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, where he has taught classes in English and creative writing since 1997. He also served as the director of the Creative Writ...more
More about Tobias Wolff...
He is best known for his short stories and his memoirs, although he has written two novels.
Wolff is the Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, where he has taught classes in English and creative writing since 1997. He also served as the director of the Creative Writ...more
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Although I liked most of them pretty well. Really, much better than I exp...more
Jun 12, 2011 11:56pm