In his introduction to this volume, Stephen King writes, The result is a vibrant assortment of stories and voices brimming with attitude, deep wis...
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Nov 26, 2007
Rory
rated it: 
blech. i did wonder why the series editor kept going on and on about the "so-called death" of the american short story in her introduction. and then assured the reader that, um, it was going to get better. i didn't realize she was actually warning us that this crop was kind of crap! i DID wonder whether the anthology suffered because stephen king selected for it this year. i mean, i really like him, actually, but i don't think he's got lots of TASTE. whichever, i couldn't help but be d
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Sep 16, 2010
Alex
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THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES 2007 EDITED BY STEPHEN KING: International bestselling author Stephen King takes the stage with a different kind of performance: instead of being the creator and writer, he is the director, selected as the editor for the 2007 edition of the ever popular Best American Short Stories series. But don’t pick this book up expecting to find blood and gore, or a sense of horror and a feeling of terror that you are more used to when reading the editor’s own work; in this
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Nov 30, 2007
Rebecca
rated it: 
I love the idea of Stephen King editing this collection, but I had a really hard time mustering any interest in the majority of these stories. Alice Munro's story is brilliant. Besides that, there were a few that were okay, and then there were some that I was completely disappointed by.
Eileen Pollacks' story "The Bris," for example, is based on an interesting idea--a son goes to tend to his dying father, only to find out that in fact his father is not Jewish, as he had More...
Eileen Pollacks' story "The Bris," for example, is based on an interesting idea--a son goes to tend to his dying father, only to find out that in fact his father is not Jewish, as he had More...
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Sep 29, 2008
Kirsten
rated it: 
I slogged through the first five stories in this book and was about to toss the entire collection away in disgust. Even the John Barth story was outright awful, and so I denigrated Stephen King's taste in stories and vowed to never buy this collection again.
However, round about page 85, I hit Joseph Epstein's "My Brother Eli" and things began looking up. In fact, every story after that point ranged from decent to really damn good.
The Gold Star Stories:
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However, round about page 85, I hit Joseph Epstein's "My Brother Eli" and things began looking up. In fact, every story after that point ranged from decent to really damn good.
The Gold Star Stories:
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Apr 23, 2008
Ryan
rated it:
This is the first disappointment I've gotten from the Best American Short Stories Series. Stephen King proved to be a heavy-handed editor to say the least. While no story could be classified as out-right horror, they almost all contained horrific elements: a girl with her face shot off propped up in an abandoned farm house, a suicide pact, castration, biological warfare, girls raised by werewolves... even the obligatory Alice Munro story (she's been included in almost every year I've read) has
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Jun 09, 2008
I'm about 1/2 way through this, but wanted to jot down some of my thoughts so far.
It's been a long time since I read a collection of short stories, so I'm not sure what I was expecting. With that said, I'm finding the stories very "academic" - meaning, I keep waiting for my 10th grade English teacher to show up at the door with a thematic test for me on these, which I fear I would fail miserably. I get the feeling there must be more meaning to these stories than I see rig More...
It's been a long time since I read a collection of short stories, so I'm not sure what I was expecting. With that said, I'm finding the stories very "academic" - meaning, I keep waiting for my 10th grade English teacher to show up at the door with a thematic test for me on these, which I fear I would fail miserably. I get the feeling there must be more meaning to these stories than I see rig More...
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Jun 03, 2011
Bojan
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I had been a regular reader of the "Best American Short Stories" collections for years, until I finally decided that I was reading these stories more out of a force of habit than out of real interest. The stories were well written and all, but they lacked almost any imagination or spontaneity, and was very hard to relate to either the characters or the plot lines. This has been a trend in American writing for some time, where stories are all products of the same fiction workshop mental
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Feb 18, 2011
Anthony
rated it:
In her foreword, Heidi Pitlor talks about what her first year as Series Editor was like (replacing the almost irreplacable Katrina Kennison), reading literally thousands of short stories published in American magazines in 2006 and whittling those thousands down the the hundred or so she passed on to Guest Editor Stephen King. It sounds like she was up to the task, but there's not a terrible amount of insight into the process (and perhaps, after all these years, there's not much a new Series Edi
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Aug 03, 2009
Harley
rated it:
Hmmmm, not enjoying the stories in this one nearly as much. We'll see. I've only read 7 out of 20 stories. I don't think it's my mood. Perhaps just a difference of opinion between me and Stephen King.
August 3
I've finished the volume and can say that it was a more wintry selection than usual, and I wasn't enamoured of the book as a whole. Too many disgruntled characters, and maybe authors. Lots of death theme, although some of that was wonderful. Maybe it was the year, tw More...
August 3
I've finished the volume and can say that it was a more wintry selection than usual, and I wasn't enamoured of the book as a whole. Too many disgruntled characters, and maybe authors. Lots of death theme, although some of that was wonderful. Maybe it was the year, tw More...
