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Nov 01, 2011

Abby rated it:

I haven't read either of Amy Bloom's two previous collections of short stories but I loved “Away,” her first novel, and jumped at the chance to see what she would do next. As it turns out, three of the four stories in one of the two linked sets in “Where the God of Love Hangs Out” are reprinted from the earlier books. Bloom first wrote about the Sampsons from Julia's perspective, revisited them in stories narrated years later by her step-son and son and looks in once more in the current collecti More...

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Aug 08, 2011

Charlotte added it

Disappointing, because her first collection of stories was so stunning and original. A bookjacket-reviewer said something like, "She packs more into a single sentence than most writers put into an entire novel." I wholeheartedly agree, even here, with this odd collection of forced and stale material. Read one sentence and you're sucked right into another world. Depite its shortcomings, Bloom continues to be a wonderful writer here, who is still exploring surprising subjects with More...

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Aug 02, 2011

Claire rated it:

http://www.tkreviews.org/#/where-the-god...

In American culture, the various kinds of human love—romantic or familial for instance—come with socially acceptable norms and responsibilities. The ultimate customary expression of romantic love is marriage between two well-matched people. In a conventional demonstration of familial love, children are expected to care for their elderly parents. But what happens when two old friends who are married to other people realize that they are soul m More...

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May 25, 2011

Carol rated it:

There is something I like about the length of a short story or a chapter. If it is just right it entertains and enlightens for just the right duration. Sometimes a good short story involves such interesting characters or plot, that a novel is desired. Amy Bloom's book,
"Where the God of Love Hangs Out", consists of four sets of stories of characters followed over time, or from different perspectives. It's a good compromise between a novel and a book of unrelated short stories, es More...

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Feb 14, 2010

christa rated it:

DISCLAIMER
I'm not much on short stories, and I'll admit that I'm using a generalization here, but so many of them are too something. Like contrived edginess for the sake of being edgy. Like a tribal tattoo on the small of your back, but you don't know what the symbol means. And other times they just don't feel satisfying. They require the same level of commitment as dating someone who is moving in a week: Enough time for a fling to create the illusion that he doesn't crap, but not enough t More...

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Jan 20, 2010

Jacqie rated it:

Amy Bloom is a master of characterization. Her characters are unique, flawed, fascinating people. I'm sure I'd enjoy hanging out with them. She is also great at describing the undertones of love, both positive and negative. From a woman waking in the night next to her husband, finding herself weeping and crying the name of her lover (these people are in their late 50's) to the reluctance of a widow to enter her house, knowing that she will see her dead husband inside after not being able to More...

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May 02, 2010

Dawn rated it:

I'm not usually a fan of sets of short stories that feature the same characters, and this slim collection features two of these sets. The first set concerns Clare and William, who are both married to what seem like perfect spouses, and yet Clare and William are drawn to each other. Fans of Olive Kitteridge will enjoy this linked set of stories featuring characters who are not exactly in the prime of life. Unlike with Olive, I wasn't really interested in any of these characters and especially More...

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Mar 20, 2011

Michelle rated it:

I didn’t intend to read two collections of linked short stories back to back but am glad I did. I was feeling that perhaps I was unduly harsh on my prior review (You Know When the Men are Gone) but this confirmed it for me. The stories in this collection are on an entirely different level. This book is essentially divided into two parts, the first with stories about one couple and the second covering another couple, with the occasional one-off stories thrown in. Amy Bloom’s writing is superb and More...

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Jun 27, 2011

Lili rated it:

The writing is as clear and as simple as I remember it from A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You: Stories, which I read about ten years ago. The stories seem a little longer in page length, but read very quickly.

The collection is structured around two quartets of interlocking stories, each treating the different phases of a love relationship. Personally, my favorites in the collection were the stories outside of those two cycles. I felt like I ran out of interest in the protago More...

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Apr 09, 2010

Vanessa rated it:

More like 4.5 stars. This is easily the best book I've read this year, maybe the best book I've read in a while. This is the kind of book you buy even though you have read the library's copy because you want to keep it close to you. There are a handful of stand-alone stories and two sets of four stories that follow a group of people over time; one set (William and Clare) is about an adulterous couple and one (Lionel and Julia) is about a stepmother and her adoptive family. The second set had a s More...

