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22nd out of 30 books
—
12 voters
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara: Stories
by
Ben Fountain
The well-intentioned protagonists of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara are caught -- to both disastrous and hilarious effect -- in the maelstrom of political and social upheaval surrounding them. In "Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera," an ornithologist being held hostage in the Colombian rain forest finds that he respects his captors for their commitment to a ca...more
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
April 10th 2007
by Harper Perennial
(first published 2006)
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I picked this book off a shelf at our local library because of the title- and am so glad I didn’t pass it up! I was getting ready to put it back on the shelf (since I am generally not a fan of short stories- with a few exceptions) but couldn’t stop browsing it. I brought it to a nearby chair, read the first 2 chapters and checked it out- giddy with joy.
An eclectic mix of quirky and creative slice-of-life short stories set in such diverse geographical settings as Haiti, Columbia, Myanmar, Burma,...more
An eclectic mix of quirky and creative slice-of-life short stories set in such diverse geographical settings as Haiti, Columbia, Myanmar, Burma,...more
Eight stories, mostly in exotic locales rife with rebels and crime, covering very disparate topics--a captured ornithologist, voodoo in the military, an American pro golfer in a foreign land, smuggled art and diamonds, not to mention a pianist (two of them actually) with eleven fingers... The stories are held together by some common problems and themes such as characters faced with extremely difficult decisions--often with choices between two bad options--as well as moral dilemmas where doing wr...more
Fountain occupies a provocative thematic niche in this collection. Most of the stories treat the variable positions of Americans—as victims, saviors, and confused spectators--amidst foreign contexts or forces.
As I read the first story, “Near Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera,” I was afraid that I would not enjoy this book. It seemed that the author was reductive and just plain mean-spirited as he picked on easy targets—morally reprehensible leftist guerillas, a hapless American student, a...more
As I read the first story, “Near Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera,” I was afraid that I would not enjoy this book. It seemed that the author was reductive and just plain mean-spirited as he picked on easy targets—morally reprehensible leftist guerillas, a hapless American student, a...more
A collection that is very much in the Graham Greene genre of innocent and idealistic Americans caught up in the intricate corruption of third-world countries. Unlike Greene, though, who demonstrated that such naivete, combined with the standard American gung-ho, "get-it-done" mentality, can be dangerous, Fountain offers, in at least a couple of these stories, some hope that the little guy can occasionally score a small-scale victory against the grander forces that usually work against him -- or...more
While this was an entertaining and thought-provoking collection of stories, I've been scratching my head to try to figure out what in the name of holy hell the Boston Globe was thinking when it called it "downright funny" right there on the cover.
Fountain has done an impressive job of transporting us readers to various dark and ugly corners of the globe, usually in the context of war, genocide, greed, exploitation and textbook examples of man's inhumanity to man. And in spite of the claims made...more
Fountain has done an impressive job of transporting us readers to various dark and ugly corners of the globe, usually in the context of war, genocide, greed, exploitation and textbook examples of man's inhumanity to man. And in spite of the claims made...more
Brief Encounters With Che Guevara: An insanely good collection of short stories.
Unlike a lot of good modern-day American literary fiction where the gaze is mostly turned inward, this is a delightful amalgamation of stories situated in different parts of the globe connected by the sole premise that they all happen to be eternally blazing hot spots replete with action and misery. The fact, that the author hasn't even visited some of these places and yet managed to capture them in such fine detail...more
Unlike a lot of good modern-day American literary fiction where the gaze is mostly turned inward, this is a delightful amalgamation of stories situated in different parts of the globe connected by the sole premise that they all happen to be eternally blazing hot spots replete with action and misery. The fact, that the author hasn't even visited some of these places and yet managed to capture them in such fine detail...more
Fountain, Ben. BRIEF ENCOUNTERS WITH CHE GUEVRA. (2006). *****. This collection of eight short stories previously published by the author in various magazines is one of the best I’ve read in a long time. He manages to write not just short stories, but novels compressed into short story form. Each story features a protagonist who is too idealistic, too naive, or too talented to survive in the surroundings in which they find themselves. The only exception to this is the title story, which is one p...more
Ben Fountain has written eight spellbinding stories about people involved in revolutions gone awry. The protagonists are all outsiders facing moral dilemmas when they find themselves situated in another culture's social upheaval. Fountain is able to capture the pain of social and political fractures as well as assign humor to the situations. Within this framework, characters who seem to have nothing in common with each other pair off, which shows off Fountain's seamless skill in creating believa...more
I really enjoyed this book of short stories. Each of the heros were wrapped up in their personal sagas in the midst of war or struggle. While directly impacted/motivated by the war, their choices were selfishly motivated and seemed to surprise even themselves. You really can't know yourself until you are put in the situation.
