Bluebirds Used to Croon in the Choir: Stories
by Joe Meno
published
2005
by Triquarterly
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binding
Hardcover, 192 pages
isbn
0810151677
(isbn13: 9780810151673)
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 104)
Bluebirds Used to Croon in the Choir (TriQuarterly Books, 2005) is the best that Joe Meno has to offer. His previous novel, Hairstyles of the Damned (Punk Planet Books, 2004), was great. It's been reviewed for this website, and you can peruse the ARCHIVES for proof. Arguably, this collection of short stories upstages everything he's ever thrust into the public arena. For those of you who are financially strapped, though, this is a hardback book, so it follows that it's more expensi...more
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Read in June, 1908
recommended to Mickey by:
Joe Menorecommends it for: Anyone who cares about anything.
Joe Meno changes the places of things. He always destroys. His work is accurate, opaque human reality. In a word: verbal coherence.
His work is entirely scientific. It takes up all the space. Stubborn. Unshakable. Damned theoretical. Operating from an illusion of which we could be proud, Meno pushes relentlessly, agreeing with a specific problem, one we thought we could be comforted by. And whatever he pushes, he displaces.
Feeling indeed attracted to his contagious voice, both readers a...more
His work is entirely scientific. It takes up all the space. Stubborn. Unshakable. Damned theoretical. Operating from an illusion of which we could be proud, Meno pushes relentlessly, agreeing with a specific problem, one we thought we could be comforted by. And whatever he pushes, he displaces.
Feeling indeed attracted to his contagious voice, both readers a...more
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Read in February, 2008
after reading the boy detective fails, i got on a bit of a joe meno kick.
i didn't like this collection of short stories as much as the other books i've read. they were really hit or miss for me, though the ones that hit really hit.
in the stories that do hit, his writing seems so effortless. so eloquent and breathlessly wonderful.
shorts i'm in love with: the use of medicine, our neck of the woods, a trip to greek mythology camp, be a good citizen, how to say good night.
i didn't like this collection of short stories as much as the other books i've read. they were really hit or miss for me, though the ones that hit really hit.
in the stories that do hit, his writing seems so effortless. so eloquent and breathlessly wonderful.
shorts i'm in love with: the use of medicine, our neck of the woods, a trip to greek mythology camp, be a good citizen, how to say good night.
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Read in May, 2008
Some interesting short stories. Also some that weren't so interesting. I thought some stories were a little self-absorbed and not very accessible to the average reader. Many of the characters in each story had similar hang-ups, thus making distinctions between the stories somewhat difficult.
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Read in April, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone who wants to keep a sense of ennui going
I give this no stars. I didn't like it. I didn't hate it. It had no resonance for me at all. The stories in this book did nothing for me. They didn't make me think or feel; they just lay on the page.
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Read in December, 2007
the short stories were so good. i got so into them that i was bummed when they ended. heard really good reviews about meno as a writer
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Beautifully written tiny little stories, all of which are equal parts tender and heartbreaking.
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Read in February, 2008
I proclaim Joe Meno to be one of the best current Chicago writers.
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