In his debut collection How They Were Found, Matt Bell draws from a wide range of genres to create stories that are both formally innovative and im...
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Feb 03, 2011
Ethel
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Read "Cartographer's Girl," the first story in Matt Bell's powerful debut collection, HOW THEY WERE FOUND, and I challenge you to stop reading. This modern day fairy tale moved me deeply, and sets the extraordinary tone for these fresh, inventive and deeply affecting stories.
From "Cartographer's Girl":
"The compasses are disappointingly true, pointing north over and over, when all he wants is for one to dissent, to demur, to show him the new direction More...
From "Cartographer's Girl":
"The compasses are disappointingly true, pointing north over and over, when all he wants is for one to dissent, to demur, to show him the new direction More...
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Feb 18, 2012
Greg
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(insert my usual preamble about my eh-ness about short story collections)
That said, again, this book has some of the problems I normally have with short story collections, but there is a difference. Where too many authors have story collections that end up blending into what is basically the same story just told a bunch of different ways with some different characters and things happening and they might all seem different on the surface they are just treading on the same ground. More...
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Jan 30, 2012
Tiffany
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First off, I want to say I was familiar with Matt's work coming in, having hooked up on the social sites (we writers be pimpin' yo!) and downloading a free sample of his short story The Collectors which was probably the best short story I've read in aa while- then came these stories.
Not every story in the collection caught my emotion. The apocalyptic story about the dimmed older soldiers at the receiving tower was written with pin point precision and I could feel how cold it was by the More...
Not every story in the collection caught my emotion. The apocalyptic story about the dimmed older soldiers at the receiving tower was written with pin point precision and I could feel how cold it was by the More...
Sep 15, 2011
Charlie
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It took me a while to get into this book, but when I did, it was completely rewarding. There are two reasons for this. First, the book presents alternative realities that are perfectly believable. "The Leftover" is the best example of this, as the science fiction in the story is secondary to the character changes that are going on. The characters are real; the only thing that is unreal is what happens to the characters. Thus, this book is a perfect example for me, as that describe
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Jul 01, 2011
edward j
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How They Were Found is a powerful collection crossing genres and styles, but always with a distinctness to it. It's not a writer trying to fit into different modes, but a writer applying himself to stories, bending genres and conventions to his will with extraordinary ease.
The title is rather apt in that each story, at some level, is about people searching for something or someone, whether it be themselves, their mother, their lost lover, their daughter, or just a reason to keep going More...
The title is rather apt in that each story, at some level, is about people searching for something or someone, whether it be themselves, their mother, their lost lover, their daughter, or just a reason to keep going More...
Apr 15, 2011
Hazel
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One of the few short story collections I have had trouble putting down. This puts it in line with Drown and Interpreter of Maladies.
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Nov 09, 2010
Claudia
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Won this book from First Reads! There are times when I enjoy reading short stories. This is one good book. I felt like I had completed a book after each story. Even one that was an award winning story.
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May 31, 2011
Nancy
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I have added this book to my "To Read" list and am looking forward to it solely based upon the review by Jennifer.
Okay - first sitting - I have read one and a half stories which I am enjoying but I think maybe this book should have been subtitled 'Stories of Hopelessness and Despair'
Finished - Here is my review:
In deciding upon this book to read I discovered the term "Experimental Fiction".
Some of the stories take the form of More...
Okay - first sitting - I have read one and a half stories which I am enjoying but I think maybe this book should have been subtitled 'Stories of Hopelessness and Despair'
Finished - Here is my review:
In deciding upon this book to read I discovered the term "Experimental Fiction".
Some of the stories take the form of More...
Dec 23, 2010
Jason
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How They Were Found is a book made out of contradictions. Characters die left and right, but still there is hope. Everyone is looking to stitch together a ruptured world, to map nonexistent places and open doors into them, to make sense of the senseless, but still there is careful order and architecture. There are passionate stories about the most sensitive subjects, delivered in calm, measured prose, in carefully constructed architectures.
Read the rest of the review here. More...
Read the rest of the review here. More...