I liked that each of the stories were written in different points of view and different styles. I strongly identified with the cynicism of a female aid worker in Africa alt...more
I liked that each of the stories were written in different points of view and different styles. I strongly identified with the cynicism of a female aid worker in Africa alt...more
A romp through multiple short stories and characters' lives brings one to the Encounters that give title to this collection, a tale that warrants the title slot because it has the most color, the most depth of story, and the greatest entertainment value for most readers.
I applaud the author for not languishing in lurid descriptive episodes, a modern temptation. The stories are highly readable, employing an often rich vocabulary, without descending into unwelcome and unneeded grittiness.
The "Enco...more
I applaud the author for not languishing in lurid descriptive episodes, a modern temptation. The stories are highly readable, employing an often rich vocabulary, without descending into unwelcome and unneeded grittiness.
The "Enco...more
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara by Ben Fountain is a collection of short stories which reaches out and wrings compassion from my heart. This is one of the few books I've immediately wanted to include in one of my classes to help my students explore that current educational trend of global education.
The settings of the stories range from Haiti to Sierra Leone to Columbia, and these settings drive plots which reveal the human situation in the midst of political and social upheaval. Sometimes fun...more
The settings of the stories range from Haiti to Sierra Leone to Columbia, and these settings drive plots which reveal the human situation in the midst of political and social upheaval. Sometimes fun...more
I came across this book late and through the back door. Late, because it was published in ’06, and through the back door by way of reading about Ben Fountain in the Malcolm Gladwell essay ‘Late Bloomers: Why Do We Equate Genius with Precocity’ in his book ‘What the Dog Saw’. This is a terrific read - the characters, their problematic situations and the countries they inhabit have stayed with me. Haiti, Sierra Leone, Burma and 19th century Vienna (quite a departure) are vivid and complex and the...more
May 31, 2010
Reemawi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
collections,
favorites
This collection of short stories is packed with complicated protagonists, elusive antagonists, and the most seamless prose I have come across in a long time.
Ben Fountain has practiced and practiced and perfected the art of telling the reader everything that needs to be known about the characters and the worlds in which they exist with dead-on descriptions and perfectly-paced dialogue.
I gave this book four stars, mainly because I did not love all the stories, my least favorite being the last in...more
Ben Fountain has practiced and practiced and perfected the art of telling the reader everything that needs to be known about the characters and the worlds in which they exist with dead-on descriptions and perfectly-paced dialogue.
I gave this book four stars, mainly because I did not love all the stories, my least favorite being the last in...more
"Everyone was raked toward the microphone..." (21).
"...the realization of how dumb, how utterly clueless you were to think you might control anything about your life" ((67).
"It seemed, rather, that reality itself had gone made, and she was riding her own little scrap of sanity through the cosmic whirlwind" (76).
"...Melissa had softened the package as best she could with azaleas and flower beds planted along its length like piles of oversized throw pillows" (77).
"...she reflected on the therapeut...more
"...the realization of how dumb, how utterly clueless you were to think you might control anything about your life" ((67).
"It seemed, rather, that reality itself had gone made, and she was riding her own little scrap of sanity through the cosmic whirlwind" (76).
"...Melissa had softened the package as best she could with azaleas and flower beds planted along its length like piles of oversized throw pillows" (77).