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Mar 01, 2010

Alex rated it:

An extraordinary, compassionate collection of stories. Laced with a romantic spirit yet anything but soft. In these tales, Love- as it will do- insists on sacrifice, regrets and compromise, and will occasionally concede a small dose of comfort or satisfaction here and there to prolong the game. Two quartets of internally linked tales steal the thunder here. The first follows a late in life change of partners within a circle of friends in academe. Tender and mature, this initial series sets a ref More...

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Dec 21, 2009

Lauren rated it:

The sad fact is that I read more mediocre, or even bad books, than I do good books; so when I read a terrific book I can't help but want to pass along a recommendation. So here it is: get out there and order a copy of Amy Bloom's new collection of short stories, Where the God of Love Hang Out, which will be in stores January 2010.

Bloom, who worked as a psychotherapist for twenty years, has an uncanny ability to expose the psychological realities of her characters. More than once More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Erika rated it:

While I can't ever fault Bloom's line by line writing (it's the very definition of masterful), this collection fell somewhat flat for me. It felt as though there were two novellas contained within the book--not interrelated short stories, but novellas. While there's a bit of a lack of market for novellas at the moment, I felt it was a disservice to the stories themselves to have them sandwiched together in the same book. The two independent pieces certainly read the strongest for me, as they More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Larry added it

Amy Bloom is one of my favorite authors. Some of her short stories—in Love Invents Us, Come to Me and A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You—are among the best I've ever read. And her latest story collection, Where the God of Love Hangs Out, is a worthy addition to this list.

There are two sets of interrelated stories in this collection and some unrelated ones. The first set chronicles William and Clare, lifelong friends who, unbeknownst to their spouses, are falling in love with each other late More...

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Feb 08, 2010

Bookmarks Magazine rated it:

Bloom's background in psychology gives her amazing insight into the human psyche, which she uses to full advantage in these lovely, mesmerizing stories, written with sympathy and wisdom. The critics seemed genuinely surprised that there could be any uncharted territory in the world of love, but Bloom adeptly maps the human heart without sentimentality or cliché. They lavished praise on her deeply affecting prose and "uncommonly fully formed" characters (New York Times), admiring her us More...

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Feb 08, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

Amy Bloom is one of my favorite short story authors - I prefer her short stories and was not a fan of her novel, "Away." I was particularly excited for this new collection of stories. The excitement was slightly lessened when I started reading, only to discover that four of the stories had previously been published in previous collections of Ms. Bloom's. Bummer. Had I purchased this instead of getting it from the library, I'd have been pretty annoyed.

That said, the s More...

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Jan 21, 2011

Nancy rated it:

This book of short stories exemplifies the notion of bitter-sweet. I'm not sure why, but I've always avoided reading short stories. This book may convert me. Amy Bloom's stories are unified by recurring characters and each story offers new insight into a few characters, offering continuity to the collection.

I was drawn to this author when I heard her speak earlier in the month. She was very witty, very wise and touched the audience in a rather personal way. Quite a gift. The book is More...

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Jul 11, 2011

Alison rated it:

I've been told that this isn't Amy Bloom's best collection of short stories, and I certainly wasn't swept away by it. There were some gems. Specifically I liked some of the Julia and Lionel stories, like Sleepwalking. I enjoyed how the author explored the complicated relationship between Julia and her stepson, and I liked the follow up stories that gave us a window into their later years.

I also thought Bye and Bye was interesting, more for how it was written than the actual story it More...

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Jan 24, 2010

Kaley rated it:

Amy Bloom's characters are flawed. They make mistakes; they use poor judgement; they are not beautiful or young or without fault. In other words, they are real. And her ability to introduce us to them with complete lack of judgement is a gift. Ms. Bloom worked for some time as a psychotherapist before devoting herself to writing, and she weds these two experiences in a way that offers us a unique and honest glimpse into the psyches of her characters. The result is captivating. I read somewhere t More...

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Jul 10, 2011

Cathy rated it:

i'm really enoying this book which reminds me of ann tyler books, dinner at the homesick diner, accidental tourist, etc.

the characters in these short stories drift through life with dialogue that makes one laugh out loud. Clare and William both married to other people talk about their families. william's daughter emily has made a bad choice and wm says, "i'd rather she'd taken the veil. . ."

wm describes his divorce attorney and is "sure that most of her life, More...

