Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Dec 16, 2011

Kim rated it:

I can’t really express how much this book affected me. I was thinking I might just skip the review thingy and just leave it as ‘holy shit’ and be done with it. Of course, I can’t do that. It’s been 3 days since I finished it and I find myself going back and rereading lines and calling up scenes. Why? Because these characters are better than me and I live in retrospect. These stories pull at my gut and bring me back to times where ‘shoulda’ and ‘maybe if’ exist even though I know I can nev More...

19 comments like (27 people liked it)

Nov 25, 2008

julieta rated it:

I am not a big short story reader. Although I do read a lot of them, I can´t say it´s my favorite form of fiction. I have always thought that an author develops an idea or a character better in a novel. But this book makes me re think the short story more. All the stories here move and involve you, there is no way to stay indifferent to the things that go on, they seem to be familiar things she is speaking about, no matter what the situation is. They about the complexities of how we realte to ea More...

7 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Bill marked it as to-read

Julie Orringer lived down the hall from me my junior year at college. She had a big fuzzy white bathrobe and one of those Danish office chairs you kneel on that are a lot more comfortable than they look. We never got to know each other particularly well, but she seemed nice enough, and I remembered her name years later when I stumbled across How to Breathe Underwater on the new releases table at my local bookstore. I bought it for novelty's sake, because, as tenuous as it is, my personal conn More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Aug 22, 2008

Alison rated it:

I forgot how wonderful stories could be. If books are a meal, a nice juicy novel would be a perfect steak. But a good collection of stories is a series of small appetizers--all fresh and original. I enjoy the variety and the way that they are slices, samples of a larger dish.

These are not feel good stories. They are in a word...haunting. In each story, the subject is a young woman between the ages of around six and nineteen or twenty. Each one is grieving, either an old loss, a More...

3 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 17, 2011

Ann rated it:

The children and teenagers in these stories live in a world in which adults are often preoccupied, clueless, or just plain oblivious to their needs. The results range from troubling to terrible to tragic. While the stories deal with dark themes, like death, guilt, and betrayal, there are just enough sprinklings of hope to keep you reading. Short story enthusiasts won't want to miss this one.

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

treehugger rated it:

You know, the writing was really good, I must say that. But the subject matter and the characters were SO messed up! If you liked Six Feet Under (on tv) then this is for you. Just weirdness in real life, I guess.

For me the stories were haunting, though, and I had trouble sleeping well if I read it while in bed...

To be honest, I just don't think I'm a short story kinda gal - so much drama in so few pages, DRAMATIC endings that leave way too many doors open...nope, I pr More...

3 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

Robert rated it:

Usually I would not have picked up a book like this, but after reading it for my class, I would suggest this book to any reader.
As many have attested, it is quite a dark book about some of the worst events in a person's life, such as cancer, drugs, and death of loved ones. Overall however some of the stories do contain nuggets of a positive message about how to deal with these challenges. Many of the stories I could not stop reading and found myself engrossed in her stories, much like a per More...

2 comments like

Oct 19, 2010

Emily rated it:

How to Breathe Underwater is a lively first book. The short stories, while not connected by characters, hold together tonally. The book begins with a disturbing look into the topsy-turvy life of a family dealing with a mother’s fatal illness. In “Pilgrims” Ella and her brother are left to fend for themselves at a strange Thanksgiving celebration, complete with wheat gluten and a treacherous tree house experience.
The theme of parents being left to fend for themselves is a theme that runs More...

0 comments like

Sep 01, 2010

Melissa rated it:

Recently, I've heard a lot about Julie Orringer's latest book; so I decided to get it on interlibrary loan. Unfortunately, it wasn't available. But I did come across her first novel, How to Breathe Underwater. I saw it was a collection of short stories and decided to give it a shot because, as I've said in other posts, I love short stories. When a short story comes together and is written right, it is a true work of art. Julie Orringer's collection of stories in this book are a masterpiece. I wa More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

George rated it:

Short stories are some of the hardest things to write. Not a lot of people read collections of short stories, and those who do are rather picky about what they just read. How to Breathe Underwater is a great first outing for Julie Orringer and is full of great stories. They capture the innocence of child hood and the harshness of the world almost perfectly. There is a great emphasis on almost as the short story "Motown Stars Shining Bright" was definitely rather weak compared to the ot More...

