My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro
by Jeffrey Eugenides
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Read in July, 2008
Eeks, Denis Johnson is an awful writer. His story, "Dirty Wedding," hadtinges of James Frey, John Banville (I say this not as a compliment, but in reference to Banville's being disingenuously coy about not knowing exact ages or locations or types of writing utensils--"What tree was that? A pine?"), and a third whom I can't mention but whom I consider the worst writer I know. Suffice it to say, I'll never read any work by Johnson ever in my life. Wow, that was a nonsensica...more
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Read in May, 2008
It's ridiculously difficult for me to rate this book because there is such a vast difference between the stories that I relished and the ones that I had to trudge through. I adore Eugenides as an author, but his editing skills in regards to a collection of "great" love stories leaves something to be desired. There are certainly stories that, to me, expressed the epitome of love, such as Munro's "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," in which a husband begins to lose his wife of s...more
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Read in February, 2008
I'm so sorry I ever picked this stupid book up. Yeah, the writing's great but I'm finding myself driving around in the rain, listening to sappy music & entertaining the kind of thoughts that make me wish that human cloning was a viable technology so I could have the option of kicking my own ass for acting like a sickening adolescent.
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Read in February, 2008
This is, overall, a well-curated collection of love-related stories, or as Jeffrey Eugenides dubs it (to paraphrase), "stories about when the sparrow is alive, and stories about when the sparrow is dead." While most of the pieces address dead sparrows, I had to skip a few on account of general (as well as birthday) (oh, as well as pre-V-day) malaise. I'm glad I was reminded of authors like Raymond Carver, whose unsettling "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" address...more
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Read in March, 2008
I'm not usually one for short stories but this collection is seriously phenomenal. Compiled by Jeffrey Eugenides (author of Middlesex) this book features about a dozen short "love" stories. I put love in quotation marks because none of the stories consist of the typical boy and girl fall in love and live happily ever after type of situation. They deal with first loves, first heart-aches, disillusionment, tragedy, sheer joy, and so much more.
"Natasha" was the story that s...more
"Natasha" was the story that s...more
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Read in May, 2008
recommended to Alyce by:
Leonard Lopaterecommends it for: Adults
Eugenides says in his marvelous introduction, "love stories depend on disappointment...(and)give love a bad name". Hence, the stories in this collection explore unrequited love,lost passion, affairs, and similiarly painful experiences and situations. Although there were stories that just didn't do it for me, the volume is far from disappointing.
My favorites:
Guy de Maupassant's Mouche
Chekhov's The Lady with the Little Dog
Joyce's The Dead
Faulkner's A Rose For Emily
Munro'...more
My favorites:
Guy de Maupassant's Mouche
Chekhov's The Lady with the Little Dog
Joyce's The Dead
Faulkner's A Rose For Emily
Munro'...more
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Read in June, 2008
i have a hard time rating this book as a whole. some of the stories made me cry. others made me want to skip to the next one. some i had already encountered in another life.
i couldn't stop reading this book. i couldn't stop re-reading the stories. reading them aloud to my boyfriend. watching the look on his face to see if they resonated as strongly with him. it was beautiful. and it was heart-breaking. and it hurt. i felt so dreadful after reading some of them, like it was me this was happe...more
i couldn't stop reading this book. i couldn't stop re-reading the stories. reading them aloud to my boyfriend. watching the look on his face to see if they resonated as strongly with him. it was beautiful. and it was heart-breaking. and it hurt. i felt so dreadful after reading some of them, like it was me this was happe...more
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Read in March, 2008
I may be in the minority, but I was disappointed by this book. I couldn't get further than the first 100 pages. I can't even remember the last time I put a book down. I usually make myself continue no matter how torturous it might be if I really dislike something. I get it - love doesn't have to be about flowers and romance and what we typically see in the movies. But, some of these stories were just bizarre and not the interesting kind of bizarre but the please-tell-me-where-this-is-going-...more
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How could this book not be good? I saw it in the bookstore and thought the design was so kick-ass- no book sleeve! We all hate those anyways. The design is ON the hard back. Good decision #1.
#2- Jeffrey Eugenides edited it. I never finished Middlesex because I left it on a plane to Italy. But I was super enthralled during the first 80 pages. I also love the Virgin Suicides. Josh Hartnett, and Sophia Coppola.
#3. The stories, so far, are incredible. And they're not all Dave Egger's-ish in ...more
#2- Jeffrey Eugenides edited it. I never finished Middlesex because I left it on a plane to Italy. But I was super enthralled during the first 80 pages. I also love the Virgin Suicides. Josh Hartnett, and Sophia Coppola.
#3. The stories, so far, are incredible. And they're not all Dave Egger's-ish in ...more
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Read in June, 2008
this is the first time I wish I could give a book a half star. I don't know if I liked this as a whole or not. I like some of the stories in it, but not all.
My whole family made sooooo much fun of me for reading this book. we were at my cousins college grad party, they spotted and laughed up a storm. then, my grandma took it from my hands, ran over to the car that my cousin was driving away in, made her stop and showed it to her so they could laugh up some more? a) dude my family are jerks...more
My whole family made sooooo much fun of me for reading this book. we were at my cousins college grad party, they spotted and laughed up a storm. then, my grandma took it from my hands, ran over to the car that my cousin was driving away in, made her stop and showed it to her so they could laugh up some more? a) dude my family are jerks...more
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18 comments
Read in May, 2008
I am a huge Eugenides fan, but these stories I found to be a bit brash and left me wanting to read alas, something else. They left a bad taste in my mouth. It was like watching a depressing movie, and not learning anything of substance about life or even insight into the characters. If this is a reflection of heartbreak, I'll take Jeanette Winterson's "Written on the Body," which I am currently rereading and finding it more descriptive of heartbreak.
