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152nd out of 284 books
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37 voters
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My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro
"When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full possession. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name.... It...more
Hardcover, 587 pages
Published
January 1st 2008
by Harper
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Let's revisit the definition of love story, shall we?
While I have to admit most of these are excellent stories, I'm not sure I'd peg them as "love" stories. Maybe my idea of love is just completely different than the authors of these short stories.
In all, this book deserves 5 stars, as most of the writing in here was truly amazing. (and this is high praise coming from a girl who is not big into short stories) I had to knock it down a few stars as the stories sim...more
While I have to admit most of these are excellent stories, I'm not sure I'd peg them as "love" stories. Maybe my idea of love is just completely different than the authors of these short stories.
In all, this book deserves 5 stars, as most of the writing in here was truly amazing. (and this is high praise coming from a girl who is not big into short stories) I had to knock it down a few stars as the stories sim...more
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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 w...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 w...more
Hmm, this is supposedly a great anthology, but is it safe to trust the tastes of an author I don't care for? I'll have to find out. Perhaps he's a better reader than he is a writer, which is too often the case.
It would seem not. Two stars for two happy introductions to writers I hadn't considered before: Miranda July ("Something That Needs Nothing") and David Bezmozgis ("Natasha").
As for the rest:
Erg, the obviousness of some of these...more
It would seem not. Two stars for two happy introductions to writers I hadn't considered before: Miranda July ("Something That Needs Nothing") and David Bezmozgis ("Natasha").
As for the rest:
Erg, the obviousness of some of these...more
I loved the variety of stories in this collection--and was happy to be introduced to some "classic" contemporary writers whose work I'd never actually read before.
Okay, I'll admit it. I hadn't read Harold Brodsky before, and for my money, "First Love and Other Sorrows" was worth the whole book. (However, I didn't like the other Brodsky story in the book.) The glacial movement through time and emotion in that story was deceptive; next thing you know, time has pa...more
Okay, I'll admit it. I hadn't read Harold Brodsky before, and for my money, "First Love and Other Sorrows" was worth the whole book. (However, I didn't like the other Brodsky story in the book.) The glacial movement through time and emotion in that story was deceptive; next thing you know, time has pa...more
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
Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name.
- Jeffrey Eugenides
My late grandmother was quite ill the last time I met her. She confused me with her stories as she mixed up my late grandfather with one of my uncle. I did not have a chance to know either of my grandfathers as they died when I was few months old. So the only way to know them was through my grandmother's stories about my grandfather or my father's about his father. I don't know if she had loved her...more
- Jeffrey Eugenides
My late grandmother was quite ill the last time I met her. She confused me with her stories as she mixed up my late grandfather with one of my uncle. I did not have a chance to know either of my grandfathers as they died when I was few months old. So the only way to know them was through my grandmother's stories about my grandfather or my father's about his father. I don't know if she had loved her...more
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
MK
is currently reading it
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...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...more
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
Dan Kelly
added it
A friend once told me that a good documentary should be like a punch in the stomach. Eugenides appears to hold a similar view of love stories. Each of the expertly crafted stories in this collection captures something universal and ineffable, sometimes hopeful, often tragic, always moving.
The introduction, which explains the rational of this shockingly good book, is of the same quality as the stories that it provides context for. I found myself wondering why I enjoyed these stories, which so ...more
The introduction, which explains the rational of this shockingly good book, is of the same quality as the stories that it provides context for. I found myself wondering why I enjoyed these stories, which so ...more
Edited by Jeffrey Eugenides, this unforgettable collection captures love in all its thorny, dizzying, and satisfying forms. Here you’ll find stories that seethe with irrepressible desire, thrum with quiet longing, follow passionate consummatio, render painful betrayal, and show us pictures of fleeting young love and life-long commitment, all by masterful writers of the form (the subtitle is, "Great love stories from Chekhov to Munro"). The stories are set in all corners of the globe fr...more
I purchased this some time ago, and it's been waiting patiently on my bookshelves before being tossed into my suitcase as a last minute back-up holiday read. Upon starting it, I cursed myself for ignoring it for so long, because right from the opener (Harold Brodkey's "First Love and Other Sorrows") this collection is short-story writing at its best. As Jeffrey Eugenides explains in his introduction, he has not selected stories where the lovers are instantly fulfilled and live happily ...more
The moment I love best about any book, is the moment I start the first sentence. That sense of anticipation when starting something new. It's the moment when I open myself to a whole new discovery of characters, plot and settings. It's also an intimate conversation with the author, a small personal confession perhaps or an admission of values whispered through dialogue between characters.
