Forty Stories (Penguin Twentieth Century Classics)
by Donald Barthelme
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Read in November, 2007
not so impressed:
chablis
jaws
the new owner (yes, i know you're published in the new yorker, i know new yorkers have their heads up their own asses, but stop whining, dude, stop whining)
departures (see complaint 1, below)
the wound (can you be 'too surreal'? i don't know the answer to that. but can you be 'surreal without sufficient development and/or meaning', and therefore unsatisfying? to that i say yes. (call this complaint number 3.))
sentence (is one allowed to complain of gimmi...more
chablis
jaws
the new owner (yes, i know you're published in the new yorker, i know new yorkers have their heads up their own asses, but stop whining, dude, stop whining)
departures (see complaint 1, below)
the wound (can you be 'too surreal'? i don't know the answer to that. but can you be 'surreal without sufficient development and/or meaning', and therefore unsatisfying? to that i say yes. (call this complaint number 3.))
sentence (is one allowed to complain of gimmi...more
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From "Engineer-Private Paul Klee misplaces an Aircraft between Milbertshofen and Cambral, March 1916" :
"We do not have your secrets and that is what we are after, your secrets. Our first secret is where we are. No one knows. Our second secret is how many of us there are. No one knows. Omnipresence is our goal. We do not even need real omnipresence. The theory of omnipresence is enough. With omnipresence, hand-in-hand as it were, goes omniscience. And with omniscience and omnip...more
"We do not have your secrets and that is what we are after, your secrets. Our first secret is where we are. No one knows. Our second secret is how many of us there are. No one knows. Omnipresence is our goal. We do not even need real omnipresence. The theory of omnipresence is enough. With omnipresence, hand-in-hand as it were, goes omniscience. And with omniscience and omnip...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Ian by:
Sean Higginsrecommends it for: fans of vonnegut, beckett, albee
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in October, 2006
At first I was very intrigued with this book, and I suppose I still am in many ways. I like how the stories are all short and can be read easily in one sitting. They all are so different, and yet have a similar tone. I like how they take me to a unique place every time, a world which I might have never been exposed to. I don't feel I can honestly say that I understand any of these stories, but there are some of them that definitely strike me as being more meaningful than others and some which I ...more
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Read in January, 1993
I came across Barthelme in a collection of short stories back in the early 90's - one of those 'The Best Short Stories of 199?" collections. No wife or daughters at that time, I remember reading Chablis - the first of 40 short stories in his "Forty Stories' collection - laughing and thinking 'this is the one of the funniest goddamned things I've ever read'. Now - with wife and daughters (I can hear them making noise in the other room) I read Chablis and laugh again - or maybe I'm c...more
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Read in October, 2007
So, this book is immensely enjoyable. If there's one theme to elabroate upon when thinking about all these short stories, is that they're all so fantastic. Some fly completely over my head, and I'm sitting here wondering, "Is there something I'm supposed to be getting here, or is the story just that strange and random and bizarre?" After forty whole stories, I conclude, that, yes, indeed, the stories are just that kooky. But there are little gems dispensed evenly throughout the collect...more
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Read in January, 1993
Although deliberately obtuse at times, Barthelme has the rare ability to use this seeming nonsense to discover real truth, beauty, humanity, and--almost always--humor. Dark humor, yes, a and always a bit twisted, but that's how I like it.
Many of the stories in this collection show Barthelme at this best--short stories that seem shortened, distilled to their essense, at times almost showing their bones. You might need to read them twice to see if you missed something, to find the one sentence...more
Many of the stories in this collection show Barthelme at this best--short stories that seem shortened, distilled to their essense, at times almost showing their bones. You might need to read them twice to see if you missed something, to find the one sentence...more
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I can't believe I waited so long to read Donald Barthelme. Each story is totally different in content and style from the next, but they all somehow sound like Barthelme. His writing has an amazing sense of freedom, like he's inventing the short story from scratch each time. Some are really experimental, but totally accessible nonetheless. There are a few clunkers (which suffer from excessive cleverness), but overall a great collection. Funny, weird, sweet, super romantic, dry. Yes.
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More goodness from the Best American Short Story Writer Ever. (See my review of Barthelme's Sixty Stories.) This new edition has an introduction by Dave Eggers, who is also good.
Favorites from this collection:
"Conversations With Goethe"
"The Wound"
"Bluebeard"
"Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby"
"Porcupines At the University"
and, of course, "Chablis"
Favorites from this collection:
"Conversations With Goethe"
"The Wound"
"Bluebeard"
"Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby"
"Porcupines At the University"
and, of course, "Chablis"
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recommends it for:
Groucho Marx's grandson
I've always really loved Donald Barthelme short stories. He's quite funny and occasionally profound. Actually, he isn't anything in the present tense because he's dead (note: he's dead in the present tense, I suppose).
In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention I insisted on pronouncing his last name like "Barth Elm" rather than "Bart-ell-me."
In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention I insisted on pronouncing his last name like "Barth Elm" rather than "Bart-ell-me."
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I imagine that Barthelme was masterful when telling a waitress how he liked his eggs. The man was -- and continues -- to be an inspiration in the world of short fiction. The story "Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Friend Colby" is one of the most bizarre, soulful and enlightening pieces of writing I have encountered.
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see the review for 60 Stories. It would be nice to have all the original collections back in print, but these two collections certainly provide a lifetime of across-the-board edification.
These later stories are when he started doing his 'caption' stories, using public-domain images. God, this guy was awesome.
These later stories are when he started doing his 'caption' stories, using public-domain images. God, this guy was awesome.
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Usually when you find a pile of books in a box on the sidewalk, it's filled with poo, like self-help finance books and new-age crap about death and Oprah book club novels. So imagine my surprise when, underneath The Artist's Way and Lovely Bones, I found this book! It must be a sign.
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recommended to susie by:
kelly
recommends it for: people who don't care how to pronounce the author's name
recommends it for: people who don't care how to pronounce the author's name
one of the best birthday presents ever. perfect for summer travel, mini reads on train rides, waits without waiting even disappointment you were called so soon. i'm not sure i understand the deeper meaning of everything i read. but that's what summer is all about, right?
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
people who like David Foster Wallace
Twisty and jumpy little stories with a lot of character.
The herd turned onto the Cross Bronx Expressway. People looking out of their cars saw thousands and thousands of porcupines. The porcupines looked like badly engineered vacuum-cleaner attachments. p. 182
The herd turned onto the Cross Bronx Expressway. People looking out of their cars saw thousands and thousands of porcupines. The porcupines looked like badly engineered vacuum-cleaner attachments. p. 182
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I've lost some of the oomph for DB over the years, though his boundless inventiveness is incredible. "The Balloon" remains one of the more sad, funny, strange and mysteriously heartbreaking stories I've read. Also, don't miss "Nothing: A Preliminary Account."
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
fiends and friends of all things postmodern
Four stars for form -- chaotic, surreal, cliched images and turns of phrase taken to bizarre extremes, dreamlike rejection of linear narrative. All lovely. But finally the stories tread too lightly to leave much of an impression.
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Read in September, 2007
After each story, look at the way the light hits your window, and feel remarkably empty, yet not unhappy.
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Read in March, 2008
read "Sentence" right now (link below) and tell me you don't want to dig up Donald Barthelme's body and blow him.
Sentence:
http://www.jessamyn.com/barth/...
Sentence:
http://www.jessamyn.com/barth/...
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Barthelme's short stories are great for forgetting your whereabouts while bus-riding and will help get you to your destination quickly and only slightly disoriented.
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