The stories in this collection explore the complex worlds of lovers, poets, lawyers, immigrants, students, and murderers. They tell of corporate be...
read full description
reviews
Apr 14, 2009
karen
rated it: 
im so used to reading a certain type of book that i always forget there are writers out there writing about ordinary situations, quietly. these are stories for adults, like the way people used to make movies for adults. i didnt like the earlier ones, but the longer ones at the end were better. i am looking forward to reading his longer novel. and, yes...
3 comments
like
(17 people liked it)
Aug 11, 2009
Alex
rated it: 
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Nov 15, 2009
Mon
rated it:
Review in Elliot Perlman's style:
I liked the book. She didn't, but she lent it to me anyway. I offered her another chance to read it again, but she was always working. In fact, it is not too dramatic to say that I enjoyed the book immensely. But she never understood me. When I think about it now I realised that I have invented her image alone. When we first started we would read together. I didn't think she enjoyed her administration work. But now I think she takes comfort in it. I' More...
I liked the book. She didn't, but she lent it to me anyway. I offered her another chance to read it again, but she was always working. In fact, it is not too dramatic to say that I enjoyed the book immensely. But she never understood me. When I think about it now I realised that I have invented her image alone. When we first started we would read together. I didn't think she enjoyed her administration work. But now I think she takes comfort in it. I' More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Sep 14, 2009
Bells
rated it:
My husband picked up this book, looked at the title, then to me and said, "Whiskey dick?"
Nope.
Whiskey dick, while a valid reason for not coming, does not appear in this book.
A collection of nine short stories... some of them I hated, like Good Morning, Again, although it was well written, I just didn't care.
Some I liked. (I was only in a childish way) A father takes the heat for his child...
I only loved one of them; The Hong More...
Nope.
Whiskey dick, while a valid reason for not coming, does not appear in this book.
A collection of nine short stories... some of them I hated, like Good Morning, Again, although it was well written, I just didn't care.
Some I liked. (I was only in a childish way) A father takes the heat for his child...
I only loved one of them; The Hong More...
2 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 11, 2011
I was a bit concerned about this after reading a bunch of negative reviews on here, expecting perhaps some unpolished early writing exercises. I need not have worried. This is a great collection of stories.
Perlman is obviously at his 'best' (which you may or may not like) when he has hundreds of pages to stretch out in, but each of these stories captures some facet of his writing style that I enjoy, from complicated ambiguity to contrived connectedness. He lays the legal stuff on More...
Perlman is obviously at his 'best' (which you may or may not like) when he has hundreds of pages to stretch out in, but each of these stories captures some facet of his writing style that I enjoy, from complicated ambiguity to contrived connectedness. He lays the legal stuff on More...
Jan 10, 2008
Trevor
rated it: 
I went to Primary School with Mr Perlman and we were quite good friends until we went to different high schools and drifted apart.
He has done very well for himself as a writer and has even had a film made of one of his novels. I haven't read that novel, or any of his novels - I made what may have been a mistake and read these stories first. I felt they were pretentious and quite badly written – so haven’t been able to bring myself to read more of his stuff. Other people I know l More...
He has done very well for himself as a writer and has even had a film made of one of his novels. I haven't read that novel, or any of his novels - I made what may have been a mistake and read these stories first. I felt they were pretentious and quite badly written – so haven’t been able to bring myself to read more of his stuff. Other people I know l More...
Dec 09, 2007
Trish
rated it:
I borrowed Bryan's promo copy of Perlman's first collection of short stories (originally published before Seven Types of Ambiguity and brought to America after that novel's success). The collection, though not without promise, lacks energy. There's something wan and lackluster about many of these stories.
The best are In the Time of the Dinosaur and Manslaughter. In Dinosaur a young boy tells the story of his parents' divorce, although he's mostly preoccupied with his report on dinos More...
The best are In the Time of the Dinosaur and Manslaughter. In Dinosaur a young boy tells the story of his parents' divorce, although he's mostly preoccupied with his report on dinos More...
Oct 31, 2010
Elgin
rated it: 
I loved reading these stories. All were rather somber and all dealing with someone working through a loss of some kind. I will not go into further specifics, but I enjoyed this theme and thought Perlman studied it from many creative and diverse perspectives. Finally, I enjoyed the writing style; writing as art comes across much better in a well written short story than it does in a novel.
Aug 01, 2011
Marcos
rated it:
Not as beguiling or fun as "Seven Types of Ambiguity". The stories from this particular collection were dry, somber, and quite repetitive, especially the narration style. There are about two really good stories, and two fair stories in this collection, but it just lagged a bit for me. I couldn't help but feel Mr. Perlman ventured into self-indulgency.
