Sixty Stories (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)
by Donald Barthelme
published
April 7th 2005
by Penguin Books Ltd
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binding
Paperback, 464 pages
literary awards
1981 National Book Critics Circle Award Nominee
isbn
0141180935
(isbn13: 9780141180939)
description
This excellent collection of Donald Barthelme's literary output during the 1960s and 1970s covers the period when the writer came to prominence--produ...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 897)
Thomas Pynchon says it best:
Those recipes. That oxtail soup mix. That "burgoo," with the frozen ducks in it? A notable moment in chef psychopathology, to be sure -- yet such is Barthelme's genius that even the most porkophobic or duck-intolerant among us is drooling, unashamed, by recipe's end. His ingredients tend to come from outside New York, back in the U.S., brand names always good for some evocation of his native region, mostly canned or otherwise preserved, food mea...more
Those recipes. That oxtail soup mix. That "burgoo," with the frozen ducks in it? A notable moment in chef psychopathology, to be sure -- yet such is Barthelme's genius that even the most porkophobic or duck-intolerant among us is drooling, unashamed, by recipe's end. His ingredients tend to come from outside New York, back in the U.S., brand names always good for some evocation of his native region, mostly canned or otherwise preserved, food mea...more
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
Those who appreciate literature slightly askew
I was half way through the book when I realized that these stories serve as a kind of Rorschach Test, always in movement, always mind-boggling, and forever inspiring. Some of the "dialogues" can seem overly long and pedantic, but when it comes to Barthelme, can there be such terms? They seem to be much of the point. As an earlier review mentioned, these short pieces have the tendency to rip your mind to shreds, without any hope for recovery throughout. Many stories in this collection b...more
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2 comments
Sometimes I feel like a huge misfit writing fiction. I have some language-level obsession that doesn't always translate very well into "shit happening," which, let's face it, is crucial to a story. I think I always put more elbow grease into sentences and images, and particular cadences that please me. All of which is my roundabout way of praising Don Barthelme for writing stories that hit the aforementioned balls out of the park. Take heart, poets attempting to write fiction. The stor...more
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Read in September, 2008
Early on, judging from the nearly universal acclaim of this collection on Goodreads, my lukewarm feeling appears to be in the minority. This strikes me as the kind of contemporary art where the idea is much more interesting than the execution. Maybe I'm a philistine, but half of these stories seem to be tossed off, a quarter are trying too hard, and another quarter have some very interesting ideas surrounded by silliness.
My worst impulse when reading this book is to think like people who...more
My worst impulse when reading this book is to think like people who...more
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It's hit and miss, but there are a few brilliant stories in here. My favorite is "Me and Miss Mandible," in which Gulliver travels to a sixth-grade classroom and is attracted to the teacher. There's also a great one about the two army guys who have the keys to launch the nuclear missiles, and another about a struggling writer and his ex-prostitute wife who tries to be supportive but doesn't have it in her. Also memorable and oddly touching was the artist who inflates a giant (and I mea...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
fans of experimental literature, fans of off-kilter humor
Ok, it's done. Well, what to say about Barthelme? If this was any less funny (hilarious, in parts) I'm sure I would have hated it. Some stories I just bailed out of, but I read the vast majority. He seems to be a language novelist, conerned with how language communicates what it does (or how that system fails). In the stories that seemed MOST concerned with experimentation over story I have to say he lost me. But there were some that were VERY odd/experimental in form through which a pretty clea...more
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Read in May, 2008
Last year was undoubtedly the year of Donald Bartheleme in my life. He completely revolutionized how I read and what I read. I have become a huge fan. I realized I hadn't read about a third of the stories in this book, so a little while back I decided to pick it up again and read it through. They are not all gems, but many are, and all of them show an extraordinary erudition, insight and humour. The Glass Mountain, The Balloon, the excert from Dead Father, Mrs. Mancible, so many of these stories...more
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This selection remains the essential one for the situational brilliance, streetwise high-mindedness, worldly moaning and groaning, revivified commonplaces, and startling perfection of phrase that -- taken all in all -- defined a late-20th-Century master. No one with an ear for the language will want to skip the discoveries Donald Barthelme made in American Eglish. No one seeking to get their minds around the ever-more-citified complications of our existence, and to find what may yet amount to ...more
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Read in August, 2007
This collection of stories came highly recommended from a reliable source, but I'm sorry to say, I could only make it through about 10%. Maybe I'm overly traditional, but Barthelme's gimmicks (improper punctuation, garish non-sequiturs, smarty-pants diction) didn't impress me much. Too clever by half. That being said, I know a number of people who would really enjoy his work (i.e. I know a number of people who are better at having fun than me.) The stories are short. Give them a try if you ...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2005
Barthelme is a master (or, destroyer?) of the short story, frequently and gleefully throwing standard writing conventions out the window. Sometimes surreal and foreboding, often very funny, and occasionally totally incomprehensible, the stories here are short and varied enough that even his less successful experiments are worth a read.