Jan 23, 2009
Taylor
rated it:
I love the Best American series; however, I was not especially impressed with this volume. Lately, people seem to be re-examining Stephen King as a literary writer, which might explain the puzzling choice of him as editor, but, I'm sorry, literary he ain't. I found his introduction totally obnoxious, and his choices for this collection, with a few notable exceptions, were less than inspired. As a writer, King goes for plot, and as a reader, he seems to do the same. Not that I have anything a
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Jun 15, 2008
Susan
rated it:
I started loving this book from the very first story by Louis Auchincloss (who I had never heard of) entitled 'Pa's Darling'. What a great title. Four of the first six stories made me say 'Wowww' out loud when I finished them. If I saw Stephen King I'd kiss his feet to thank him for selecting these great stories.
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Feb 07, 2009
Dan
rated it:
When I was a kid, even before I wanted to be a musician, I wanted to be a short story writer. Not an author or the more generic title of "writer," but specifically a short story writer. As an adolescent, I would sit in my room and read the short stories of O. Henry, Mark Twain, Ray Bradbury, Edgar Allen Poe and pretty much anyone else I could get my hands on. I certainly read lots of novels and probably more nonfiction than someone my age would usually read but, it was the short storie
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Feb 06, 2009
Emily
rated it: 
I loved this book!! My favorite stories were
"Balto" by T.C. Boyle,
"Where Will You Go When Your Skin Cannot Contain You" by William Gay, "Wake" by Beverly Jensen (I especially loved that one),
"Findings and Impressions" by Stellar Kim,
"The Boy in Zaquitos" by Bruce McAllister
"Dimension" by Alice Munro
"The Bris" by Eileen Pollack
What I particularly liked is that the selections More...
"Balto" by T.C. Boyle,
"Where Will You Go When Your Skin Cannot Contain You" by William Gay, "Wake" by Beverly Jensen (I especially loved that one),
"Findings and Impressions" by Stellar Kim,
"The Boy in Zaquitos" by Bruce McAllister
"Dimension" by Alice Munro
"The Bris" by Eileen Pollack
What I particularly liked is that the selections More...
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Apr 01, 2009
Judah
rated it:
I love this collection of short stories. Picked it up to keep me occupied on a long plane ride and it was perfect. Stephen King and a co-editor chose the stories. I've never read a King novel, but I've picked up from his column in Entertainment Weekly that he has a great eye for talent under and on top of the radar. Beautiful, touching and odd stories abound in this book...from relationships to girls being raised by wolves. One of my favorite experiences with the book has been reading about
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Dec 16, 2007
Ann
rated it:
Lots of good stories here. Steve took most of my recommendations, I was pleased. This one DeVita guy snuck in though. Oh well, he's got chops, as we say in the biz.
Jan 01, 2009
Casey
rated it:
Read this collection a while ago, and the only story that stood out then and still stands out is the very first one. "Pa's Darling" by Louis Auchincloss is a daughter's account of the shadow her father has cast over her life. This is particularly true of her two husbands, whom she feels were both stolen away, figuratively, by her father's sheer force of personality. The character's voice is pitch perfect; she is educated and opinionated and far more observant than her father ever give
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Jun 17, 2011
~ Cheryl ~
rated it:
I picked this book up off a bargain table at my local bookstore, and only because Stephen King was editor. Good move on my part!
I figured that if I enjoy so much of King's fiction, I could trust him to assemble a collection of short stories that will appeal to me on some level. I was right. In his introduction, King decries the sort of short story which is guarded and self-conscious rather than gloriously open. Self-important rather than interesting. Thankfully, in the selection More...
I figured that if I enjoy so much of King's fiction, I could trust him to assemble a collection of short stories that will appeal to me on some level. I was right. In his introduction, King decries the sort of short story which is guarded and self-conscious rather than gloriously open. Self-important rather than interesting. Thankfully, in the selection More...
Apr 05, 2011
I've read a couple of the stories in this collection. The essay by Stephen King was super, imagining him in a Florida bookstore, down on his hands and knees with his butt in the air, scouring the lower shelves for fiction magazines. Read the book to see more of his adventures during his stint as guest editor.
Of the stories I've read so far (only a few; the book is still on my nightstand), "L. Debard and Aliette: A Love Story" by Lauren Groff was effing amazing. I look forward More...
Of the stories I've read so far (only a few; the book is still on my nightstand), "L. Debard and Aliette: A Love Story" by Lauren Groff was effing amazing. I look forward More...
Mar 08, 2011
Alison
rated it:
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been boycotting short stories for the last couple of years. It's hard to explain why. I actually prefer semi-ambiguous endings, and I prefer the literary and lyrical over the straight-up entertainment type of reading. But I began to feel that every short story I read was "too writer-ly," that the author was being weird just to be weird, or that the ambiguity of the larger meaning of the story was dissatisfying rather than stirring or thought-prov
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Aug 07, 2010
Lady Feral
rated it:
I read a story or two from here everytime I start another novel. A way to cleanse, one might say. One question, though: If this collection is the best OF ALL AMERICA, why do I feel as if I am not the intended audience? I am seventeen years old, and I get the impression these stories would make more sense and be more moving if I was say, 50 years old or more.
EDIT: 04/09/10
Finally finished. I don't think I'll bother reading this again, for the simple fact that for the author's st More...
