false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg 141941 3 "Each of these twenty stories surprised and delighted me. Each is a story I'd gladly read out loud to anyone who wanted to be read to," writes guest editor Garrison Keillor in his introduction to <I>The Best American Short Stories 1998</I>. We should be so lucky! Read out loud or not, this is still one of the liveliest, most varied volumes in this venerable series. One pleasant surprise is that it isn't as <I>New Yorker</I>-centric as it has been in years past. Readers will find stories by both long-established voices (John Updike, Annie Proulx) and exhilarating new talent (Poe Ballantine, Maxine Swann), first published in magazines that range from regional to slick. The subject matter is no less diverse: a couple in their 40s desperate to have a baby; Walt Whitman ministering to wounded Union soldiers; the vengeful ghost of a half-skinned bull. And then there's what was perhaps the year's most stunning piece of short fiction, Lorrie Moore's "People Like That Are the Only People Here" (published in her 1998 collection, <i>Birds of America</i> ), a gut-wrenching, unsentimental, and yes, <I>funny</I> account of a mother whose baby is diagnosed with liver cancer. From its opening image of blood in a diaper ("like a tiny mouse heart packed in snow") to its bitterly self-conscious conclusion ("There are the notes. Now, where is the money?"), this is storytelling at its most visceral and affecting. Moore's piece alone makes <I>Best American</I> worth the price of admission; combined with the 19 other tales here, it makes a convincing case for the continuing health of the American short story. 1242562 30 10 1998 The Best American Short Stories 1998 (The Best American Series) total:100|5:23|4:45|3:23|2:7|1:2| 100 380 160 15 1745056 0395875153 9780395875155 8 4 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223623431m/1745056.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1745056.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 0 0 false Sat Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 29 11:04:13 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 11:04:13 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 1999 Thu Feb 12 15:37:43 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 15:39:03 -0800 2009 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 11:55:55 -0700 2008 Fri Apr 11 12:01:49 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1745056 0395875153 9780395875155 8 4 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223623431m/1745056.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1745056.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Fri Jul 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 21 11:59:44 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 11:25:41 -0700 2009 1745056 0395875153 9780395875155 8 4 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223623431m/1745056.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1745056.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Sun Feb 01 23:40:35 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 28 12:54:41 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 23:40:35 -0800 2009 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 5 0 false Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2003 Thu Jan 10 21:49:14 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 10 21:53:26 -0800 2008 The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue - Poe Ballantine
Body Language - Diane Schoemperlen
Cosmopolitan - Akhil Sharma
Every Night for a Thousand Years - Chris Adrian
Morphine - Doran Larson
Mr. Sweetly Indecent - Bliss Broyard
My Father on the Verge of Di...more...]]> 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 1 0 false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 22:05:12 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 22:05:31 -0800 2007 more...]]> 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 0 0 false Sat May 17 10:57:54 -0700 2008 Sat May 17 11:00:33 -0700 2008
The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue Poe Ballantine
Body Language Diane Schoemperlen
Glory goes and gets some Emily Carter
Mr. Sweetly Indecent Bliss Broyard
People like that are the only people here Lorrie Moore
Tea at the house Meg Wo...more...]]> 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1999 Wed Jun 11 09:28:51 -0700 2008 Wed Jun 11 09:32:07 -0700 2008 1745056 0395875153 9780395875155 8 4 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223623431m/1745056.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1745056.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Oct 18 18:12:16 -0700 2007 Wed Nov 14 15:21:51 -0800 2007 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Dec 14 10:16:57 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 14 10:17:53 -0800 2007 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 3 0 false Fri May 23 09:54:36 -0700 2008 Fri Feb 29 06:39:07 -0800 2008 Fri May 23 09:54:36 -0700 2008 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 28 08:39:23 -0800 2007 Fri Dec 28 08:40:18 -0800 2007 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 2 0 false Sun Feb 03 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 30 14:19:19 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 04 20:03:12 -0800 2008 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 0 0 false Wed Jan 23 09:51:26 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 23 09:51:49 -0800 2008 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 4 0 false Tue Dec 08 08:36:17 -0800 2009 Tue Dec 08 08:36:17 -0800 2009 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 5 0 false Thu Nov 19 20:42:31 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 20:42:31 -0800 2009 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 3 0 false Mon Oct 26 15:23:58 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 26 15:23:58 -0700 2009 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 0 0 false Wed Oct 14 13:41:35 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 14 13:42:19 -0700 2009 141941 0395875145 9780395875148 91 11 3.80 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1172132131m/141941.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/141941.The_Best_American_Short_Stories_1998 0 0 false Sun Sep 27 08:06:07 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 08:06:07 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=141941