Jul 22, 2009
Bridget
rated it:
Even though they were short stories there was a lot of repetition of style throughout different narrators; albeit it was the same author throughout. There was not a lot of closure at the endings, but I wasn't as bothered by it as I have been with other books. The last story, "A Tale in Two Cities" was by far the best. Bernard was my favorite character and I was really moved by his father.
Mar 12, 2009
Cynthia
rated it:
Three stars based primarily on the last story in the collection, which was very good. As for the others, all the allusions to TS Eliot got distracting. I get it already. Prufrock was lonely and thwarted and so are your characters. Sheesh.
Aug 11, 2010
Adfitz
rated it:
Okay if sometimes overly sentimental and self-infatuated writing. A couple stories stood out to me. I was only moderately interested in Perlman's novel (name not coming) so I'm not entirely sure why I picked this up.
Mar 09, 2009
Julia
rated it:
Take your time, and take it one at a time.
This book, as you may have seen took me from July to tonight, March 9, to finish.
It is not a book you pick up, and read a bit each night before you go to sleep.
My recommendation is to take it one story at a time, each one intensely.
Do not be discouraged if there is a story you do not like. This is the way of short story compilations.
I am relieved to have this book be over. Each story has been milling in my mind More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Mar 09, 2010
Kelli-ann
rated it:
Really depressing. I made it through three stories and just could not bring myself to keep reading.
Jan 09, 2009
Jane
rated it:
Felt like this was kind of repetitive and eventually I got bored with it.
May 27, 2009
AuthorsOnTourLive!
rated it:
The Reasons I Won't Be Coming is Perlman's new collection of smart and thoughtful short stories. They explore the complex worlds of lovers, poets, lawyers, immigrants, students and murderers. Witty, vulnerable and honest, they display the same preoccupations that made Perlman's novel, Seven Types of Ambiguity, one of the most notable publications of 2004.
We met Elliot Perlman when he visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. You can listen to him talk about The Reasons I Won't More...
We met Elliot Perlman when he visited the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. You can listen to him talk about The Reasons I Won't More...
May 06, 2009
Bartley
rated it:
I enjoyed the first few stories better than the last few. Especially the last one, which just left me dissatisfied.
Apr 07, 2008
Michelle
rated it: 
I'm always impressed by well written short stories, especially when they end up being as satisfying as a novel. I loved most of the stories in this boook (some were better than others, as with any collection). I actually didn't even know they were short stories when I picked it up - I ordered because I loved his novel Seven Types of Ambiguity and Carla gave this one four stars. It did not disappoint. I am thinking of recommending it for book club. Sort of a different type of book....
Oct 22, 2007
Emily
rated it:
Started out great and promising. I loved the short stories at the beginning - the one about the little boy and dinosaurs in particular. The longer stories at the end dragged on. I felt like Perlman had put blinders on me so I couldn't see the whole picture. I kept thinking I had missed something because I didn't understand what was going on sometimes. His ability to condense the story was limited.
Sep 11, 2009
Brian
rated it:
There were definitely some gems in this collection, though sometimes Perlman's experience as a barrister got the best of him. Some of the stories were just downright dull. The writing was at times very predictable, but that wasn't a bad thing because the story-lines were rarely so.
Oct 25, 2007
Lolakay
rated it:
Wow. I really blew it on this one. Perlman writes great sweeping lull you along prose, and it's best if you take it in long draughts. (drafts? quaffs? whatever) I set this on the nightstand for bedtime reading and keep falling off just as a story got rolling.
I ended up backtracking a lot and losing important threads. Take this one on a trip and read each story in one sitting.
I ended up backtracking a lot and losing important threads. Take this one on a trip and read each story in one sitting.
Aug 20, 2007
Jessica
rated it:
Mediocre at best. Why these are hailed as such brilliant examples of the short story form, I can't imagine. The plots are wretchedly predictable, and the characterization leaves much to be desired. Some of it is just plain insulting - such as "Spitalnic's Last Year." Although I will admit that I found the final story, "A Tale in Two Cities," to be better than the rest of the book.
Dec 16, 2009
Amanda
rated it:
the first story was interesting...the second two interested me enough to keep reading, which was a huge mistake. the latter part of the book is basically three novella-type deals, all which start mid-plot and end abruptly...basically like someone was taking my dinner plate away from me in the middle of my second bite. if you still want to read it, save your nickles and take my copy.
Mar 28, 2008
Danyelle
rated it:
this is a grouping of short stories. while most are too short to really become invested in the characters, they each in their own way are interesting. i prefer books that make me think or help me escape and this unfortunately did neither. Elliot Pearlman is the author of my favorite book of all time SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY so this was a bit disappointing.
Jun 11, 2007
Carla
rated it:
This book touches on a number of situations in which you could imagine yourself but would wonder how you'd react. The author does a terrific job leading the reader to believe the protagonist is struggling through the decision making process. Whether you support the protagonist in the end is irrelevant becuase you can understand how he got there.