Jun 07, 2011
Tomiko
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Matt Bell has found a fan in me; his stories are original and exciting, touching and inspiring. In one story, about an isolated sociopath, Bell manages to maneuver the reader into empathy, making monstrosity beautiful and sad. In his novel retelling of the Red Riding Hood tale, he turns ancient weakness into modern empowerment. His writing is crisp and colorful, and his stories are bright--they massage emotions and they push boundaries; they shine and they haunt. I highly recommend this collecti
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Jan 30, 2011
How Who Was Found?
A book review of Matt Bell’s How They Were Found
Do I dare write about Matt Bell’s book? I mean, he’s not just a colleague—he works for my publishers! Shouldn’t I avoid it? Isn’t that kinda dangerous?
Alas, that’s what I do. I write. I share. I say stuff. So, here I go.
Remember this: I’m living on the edge.
I’m not much of an experimentalist. I’m not much of a postmodernist. I read some Experimental Fiction and roll my e More...
A book review of Matt Bell’s How They Were Found
Do I dare write about Matt Bell’s book? I mean, he’s not just a colleague—he works for my publishers! Shouldn’t I avoid it? Isn’t that kinda dangerous?
Alas, that’s what I do. I write. I share. I say stuff. So, here I go.
Remember this: I’m living on the edge.
I’m not much of an experimentalist. I’m not much of a postmodernist. I read some Experimental Fiction and roll my e More...
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Sep 29, 2011
David
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These are crazy good stories. I have my favorites, but the approach in each makes things that cannot possibly be new seem fresh and never before seen. There is an emotional urgency, a pleading, to the stories as well that makes them all the more gripping and fascinating. This is my first experience with Bell, but I'm definitely hooked. I want more.
Feb 19, 2011
Kelly
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When I read the last page of this book, I had to take a deep breath and say damn. This is the kind of book that is so perfectly executed it makes a writer want to put down her pen forever, and makes her want to start from page one again to see just how the author pulled it off. It's truly a spectacular collection.
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Nov 05, 2010
Robert
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This is a very strong collection. Stories that really stood out include "The Cartographer's Girl," "The Receiving Tower," "Dredge," The Leftover," "The Collectors," and "An Index Of How Our Family Was Killed."
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Nov 02, 2010
About 100 pages in. "The Receiving Tower" my favorite story so far...
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Apr 28, 2011
Jennifer M. (Books, Personally)
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Loved this intense and excellent collection of short stories!
full review over on my blog
http://bookspersonally.blogspot.com/2011...
full review over on my blog
http://bookspersonally.blogspot.com/2011...
Oct 25, 2010
Corey
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Wonderful. I'm reviewing this for a literary journal so will say more later.
Feb 26, 2011
Christopher
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Visceral, scalpel sharp placing of words to create people on the edge. Wolf Parts, The Collectors (previously in chapbooks), Dredge, and Her Ennead were particular faves.
Oct 12, 2010
J.A.
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Bell brings us everything: symbolism, futurism à la David Ohle, devastation, surrealism, scenic energy, fractured fairytales, consumption, struggle, claustrophobia, and family decay. But this is not to say How They Were Found spreads itself too thin or is too chaotically varied; Bell knows how to keep his world in check, his every word balanced against another, delicately, like a system of weights...[read the full review at The Rumpus: http://therumpus.net/2010/10/how-they-we... ]
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Jun 25, 2011
Luke
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The stories in this book were strange, dark and amazing. I enjoyed some a lot more than others, but the collection as a whole was fantastic. Glimpses of Bell's skill with prose are evident throughout with passages that absolutely aim to floor you.
Sep 11, 2010
Nik
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My review of HOW THEY WERE FOUND will appear at the Outsider Writers Collective as soon as I finish the book and write it. Peep it soon at outsiderwriters.org.
May 05, 2011
Jeremy
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A good collection of stories, some quite disturbing, yet written with a sense of something that makes it ok.
Feb 13, 2011
Kathy
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My book bounty continues! Just received this today and I'm going to start reading it riiiiiiight....now.
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