Anyone with a taste for something different will be captivated by this book.
I read the first half in order then started skipping around to any story whos...more
Anyone with a taste for something different will be captivated by this book.
I read the first half in order then started skipping around to any story whos...more
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A juicy-fruit sweet collection of short short stories that still delights me on oh-so-many levels. Often the stories read like insane conceits: given an absurd premise, what happens next? Denounced by Dale Peck as "reductive cardboard constructions" — which for me is like denouncing a doodle by Saul Steinberg because it's not an exact illustration. Barthelme's apparently simple stories are inimitable, although many have tried. (And believe me, you will too, because it looks like so m...more
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Read in January, 1995
Hemingway Schmemingway. Donald Barthelme is the best American short story writer ever. Ever. He can imitate a thousand voices from history, pop culture, the receding line of his literary predecessors, but always maintaining some quality that is uniquely Barthelme.
Favorites from this collection:
"The Indian Uprising"
"See the Moon?"
"The Zombies"
"Game"
"Paraguay"
"A City of Churches"
"The School"
Favorites from this collection:
"The Indian Uprising"
"See the Moon?"
"The Zombies"
"Game"
"Paraguay"
"A City of Churches"
"The School"
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recommends it for:
psychedelics
Maybe I didn't get this book. The first few stories were really punchy and grand and played the surrealism-as-modern-condition card perfectly. Then the stories became more erratic, totally non-traditional format and uneven or inane narrative. At times I felt like I was reading the literary equivalent of the Holy Mountain. I just couldn't focus.
Another library return before I had a chance to finish it.
Another library return before I had a chance to finish it.
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Read in September, 2002
Although normally people seem to like "Sixty" better than "Forty," I'm different. Maybe it's because "Forty" was the first one I read and because of that I relate "Forty" with my intro to work that would be so important to me later on. Anyway, I still really like "Sixty," but I feel like there are stories in "Sixty" I can do without, whereas all of "Forty" to me is perfect.
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Here's an odd coincidence: Carl, that's me, finishes reading The Beetle Leg by John Hawkes and then immediately picks up Sixty Stories by Donald Barthelme. The first story contains a character named Carl who talks about being a fan of The Beetle Leg by John Hawkes.
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Read in September, 2008
4 1/2 stars. 1/3 of this book is brilliant short stories. Another 1/3 is interesting experiments in fiction. The last 1/3 left me scratching my head. But there is enough great material here to make the case for Barthelme being one of the great American writers of his era. Should be read by anyone with an interest in short stories and their potential.
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2 comments
Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
people who can't do acid anymore
never knew you could experience surreal introspection without the aid of illicit substances from far off terrorist oraganizations? well you can if you read barthelme. anything barthelme. barthelme is composed of the same chemical properties as.. uh.. a hallucinagen.
cook well done, or parasites may develop.
cook well done, or parasites may develop.
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this is one of those collections that is an on-going read for me. i pick it up every once in a while, and it always challenges and entertains me. although most of the stories are absurd, Barthelme usually does a good job off balancing the "high art" aspects of his stories with accessibility.
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Read in September, 2008
Love it. It's post-modern, deconstructionist, and hilarious. Many of the stories are hard to follow, and plot is not at all important in almost all cases, but if you can let go and enjoy the writing it's amazing. More of a display of his range than Snow White, but both are great.
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Read in January, 1996
This book still stays by my bedside ten years after I read it the first time. Anytime life seems too complicated and just downright ridiculous, I look to this book to remind me that even complications have simple readings and that ridiculous is often the best adjective.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.41 (628 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.38 (443 ratings) number of reviews: 65
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quote
"The confusing signals, the impurity of the signal, gives you verisimilitude, as when you attend a funeral and notice that it's being poorly done."
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