I will keep this book and fr...more
I will keep this book and fr...more
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Read in March, 2008
What an unusual collection of "love" stories! A few were along the lines of what is expected upon hearing the term "love story", but many of the contributions defied tradition in some respect. I especially enjoyed the entries by Chekhov, Moore, Dybek, de Maupassant, and Saunders. I was never a big fan of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, but The Lady With the Little Dog piqued my interest in reading more of his short stories. Dybek's We Didn't, though frustrating for the narr...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Alexis by:
Ann Gregory, Goodreads
Many of my most favorite short stories are included in this anthology and Eugenides's introduction is a wonderful discussion of the "love story" however, as I did not discover any NEW favorites this anthology did not win my heart. I enjoyed revisiting old friends but they stars belong with the volumes in which I originally read them. For me, this anthology had value only in its lovely cover, the fact that it collected so many old loves and that Eugenides introduced it.
As for the...more
As for the...more
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Read in April, 2008
First off, awesome title and awesome cover. I really enjoyed the physical experience of reading this book. The stories were generally good as well, though the heartbreak got a bit overwhelming when I was reading them in bed, super hungover, at my boyfriend's brother's wedding.
Favorite stories:
David Bezmozgis - Natasha (probably my favorite)
George Saunders - Jon
Lorrie Moore - How to be an Other Woman
Anton Chekhov - The Lady with the Little Dog (never read it before!)
Alice Munro -...more
Favorite stories:
David Bezmozgis - Natasha (probably my favorite)
George Saunders - Jon
Lorrie Moore - How to be an Other Woman
Anton Chekhov - The Lady with the Little Dog (never read it before!)
Alice Munro -...more
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some stories were great, and others were discordant and disturbing. Overall, not really what I'd call love stories--more a collection on lust, adultery, and discontent, albeit with some fantastic writing. Out of 27 'love' stories, maybe 3-4 of them were about married couples, which seems telling. Surprisingly enjoyable were Love, by Grace Paley, A Rose for Emily by Faulkner, The Dead by Joyce, Jon by George Saunders, and The Bear Came Over the Mountain by Munro. But any story by Munro is wo...more
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Read in March, 2008
A Valentine's Day gift, this collection was wonderful. The book contained personal favorites that I have read before (Ford, Saunders), classic writers (Joyce, Nabokov) and a bunch by writers that were new to me.
Among my favorites were White Rose, Red Rose by Eileen Chung, Jon by George Saunders, Fireworks by Richard Ford, and How To Be Another Woman by Lorrie Moore.
The Dead by James Joyce topped them all for me. The crushing conclusion for the main character in that story is remarkable....more
Among my favorites were White Rose, Red Rose by Eileen Chung, Jon by George Saunders, Fireworks by Richard Ford, and How To Be Another Woman by Lorrie Moore.
The Dead by James Joyce topped them all for me. The crushing conclusion for the main character in that story is remarkable....more
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Read in April, 2008
Since April is the cruellest month, I figured I'd kick off the misery by living vicariously through characters whose tangled webs of love and lust were much more interesting than my own right now. As it turns out, I couldn't have chosen a better book to bring me out of my April doldrums. While I'd previously read many of these stories, the collection itself adds new light to them because of how they reflect off of one another. Jeffrey Eugenides has done a terrific job sifting through and select...more
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Read in March, 2008
This was probably the best Valentine's present ever. Almost 600 pages of classic and not-so-classic love stories, carefully edited by Eugenides, who is officially the best short-story anthology editor I've ever encountered (and not a half-bad novelist, either). The stories deal with "love" in all its forms, from lust to infatuation to romance to real true commitment, in marriage and outside marriage, old, young, beautiful and wince-inducing. Recommended to the married folks mostly. ...more
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Read in April, 2008
Technically, I've only read 3/4ths of this, but law of estimation and what not (or so I tell myself).
A really, really good mix of stories that encompasses love in all of its forms - agape to eros, newly found to reminisced upon. Standouts for me include Lorrie Moore's "How to be an Other Woman," Denis Johnson's "Natasha," and most of all, Anton Chekhov's "The Lady with the Little Dog." I hope to get around to finishing this, especially since I've yet to get to ...more
A really, really good mix of stories that encompasses love in all of its forms - agape to eros, newly found to reminisced upon. Standouts for me include Lorrie Moore's "How to be an Other Woman," Denis Johnson's "Natasha," and most of all, Anton Chekhov's "The Lady with the Little Dog." I hope to get around to finishing this, especially since I've yet to get to ...more
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Read in March, 2008
This eclectic mix of love stories was well selected. They range from sad to tragic, as most great love stories do, but they are all well written and insightful. Some are by authors, like Nabokov and Munro, that every literature major will recognize. Others by lesser known authors, like "Another, better Otto" by Deborah Eisenberg, held their own among such august company. Overall a very satisfying read.
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