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PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009
by
Laura Furman ,
A.S. Byatt , Anthony Doerr (Goodreads Author) , Tim O'Brien
A collection of the twenty best contemporary short stories selected by series editor Laura Furman from hundreds of literary magazines, The PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009 features unforgettable tales in settings as diverse as post-war Vietnam, a luxurious seaside development in Cape Town, an Egyptian desert village, and a permanently darkened New York City. Also included a...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
May 5th 2009
by Anchor
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Many of this year's crop of stories are incredibly well-done and worthy of their place in this book. I wasn't in love with the prize-prize story (one that two of the three editors, AS Byatt and Tim O'Brien chose as their favorite) Graham Joyce's An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen. I mean, of course O'Brien picked it because it's about a British soldier who's suffered in the war in Iraq, and is possibly crazy and delusional (or no, wait! maybe he's really the only sane person left!) The story felt...more
The Pen/O.Henry Prize Stories are twenty short stories from literary magazines as well established as The New Yorker to the lesser-known Grain and Five Points. It's always risky to pick up a collection of short stories by various authors because, unlike collections by a single author, the quality across the collection isn't guaranteed. Different writers, different styles, different ways of telling a story can mean a wildly varied hodgepodge similar to those Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jellybeans:...more
Not a bad edition of the annual collection, but this is not one of the O. Henry Prize's best efforts. Several of the stories are very fine -- the standouts are "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen" by Graham Joyce; "Icebergs" by Alistair Morgan; "Tell Him about Brother John" by Manual Munoz; and "Twenty-Two Stories" by Paul Theroux. But many of them left me either cold, shrugging my shoulders, or skipping them after reading the first third or so. Really, none of the stories submitted to the jury wa...more
Furman has chosen stories that take place in such exotic locales as Africa, Asia, Europe, Scandinavia, and various borderlands. But an exotic setting is no excuse for the fact that in some of these stories nothing really happens. Thank goodness for those with physical action, such as the selections from Ha Jin, Andrew Sean Greer, and Caitlin Horrocks (who just happens to be a friend...hooray, Caitlin!).
As for the jury selections; while I appreciated the haunting, Shakespearean pacing of Graham...more
As for the jury selections; while I appreciated the haunting, Shakespearean pacing of Graham...more
The Pen/O.Henry Prize Stories are twenty short stories from literary magazines as well established as The New Yorker to the lesser-known Grain and Five Points. It's always risky to pick up a collection of short stories by various authors because, unlike collections by a single author, the quality across the collection isn't guaranteed. Different writers, different styles, different ways of telling a story can mean a wildly varied hodgepodge similar to those Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Jellybeans:...more
Oh goody! Another annual series. Yesterday I went to Henderson's Books and bought two more volumes, 2006 and 1997.
It's interesting that these selections don't seem to overlap with the Best American Short Stories selections. So far in checking the table of contents of the three volumes I have, I've only run across one.
The most interesting story here is the Paul Theroux "Twenty-two Stories" because that's what it is. It's like a collection of microfiction, all the stories suggesting much more. It...more
It's interesting that these selections don't seem to overlap with the Best American Short Stories selections. So far in checking the table of contents of the three volumes I have, I've only run across one.
The most interesting story here is the Paul Theroux "Twenty-two Stories" because that's what it is. It's like a collection of microfiction, all the stories suggesting much more. It...more
Jan 31, 2010
Wesley
added it
This book is a compendium of short stories from various author whose genres range from comedy to drama.
I really enjoyed this book because of the fact that it allowed for wiggle room for the reader. By this I mean that if I did not like a certain story in the book, I could just find another one that suited my interests. Furthermore, I found most of the stories really easy to get into because of the fact that they were short enough to keep your attention and the plots were complex in their brevit...more
I really enjoyed this book because of the fact that it allowed for wiggle room for the reader. By this I mean that if I did not like a certain story in the book, I could just find another one that suited my interests. Furthermore, I found most of the stories really easy to get into because of the fact that they were short enough to keep your attention and the plots were complex in their brevit...more
i'm not crazy about this years edition. it seems like in the selection process of this year's award winners preference was given to stories that deal with timely political issues. not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but political story after political story kills the variety that i look for in story collections and gets a little dull. reading this begins to feel like being beaten in the head by some leftist moral authority. maybe next year keith olbermann and rachel maddow can edit the vol...more
For me, this was a pretty blah installment in a series I usually really enjoy. This one seemed to take out most of what I usually like, stories that are outside the mainstream because they are in some way formally inventive, and instead put in stories that are unusual because they aren't set in the US.
I recognize, as far as that goes, that writing things set in other countries, is commercially risky, and of course I think that's important work. But otherwise, many of the stories were disappointi...more
I recognize, as far as that goes, that writing things set in other countries, is commercially risky, and of course I think that's important work. But otherwise, many of the stories were disappointi...more
I keep not reviewing books in a timely manner, so I'm not 100% sure on the exact date I finished this one. But after a decent streak of really enjoying annual short story anthologies once again, this O.Henry was kind of a dud. A lot that was familiar from other places, and nothing that I was really excited to re-read (though I did, being a habitual completer of tasks... er, non-dissertative tasks, that is).