EDIT: 04/09/10
Finally finished. I don't think I'll bother reading this again, for the simple fact that for the author's st More...
Jan 17, 2009
Ben
rated it:
Three stars for the best stories... not for the average quality of the book as a whole!
At first, I thought I'd figured out what a Best American edited by Stephen King was going to look like: straightforward told tales, with a point of drama or literary shock that would catch your attention, and hopefully cover over for other awkwardnesses in the writing. That was my impression for the first half of the book. By the end though, it was yet another year (now 2 past!) of Best American Sh More...
At first, I thought I'd figured out what a Best American edited by Stephen King was going to look like: straightforward told tales, with a point of drama or literary shock that would catch your attention, and hopefully cover over for other awkwardnesses in the writing. That was my impression for the first half of the book. By the end though, it was yet another year (now 2 past!) of Best American Sh More...
Oct 31, 2008
Tiny Pants
rated it:
I'm a Best American Short Stories fanatic, and had high hopes for a Stephen King edited-edition -- he read more widely than most guest editors, might bring in more unique voices, etc, etc. And yes -- there were more authors I hadn't heard of than normal, and way less of the New Yorker and way more of other venues for short fiction. In spite of this, however, the collection was more uniform than any in recent memory, and at least for this reader, that meant for the most part uniformly unappealing
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Jun 08, 2008
Lena
rated it:
I've always been put off by books that were all about the doom and gloom. I can understand that not everything is sunshine and daisies, but I read for the escapism and I want to leave the harshness of real life at the door, so to speak.
I actually had to read this book for class, and despite the fact that I didn't personally like it very much, I must admit that I would have never tried it if I hadn't had to read it.
The story I had to read was John Barth's "Toga Party" More...
I actually had to read this book for class, and despite the fact that I didn't personally like it very much, I must admit that I would have never tried it if I hadn't had to read it.
The story I had to read was John Barth's "Toga Party" More...
May 29, 2008
Jack
rated it:
Stephen King, this year's guest editor and a living "God" of bestsellers, writes in his Introduction that he tried to avoid "stories that felt show-offy rather than entertaining, self-important rather than interesting, guarded and self-conscious rather than gloriously open, and - worst of all - written for editors and teachers rather than for readers."
He should have tried harder.
Literary taste is a very subjective and individual thing. But to this rea More...
He should have tried harder.
Literary taste is a very subjective and individual thing. But to this rea More...
Nov 22, 2008
Atman
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Mar 29, 2008
Kathleen
rated it:
Edited by Stephen King this collection of 20 stories provided mostly good, and sometimes weird, reading. As a whole the collection had the Stephen King feel of examining things that are in some way extraordinary but at the same time frighteningly ordinary. From "St Lucy's School for Girls Who Were Raised by Wolves" to "Horseman" the stories are thoughtful and provocative. A small bio is included for each author plus an explanation of how the author came to write the story. Th
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Mar 10, 2008
Collin
rated it:
This book is simply a collection of decent short stories. I love compilations like these, but until now had only picked up old copies of the O'Henry Prize stories. What really caught my eye (and made me ask for this for Christmas) was Stephen King's name as the collection's editor.
King's introduction is both sad an optimistic regarding the state of America's short story. In my opinion, the man has mastered the art of the short story himself, and the ones he has written are more cons More...
King's introduction is both sad an optimistic regarding the state of America's short story. In my opinion, the man has mastered the art of the short story himself, and the ones he has written are more cons More...
Nov 28, 2008
Dusty
rated it:
This is the third volume in the Best American Short Stories Series that I've read cover to cover. And it's a consistent collection. There are a few real head-turners (Lauren Groff's "L. Debard and Aliette: A Love Story" and Karen Russell's "St. Lucy's Home For Girls Raised By Wolves" are my favorites), and there are a few stinkers, but for the most part this anthology is populated by solid if not particularly memorable pieces of short fiction.
I could write for a w More...
I could write for a w More...
May 16, 2008
Jon
rated it:
Ok, this review isn't for this book specifically as much as it is for a series of books.
The "Best Writing" series is an annual compilation of the best magazine writing from the previous year. Editors review hundreds upon hundreds of magazine articles (short-form writing) and narrow it down to the best 20-30.
The series includes many different themes, including "Short Fiction", "Travel", "Science and Nature", "Political Writin More...
The "Best Writing" series is an annual compilation of the best magazine writing from the previous year. Editors review hundreds upon hundreds of magazine articles (short-form writing) and narrow it down to the best 20-30.
The series includes many different themes, including "Short Fiction", "Travel", "Science and Nature", "Political Writin More...
Feb 06, 2009
Fatkidchuckles
rated it:
I love short stories as it requires a more concentrated talent to really capture a complete character and arc in so little space. As Jonathon Franzen says, in a short story, there is nowhere for the writer to hide.
In this collection, Stephen King is a little hard to take, as his over-inflated sense of importance permeates his introductory letter. But overall, it is a solid collection of short stories.
In this collection, Stephen King is a little hard to take, as his over-inflated sense of importance permeates his introductory letter. But overall, it is a solid collection of short stories.