I don't tend to read anthologies of short stories. I only bought 'My mistress's sparrow is dead' ...more
I don't tend to read anthologies of short stories. I only bought 'My mistress's sparrow is dead' ...more
I am pretty sure this is the worst title of a book I have ever seen! I bought it to take with me to Italy. I wanted something I wouldn't finish in 2 days or even 2 weeks. I have been listening to a series of lectures on tape about Reading. He referenced Chekov's short story, The Lady With the Little Dog. I thought, OK, I'll get it and at least read THAT story. Well, It is probably a great story but I didn't love it like I loved Alice Munro's story, The Bear Came Over the Mountain, Harold Brodke...more
Opinions on the quality of the writing aside, the apparent definition of love by the compiler and the authors tells me more about them than I wish to know. Apart from a fraction of the stories, the stories have nothing to do with love and more to do with infatuation (if the reader is lucky), lust, narcissism, unadulterated selfishness, and a complete lack of awareness of the other person in their "relationship". Immaturity as a characteristic is a relief in these essentially unrelent...more
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.
Like so many of the other reviewers, I have such mixed feelings about rating this book. Some of the short stories sparkle. However, there were a few that left me a little disappointed, though not so much because of the quality of writing, rather because I felt that I didn't belong in this book.
My main problem with the collection isn't so much a criticism -- I felt like the whole time I was reading it, I was expecting something so very different than what was there. I suppose that's ...more
My main problem with the collection isn't so much a criticism -- I felt like the whole time I was reading it, I was expecting something so very different than what was there. I suppose that's ...more
Wow. I love everything about this collection.
I even love Eugenides's introduction. His disclaimer that these are not stories about love, but "love stories" (with tragedy, affairs, unrequited love) is spot on. His comparison to the sparrow of Lesbia's poem is apt too. In some way or other, the characters of these stories are either distracted from their lover (by others, by arrogance, by youth) or else they are damaged already. (The mistress loves her sparrow, or she grie...more
I even love Eugenides's introduction. His disclaimer that these are not stories about love, but "love stories" (with tragedy, affairs, unrequited love) is spot on. His comparison to the sparrow of Lesbia's poem is apt too. In some way or other, the characters of these stories are either distracted from their lover (by others, by arrogance, by youth) or else they are damaged already. (The mistress loves her sparrow, or she grie...more
How could you not love this stellar collection of short stories. I was pleased to find Eileen Chang's "White Rose, Red Rose" included here. James Joyce's "The Dead" I have read a few times before and it just moved me every time I read it. This collection proves love stories could be very depressing sometimes!!! Great selection.
Thoroughly enjoyable collection of Love Stories. Have decided to buy a copy to be read at leisure. Not a book that I wanted to sit and read from cover to cover because it was due at the library. Want to be able to read a short story or two at a time and savor each one.
As with all short-story collections, there were some totally amazing stories and some complete duds, but overall they were good picks. My favorites were Anton Chekov and William Faulkner. I don't remember the authors of the ones I mostly skipped over.
"When it comes to love, there are a million theories to explain it. But when it comes to love stories, things are simpler. A love story can never be about full possession. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name. It is perhaps only in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of bein...more
For the most part, anthologies blow. I only picked this one up because of the diversity of the authors. They put Faulkner, De Maupassant, and Chekhov on the same bill as Saunders, Munro, and Miranda July. Sounds like one of Dave Barry’s loony debacles to unite the literary world. And I’m not so far off. Eugenides in his introduction attributes his focus on love stories to “the Bono of Lit,” himself. But despite my petty contrivances, this is a damn good collection.
There are som...more
There are som...more
Disclaimer: I've only read 3 stories here. I am putting this book down, indefinitely -- love is far too heavy of a topic. (Which is not to say that I was hoping for a collection of Harlequin-esque bodice-rippers.)
