book data
198 ratings,
3.64
average rating, 39 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
January 6th 2004
(first published 2003)
by Back Bay Books
binding
Paperback, 240 pages
isbn
0316608467
(isbn13: 9780316608466)
description
Few literary debuts (and even fewer story collections) generate the kind of heated excitement and critical adoration that have greeted WHEN THE MESSEN...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 289)
All ratings
|
5 stars (46)
|
4 stars (65)
|
3 stars (62)
|
2 stars (19)
|
1 star (6)
|
avg 3.64
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
recommends it for:
Once and future girlfriends
Son-of-a-gun. It turns out that finding a book that is written in a voice that is just like that of all of your favorite ex-girlfriends at their most clever, funny, and sophisticated is oddly enjoyable.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in June, 2009
I just walked into a random used bookstore in Bayview and found this. What are the odds?
I liked these well enough. They were an extremely quick read- I read most of it during a session on the stationary bike. I still have to read the story with "New Zealand" in the title. The stories were warm and cute, although "Christina" and "Return from the Depot!" reminded me a little too much of the American suburban magic realism that Douglas Coupland has trie...more
I liked these well enough. They were an extremely quick read- I read most of it during a session on the stationary bike. I still have to read the story with "New Zealand" in the title. The stories were warm and cute, although "Christina" and "Return from the Depot!" reminded me a little too much of the American suburban magic realism that Douglas Coupland has trie...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2006
"Intervention" just might be my favorite story in this collection. In Crane's story, a woman joins A.A. even though she is not an alcoholic and believes that she has found fulfillment in the organization's teachings. What she has actually done is make a horrid mess of her life and her friends step in to correct her ways.
It's a very funny and relatable story.
Every story in this collection is relatable and funny.
Favorites include:
"Pr...more
It's a very funny and relatable story.
Every story in this collection is relatable and funny.
Favorites include:
"Pr...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2008
Elizabeth Crane is just hitting my sweet spot right now -- I haven't allowed myself much fiction since I started school and am trying to read about reference services before I fall asleep, but I cracked on the long bus ride to and from NYC.
When the Messenger is Hot felt like a continuation of All This Heavenly Glory to me, although Crane wrote Messenger first and I'm sure it Glory felt that way to people who read them in the right order. Both books have the same breathlessness, the ...more
When the Messenger is Hot felt like a continuation of All This Heavenly Glory to me, although Crane wrote Messenger first and I'm sure it Glory felt that way to people who read them in the right order. Both books have the same breathlessness, the ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2007
I really liked Crane's second collection of stories, All This Heavenly Glory, but these stories were neither differentiated enough nor linked enough to be as satisfying as her second book. Most of the stories here deal with, at least in passing, a dead/dying mother and rehab and all feature the same kind of breathless narration and quirky interpolation of odd details and supernatural elements. It was a little too much of the same for me (I had a similar reaction when reading all of John Irving...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2006
Elizabeth Crane's prose is smart yet straightforward, funny yet meaningful. In When the Messenger Is Hot, she experiments with form and point of view while creating memorable characters and scenarios.
There are lots of stories in this book, so I'll just highlight a couple of my favorites. The opener, "The Archetypes Girlfriend," is more of an extended description than a traditional story. Is there such thing as a stereotypical idiosyncrasy? Yes: Crane manages to display tons...more
There are lots of stories in this book, so I'll just highlight a couple of my favorites. The opener, "The Archetypes Girlfriend," is more of an extended description than a traditional story. Is there such thing as a stereotypical idiosyncrasy? Yes: Crane manages to display tons...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2009
A really great story collection. At first, I kind of felt like each story was just sort of a rehashing of the previous one, but then I realized that the continuing thematic elements weren't a cop out, that is was more that each story seemed to inform the one that followed it, I really found myself caught up in the collection. The story "An Intervention..." in particular really left me feeling satisfied. No glowingly happy endings, but who says you need those anyway.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
bookshelves:
chick-lit-romance,
girl-woman-feminine-tales,
love-tales,
short-stories,
the-fam-connection
Read in April, 2005
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Gloriously written collection of short stories. Crane's "stream of consciousness" writing can get a bit tedious at times, but truly does add to the effect. My favs: "The Daves" (frighteningly close to home story about a gal who just dates too many "Daves" only to realize that they are really just one "Dave") and "The Super Fantastic New Zealand Triangle" which might as well be about just the one "Dave."
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Reading this book right now is kind of like viewing conceptual art--I appreciated the concepts behind a lot of the stories more than their actual execution as stories. The first story made me wonder how someone decided that this book was even publishable; somewhere in the middle it reminded me of the last chapter of Ulysses. Somewhere in between is how I'd rate this--sometimes bold and funny and sometimes a mess.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Okay, so I am between one and two stars for this review...It's not that this wasn't entertaining--it was in some places. Definitely a beach read book. Requires very little attention. I guess I'll choose a one star rating because I really didn't like Crane's portrayal of women--they came across as helpless, unable to see their own faults, all making stupid decisions (primarily about men), and lacking self-awareness. This would be okay for a couple of stories, but it seemed like it was the formula...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
girls
My best friend gave me this book for Christmas in 2005, and while I love her very much, I don't think she read this book all the way through - because within this collection of short stories there are at least three stories of "my mother is dying/died of cancer" - and wouldn't you know it, my OWN mother was dying of cancer at the very same time. Not exactly fun reading. But, taken separately from that, the stories are fun and fluffy but not brilliantly written. This one is just OK.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
These are interesting short stories narrated by neurotic but literate women. The stories definitely held my interest, as I kept hoping for some stability to enter the lives of these weird women. Some of the sentences filled a page as the characters listed, outlined, or even footnoted the explanations for the unsettling events in their lives. All in all, the tone is entertaining and upbeat rather than depressing.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
NOBODY!
I hated this book. Every short story would start out exciting and I would get interested, then it would turn into some rediculous twist and I would ask myself, "why am I wasting my time with this book?" I only continued so I could say, " I did it. I threw away hours of my time just to tell everyone to avoid this book like the plague."
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2006
Elizabeth Crane is my favorite short story writer. She has an amazing voice that comes off the page so clearly; reading her stories is like talking with a close friend. I think I legitimately laughed out loud at least one time per story, and I read it in Starbucks, so that was embarrassing.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
women who love edgy romantic literary short stories
I loved that this was very literary chick lit.
Also,just saw one of the stories performed on the stage by the Steppenwolfe company.
Crane has this incredible manic, clipped voice that is totally addictive. Read all the stories in one sitting.
Also,just saw one of the stories performed on the stage by the Steppenwolfe company.
Crane has this incredible manic, clipped voice that is totally addictive. Read all the stories in one sitting.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in December, 2006
any story that can start out with a line like: "so get this: they're going to make movie of my life."(from the story Something Shiny)has me hooked.
life is given a new, more honest portrayal, in all of Elizabeth Crane's work. READ THIS.
life is given a new, more honest portrayal, in all of Elizabeth Crane's work. READ THIS.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2004
Have you ever experienced love, lust, burning passion, dating apathy, or romantic disillusionment? Of course you have. And so has Elizabeth Crane. There's a story or two for all of us in this sweet, sarcastic, bitter, funny, hopeful collection.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2005
I'd like to echo all the positive reviews on this book and add that its shiny red cover makes it an excellent platonic Valentine's day gift for your friends. Especially your bookish-yet-sexy-yet-single ones.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
groups with this book