"...she reflected on the therapeut...more
beautiful prose; bizarre stories. highly recommended.
seriously, though, the prose is beautiful. you should read it just for that.
i liked that he didn't try to tie his stories up in an artificially neat (or messy) way.
i had the same problem i often have with (to be blunt) white americans' writing about the dilemmas of white americans living in / visiting other countries: i want to scream at them, "dude, your moral dilemma is hardly something to complain about. look at the people around you!" whic...more
seriously, though, the prose is beautiful. you should read it just for that.
i liked that he didn't try to tie his stories up in an artificially neat (or messy) way.
i had the same problem i often have with (to be blunt) white americans' writing about the dilemmas of white americans living in / visiting other countries: i want to scream at them, "dude, your moral dilemma is hardly something to complain about. look at the people around you!" whic...more
These are the kind of short stories every short story only wishes he could write. And can't. Fountain has an uncanny ability to channel other peoples voices, cultures, and experiences, and make it sound as if he had been there to see it all, which would be impossible, given that the stories are set in Columbia, Haiti, Africa, Myanmar, and 19th Century Europe. Luckily, he tells us how he does it in an epilogue--many trips to Haiti, and tons and tons of research on the other places. Okay, it takes...more
I enjoyed this collection of stories. While they were most obviously connected through environmental and political circumstance, though globally spread, the overall theme seemed to be human despair and tragedy. The stories were poetic and they all had open-endings, which left you hoping for the best, but with the impression that the characters' conditions would not be improving. I think that the author may have been commenting on the perils of oppressive governments and the fortunate circumstanc...more
This is such a great collection of stories. Most of them take place in far-flung corners of the world that sane people tend to avoid (Haiti, Myanmar, Sierra Leone), and they attempt to examine in various ways the intersections between hapless Americans and the poverty, violence, and desperation of the Third World. That's not to mean that the stories are heavy -- on the contrary, they're extremely readable, often with a darkly humorous undercurrent that keeps the subject matter almost light. Grea...more
Tales of Americans subsisting in the third world and discovering new ways to think and behave are commonplace. But Ben Fountain's lively, humorous treatment of his troubled characters earns generous praise. Instead of focusing his deft choices of words and inventive metaphors on a character's internal experience, the author uses his literary prowess to examine the uncomfortable complexities of life outside the United States. He also takes time to portray the "dunes of garbage _
Apr 23, 2013
Midu Hadi
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people looking for something different
Shelves:
2013,
313,
abuse,
crime-fiction,
doctors-healers,
druggies,
gangs,
humor,
horror,
kids,
military-and-the-ilk,
minions,
nature,
nonfic,
religion,
sacrifices,
serial-killers-and-other-murderers,
shorts,
src-read,
wars,
singles
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I met Fountain last spring at a local writer's conference & when he found out that I also often wrote fiction that takes place in other countries, and had actually been to Burma (he has a story that takes place in Burma)he wrote a nice little note in his book he signed. And then I read about Fountain in that New Yorker piece about genius, which compares Fountain (the turtle) to the hare (Jonathon Safron Foer). I finally was able to read his story collection and loved it because he does write...more
I really, really like this guy's style and I'm disappointed that he hasn't got anything else out there yet. It's rare for a collection of short stories to keep me so engaged. But the quality here is very consistent. There's not a weak story in the bunch. The vast majority are set in far-flung third world hellholes and the irony is that while Fountain doesn't hide any of the ugliness, his affection and understanding for the people and strange beauty of these places make them feel like a place I m...more
I find that I'm often disappointed by short stories. Here, however, I was enthralled by each of Fountain's tales. They all occur over a backdrop of societal upheaval, with most containing Americans in foreign locations. Often, people are put into difficult situations by the nature of the struggles of their host nations, and this is fascinating to look at and consider. Fountain's prose is deft, and never dragged. Has he been to the disparate locales about which he writes? One would certainly thin...more
An interesting collection, if only because the stories are about places Americans don't read about much. Colombia, Sierra Leone, Myanmar, etc. The one story that takes place in the U.S. was the weakest one, for me.
"Fantasy for Eleven Fingers" (an Austrian piano prodigy with an extra finger), "Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera" (an ornithologist kidnapped by Colombian rebels), and "Asian Tiger" (an American golf pro in Myanmar) are probably my favorites.