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Jan 17, 2010

Alecia rated it:

Amy Bloom is an amazing writer. I was uncertain as to rate it 4 or 5 stars and I'm still not sure. I generally shy away from short stories, as I love to be fully engaged by a novel. The exception to this was Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. But I believe Strout's stories were all connected somehow. These stories were only connected by the theme of (I guess) love. I remember really enjoying Bloom's previous novel, Away.

Some of the stories in this book were abolutely exquisite, an More...

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Mar 04, 2010

Jennifer rated it:

I had seen this book on the Goodreads giveaway page awhile back, and although I entered, I am so glad I did not win the giveaway. Thank goodness this is a library book I can take back!
The book was told in several small stories which I was not expecting. I was a bit thrown by the format because some chapters were related and there was a break in the book to let the reader know a new story was starting. However some chapters that followed were not a continuation of the preceding chapter so i More...

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Feb 22, 2010

Emily rated it:

I was hesitant jumping into my second Amy Bloom book. I wasn't in love with her novel "Away", though I believe short stories are her strength and since that is the format of her newest book, I decided to give her another chance. I'm glad I did. Her writing is very poignant and touching, yet with a dash of humor to bring you back to some sort of reality. By the second story, I realized that this colleciton of stories all centered around death. How we mourn, how we die, how we surviv More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Wavelength rated it:

Amy Bloom moves beyond socially acceptable "love stories," and instead explores the darker and less talked about nuances of love and relationships. Two middle aged friends, married to other people decide to risk everything and marry each other. A step-mother and her step-son are drawn together in shared grief; the repercussions affect the rest of their lives, a man contemplates "for better or for worse." "Everyone who gets married feels betrayed. The other person will le More...

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Feb 28, 2010

Jodi rated it:

I remember breathlessly telling my twelve-year-old niece, Jaycie, that if Amy Bloom’s name were on the cover of a phone book I’d read it and enjoy every line. I’m a bit of a Bloom fan, and still remember buying her first novel Love Invents Us in hardcover at the B. Dalton in the Eden Prairie Mall just because I liked the title.

After reading Where the God of Love Hangs Out her newest short story collection that affirmation is truer than ever.

What I like so much about Bloom More...

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Sep 13, 2010

Diane rated it:

Although I usually don't care for short story collections, I love how Amy Bloom wove two series of stories together into a kind of novella form in this book. Something very satisfying about reading the arc of lives and relationships in that format, kind of like watching a long thorough movie trailer that saves you from having to watch the whole movie. Characters were splendid - slightly off center from what I think of as the mainstream, and therefore mostly more interesting. She reminds me a bit More...

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Jun 03, 2011

Cate rated it:

Lovely writing about love in the last half of life. Most of these characters have been married and raised their children; now we see their lives and loves as they learn to see their children as adults, as they face divorce, death, disappointment. The book has several different narratives--it's not quite a novel, and not quite a series of short stories. Each section has several distinction sub-sections, but it's not clear if those are chapters or interlinked stories. The sections are themselves More...

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Mar 29, 2010

Kathryn rated it:

I have to say that I was somewhat indifferent to the content of these stories but Amy Bloom writes so well that I could not stop listening. The reader who has won an Audie Award was also very good. These are short stories about the unlikely, messy and undeniable kind of love that IS despite whether it is acceptable or not and ranges from passionate love, to familial bonds and friendship that is deep and lasting. Some of it is pretty uncomfortable especially the tale of a mother and son in law More...

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Feb 06, 2011

Rachel rated it:

My Christmas present from Mike. Bloom is great to read if you love Lorrie Moore - the closest thing you can get to the real thing. Bliss.

This didn't disappoint on any level. Many of these stories connect in clusters, so you get 3-4 doses of stories about the same set of characters. The effect is that Bloom has sort of written 2 novellas, and thrown in a couple of extra stories too, which suits me fine - her short stories leave me wanting more in the best possible way. Her novel, Away More...

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Mar 02, 2010

Christy rated it:

I am not a huge fan of short stories as a genre, but this is an excellent collection. I particularly enjoy how some of the stories are interwoven with one another, as this helps to cushion some of the abruptness that often comes with short stories. One set of stories follows two married couples over infidelity and illness, while another superior set of stories follows an inter-racial family over the course of thirty years. Bloom's stories are realistic rather than fantastical, and her prose i More...

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