Probably "Isabel's Daughter" (Karen Brown) was my favorite, because I always like that sor...more
Probably "Isabel's Daughter" (Karen Brown) was my favorite, because I always like that sor...more
This collection contains stories of twin'd creative and philosophical force: "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen," "Uncle Musto Takes a Mistress" and "Twenty-two Stories." Of course there are duds: "A Beneficiary," and "Tell Him About Brother John."
The most surprising -- or, the story I had to read twice for feeling lost -- is "This Is Not Your City." Whether a feeling of reader alienation is intentional, I don't know.
The most surprising -- or, the story I had to read twice for feeling lost -- is "This Is Not Your City." Whether a feeling of reader alienation is intentional, I don't know.
I love short story collections that draw from many authors: they showcase innovative ways to shake up the story form, and each story is deliciously different from the one before it. This collection included some memorable pieces but also had several that didn't seem worthy of a writing prize. I especially liked Paul Theroux's "Twenty-two Stories", Graham Joyce's "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen", and Junot Díaz's "Wildwood".
Especially enjoyed the stories by Lunstrum ("The Nursery") and Morgan ("Icebergs"), which share the themes of isolation, geographical and emotional. I couldn't finish a few of the stories that got rave reviews from others, such as Theroux's "Twenty-two stories." That could mean that this collection appeals to a range of readers, those who identify with character, plot, or setting, etc., or that the selection is spotty this time.
I mean read much more loosely when referring to a book of varied short stories like this one. I read most of them, skimmed all of them, and only skipped ones having to do with war. Which I don't read about if I can help it right now.
Some of these I really liked, some I despised, and many I hope to learn from. My favorites, in order of favoritism:
An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen, by Graham Joyce
Wildwood, by Junot Diaz
Purple Bamboo Park, by E.V. Slate
An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen, by Graham Joyce
Wildwood, by Junot Diaz
Purple Bamboo Park, by E.V. Slate
It has admittedly been awhile, but I remember being thoroughly unimpressed with most of the stories. And it is, after all, rather telling that I can not now recall a SINGLE one in here.
favorite story: Icebergs by Allistair Morgan
also: An ordinary soldier of the queen by Graham Joyce
Twenty-two stories by Paul Theroux
quality of stories in this varies widely
also: An ordinary soldier of the queen by Graham Joyce
Twenty-two stories by Paul Theroux
quality of stories in this varies widely
While the stories in this are admittedly "literary" I found this a very enjoyable collection. I definitely want to buy next year's edition when it comes out.
May 18, 2009
Peter Anagnostos
is currently reading it
The stories are wonderful. Many seem to end with psychological twist. I'll sum them up and review them in more detail when I finish the collection.
I think there was mistake on the cover. These are actually the most boring stories of the year.
Exceptions: "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen," Graham Joyce, "Darkness" Andrew Sean Greer, "Wildwood," Junot Diaz.
Exceptions: "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen," Graham Joyce, "Darkness" Andrew Sean Greer, "Wildwood," Junot Diaz.
I loved "The Bell Ringer" by John Burnside - for the language, and for the bells.
Others I particularly enjoyed:
The camera and the cobra by Roger Nash
Darkness by Andrew Sean Greer
An ordinary soldier of the queen by Graham Joyce
Twenty-two stories by Paul Theroux
Others I particularly enjoyed:
The camera and the cobra by Roger Nash
Darkness by Andrew Sean Greer
An ordinary soldier of the queen by Graham Joyce
Twenty-two stories by Paul Theroux
Sorry, I just didn't like it. Stories weren't engaging. The prose was too dense. A lot of writing for writing's sake.
Contains Paul Yoon's story "And We Will Be There," from the Fall 2007 issue edited by Andrea Barrett.
Sep 28, 2009
Elena Passarello
added it
Well, I read some of it. Caitlin Horrocks' story is pert cool, so check it out for that.
Reading these stories made me want to re-read Oscar Wao, read more by Kirsten Sundberg Lundstrum and Judy Troy, and write some short stories of my own.
I will definitely continue reading these collections.
A great collection of stories. Really enjoyed them!
There's a reason these won the best of the best. Excellent short stories.
Reading over lunch - hmm, a little worried about the low rating. Especially since I really liked the first story - several other people who gave it a low reading liked that story too.
Yeah, it was really not a good installment. Quite bored by most of the stories, a few standout exceptions.. 'An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen' was quite good. I didn't finish the collection after 3 duds in a row.
Yeah, it was really not a good installment. Quite bored by most of the stories, a few standout exceptions.. 'An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen' was quite good. I didn't finish the collection after 3 duds in a row.
Some were good ('Wildwood,' '22 Stories'); some were less good. Your typical mixed bag short story collection.
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Laura J. Furman (born 1945) is an American author best known for her role as series editor for the O. Henry Awards prize story collection. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Mirabella, Ploughshares, Southwest Review.
She has written three collections of stories (The Glass House, Watch Time Fly, and Drinking with the Cook), two novels (The Shadow Line and Tuxedo Park), and a memoir (Ordinary P...more
More about Laura Furman...
She has written three collections of stories (The Glass House, Watch Time Fly, and Drinking with the Cook), two novels (The Shadow Line and Tuxedo Park), and a memoir (Ordinary P...more
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