We all want the freedom to dec...more
"Fantasy for Eleven Fingers" (an Austrian piano prodigy with an extra finger), "Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera" (an ornithologist kidnapped by Colombian rebels), and "Asian Tiger" (an American golf pro in Myanmar) are probably my favorites.
We all want the freedom to dec...more
Wow! I really liked this book of short stories. Fountain's voice is fresh and not overdone--and his chief skill seems to be the way he mixes the personal experiences of his main characters with the larger socioeconomic realities of the settings where the stories take place. From Haiti to South America to the Far East, he captures much of the internal and external conflict that we read about in the news today.
If you're a fan of well drawn short fiction with a current events spin, then this is the...more
If you're a fan of well drawn short fiction with a current events spin, then this is the...more
Some great stories, most of them about power and corruption in South America as seen from the outsider's perspective. There's a weird collision of cynicism and folk-tale hopefulness in the best of these stories; "Bouki and the Cocaine" and "The Lion's Mouth," in particular, stand out. "Fantasy for Eleven Fingers" is a bit of a misstep and a weird way to close out the book, and "The Good Ones are Already Taken" didn't really work for me, but six out of eight isn't too shabby, and the prose is sha...more
I loved these stories. Each is about a rather well-intentioned person mismatched to his third world setting, trying to cope with the difficulties posed by the location. For example, a unversity student doing research in Colombia and being captured by rebels, unsure whether it is worse to remain a prisoner in order to protect the birds he is studying or be set free knowing the birds habitat will be destroyed. He's so quirky and funny in his earnestnest. Or there's the pretty clueless golf jock wh...more
Feb 26, 2008
Matt
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Matt by:
John Fox
Shelves:
contemporary-literature
Note: Originally published in Jan. 24 of CVN's "On the Bookshelf"
Once published individually in the bold pages of prestigious publications like Harper’s Magazine and The Paris Review, “Brief Encounters with Che Guevara” is a collection of short stories by Ben Fountain, the conglomeration of which leaves the reader wondering how best to talk about revolution, wealth, greed and the Third World.
In “Brief Encounters with Che Guevara,” the appearance of Marxist revolutionary leader, Che Guevara, whos...more
Once published individually in the bold pages of prestigious publications like Harper’s Magazine and The Paris Review, “Brief Encounters with Che Guevara” is a collection of short stories by Ben Fountain, the conglomeration of which leaves the reader wondering how best to talk about revolution, wealth, greed and the Third World.
In “Brief Encounters with Che Guevara,” the appearance of Marxist revolutionary leader, Che Guevara, whos...more
The PEN/Hemingway winner from 2006 (which goes to the best debut author according to the PEN Foundation) is a collection of eight short stories that share a consistent theme: self-involved Americans who find themselves embroiled in much larger geopolitical situations (for example, a grad student captured by narcoguerillas in Colombia, a USAID worker involved in the blood diamond trade in Sierra Leone, a golf pro in Myanmar who is pulled into international oil-drilling politics). Fountain does a...more
I really enjoyed Brief Encounters With Che Guevara by Ben Fountain. The stories take place in exotic locales like Haiti, Columbia, and Myanmar and they all have some sort of epiphany that enlightens the protagonists. Some stories are more compelling than other and Fountain knows more about Haiti, so that country has prominence in being the setting for three of the stories. My favorites were the opening story of the committed bird watcher, “Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera”, the story...more
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Ben Fountain's fiction has appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, and Zoetrope: All Story, and he has been awarded an O. Henry Prize, two Pushcart Prizes, and the PEN/Hemingway Award. He lives with his wife and their two children in Dallas, Texas.
More about Ben Fountain...
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“He could not comprehend what was happening to him, but it had to do with the casual cruelty of people who'd never missed a meal or had a gun stuck to their heads.”
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3 people liked it
“They were all lawyers, all schooled in the authority of words, though as their words turned to dust a pall of impotence and futility settled over the mission.”
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I love this idea. Being a superliberal from a New England liberal arts school, I know my share of bright-eyed American...more
11 mar. 06:39
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/boo...
11 mar. 10:38