I was wavering toward a three star review until I read the last story, a gorgeous piece by Alice Munro in which a man deals with his wife's encroaching dementia.
The subtitle "great love stories" is deceiving, as might be expected in a McSweeney's anthology edited by Jeffrey Eugenides. There's love, but also lust and love lost and unrequited love. Not too many happy endings in the batch. There are a few classics, like Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily," alongside some future...more
The subtitle "great love stories" is deceiving, as might be expected in a McSweeney's anthology edited by Jeffrey Eugenides. There's love, but also lust and love lost and unrequited love. Not too many happy endings in the batch. There are a few classics, like Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily," alongside some future...more
This is a terrific collection, and the stories are about love in many guises. There are so many wonderful stories here: Joyce's "The Dead," Munro's "The Bear Went Over the Mountain." But my favorite find in the collection is Stuart Dybek's "We Didn't."
"We didn't in the light; we didn't in the darkness. We didn't in the fresh-cut summer grass or in the mounds of autumn leaves or on the snow where moonlight threw down our shadows. We didn't in your roo...more
"We didn't in the light; we didn't in the darkness. We didn't in the fresh-cut summer grass or in the mounds of autumn leaves or on the snow where moonlight threw down our shadows. We didn't in your roo...more
so I might as well mark this book read, although to be honest, i still have a couple stories that just look so incredibly boring that I couldn't bring myself to read them. However, overall, the selection of stories was well done, quite unconventional and challenging of your average conception of love. I thought the characterizations of women in White Rose, Red Rose quite interesting, the interplay between fiction and reality in The Hitchhiker fascinating, the ordinary love found in Some Other Be...more
Uneven - as it was bound to be in such a collection - but well chosen and worth the time.
What a fantastic collection. Worth it for Eugenides's lovely introduction alone.
I enjoyed the collection of love stories provided, exploring the many facets of love that exists. Some stories made me sad, some smile, some wonder how we have forgotten the innocent love of childhood, while others were cringe-worthy. "The bear came over the mountain" written by Alice Munro, was heartbreaking, but dealt with tenderly.
A favourite of mine, tho, had to be "Natasha" by David Bezmozgis, which was fascinating, heartbreaking, and a little bit Lolita.
...more
A favourite of mine, tho, had to be "Natasha" by David Bezmozgis, which was fascinating, heartbreaking, and a little bit Lolita.
...more
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Jeffrey Kent Eugenides is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist and short story writer of Greek and Irish extraction.
Eugenides was born in Detroit, Michigan, of Greek and Irish descent. He attended Grosse Pointe's private University Liggett School. He took his undergraduate degree at Brown University, graduating in 1983. He later earned an M.A. in Creative Writing from Stanford U...more
More about Jeffrey Eugenides...
Eugenides was born in Detroit, Michigan, of Greek and Irish descent. He attended Grosse Pointe's private University Liggett School. He took his undergraduate degree at Brown University, graduating in 1983. He later earned an M.A. in Creative Writing from Stanford U...more
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“A love story can never be about full possession. The happy marriage, the requited love, the desire that never dims--these are lucky eventualites but they aren't love stories. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name.
We value love not because it's stronger than death but because it's weaker. Say what you want about love: death will finish it. You will not go on loving in the grave, not in any physical way that will at all resemble love as we know it on earth. The perishable nature of love is what gives love its importance in our lives. If it were endless, if it were on tap, love wouldn't hit us the way it does.
And we certainly wouldn't write about it.”
—
148 people liked it
We value love not because it's stronger than death but because it's weaker. Say what you want about love: death will finish it. You will not go on loving in the grave, not in any physical way that will at all resemble love as we know it on earth. The perishable nature of love is what gives love its importance in our lives. If it were endless, if it were on tap, love wouldn't hit us the way it does.
And we certainly wouldn't write about it.”
“It is perhaps in reading a love story (or in writing one) that we can simultaneously partake of the ecstasy and agony of being in love without paying a crippling emotional price. I offer this book, then, as a cure for lovesickness and an antidote to adultery. Read these love stories in the safety of your single bed. Let everybody else suffer.”
—
1 person liked it
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