1 comment like

Sep 17, 2010

Parksy rated it:

4.5

Amazing short stories about growing up. Note to Sixth-Grade Self was stellar.

Review
"A major new talent. . . . How to Breathe Underwater is a dark and beautiful book." –The New York Times Book Review

"These stories are without exception clear-eyed, compassionate and deeply moving. . . . Even her most bitter characters have a gift, the sharp wit of envy. This, Orringer's first book, is breathtakingly good, truly felt and beautifully delive More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2011

Jack added it

This was a very depressing book. It was supposed to take the perspectives of teenage children. I thought it was an awful representation of what teenagers feel. It was too exaggerated and out there for me to like. Most of the stories all seemed the same too. They were depressed teenage children that had a tragedy occur in their lives. None of the parents seem to care about their children. None of the stories make you feel good at the end either. It would be one thing for a story to be sad and end More...

1 comment like

Jul 30, 2011

Sarah rated it:

I'm five stories in. I loooooooooooooooooove this book. I already gave it 5 stars. I'm that sure.

7/30/2011
Okay, I finished the book. I'm keeping my review at 5 stars. It is a PAGE-TURNER (or the nook equivalent-page-swiper?). Julie Orringer writes in a way that makes everything vivid and interesting. I could tell you what each world smells like, if it is hot, warm, or cold, what people look and smell like--it's that vivid. Warning: the book is depressing. Each story has at leas More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 02, 2011

Randy rated it:

This is tight, skillful writing that feels extremely satisfying to read, because the content is highly relevant to my generation. I really enjoy short stories but have struggled to find contemporary authors who interest me much; goodreads is changing that, finally.

I really enjoyed most of the stories here once I got some momentum. Some were definitely better than others. Julie Orringer excels at exposing the little hypocrisies and social posturing we all unconsciously (or consciously More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2011

Jonathan rated it:

The book of shorts stories How to Breathe Underwater is very interesting to say the least. The stories all deal with a tragedy or hate against someone. The stories overall tend to be depressing while some get better towards the end. Some seem to be in the realm of possibility while others such as "Pilgrims" seems to go to the extreme, where the kids form their own society with no influence form the parents, as they don't notice that a child is missing after their death. However, so More...

1 comment like

Aug 12, 2009

Robyn rated it:

I usually don't like short story books (although why I continue to try to read them; I don't know). BUT, this one greatly surprised me!

The problem I think I have with short stories is that they just sort of end--either they leave you hanging or they don't give you enough and leave you with too many questions (and not enough answers). The author did a terrific job here of having stories that were fun to read but also when they were over made you feel like nothing was missing.
More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2011

Alexandra rated it:

I thought that this book was very good. Orringer made it so that the reader connected with the stories. She used "you" in some stories like "Note To Sixth Grade Self," which helped the reader understand more and connect with the story more. I liked the "Note To Sixth Grade Self" and "The Isabel Fish" and "When She Is Old And I Am Famous." I think that she makes these stories easy to read and entertaining. The only negative thing that I would have More...

1 comment like

Aug 02, 2009

Megan rated it:

This is an outstanding collection of short stories. I read every single story on the edge of my seat because the only predictable thing about each one is that it will be wildly unpredictable. The plot twists are risky and often shocking, and all the more terrifying because they are happening to very real people. These people could be your friends and neighbors. They could be you. I had the mischance to read "Note to Sixth Grade Self" in a coffee shop, and it was truly an effort no More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2011

Rachael rated it:

Orringer's collection of short stories is quite strong. The themes prevalent through out this collection all deal with adolescent teens who are faced with difficult, and sometimes life changing, experiences. Although most of the stories in this collection were quite strong, other seemed to lack the ingenuity of the others. One of the best stories of this collection was "Note to Sixth-Grade Self." This story focuses on a young girl who is just trying to make it through middle school and More...

1 comment like

Oct 15, 2011

Anne Nikoline rated it:

How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer is the first time I ever read a collection of short stories which is not related to any of my school work, and I must say I'm very pleased that my first time had to be with this collection. It's witty and dark on some of the worst events in a person's life, such as cancer, drugs, and death of loved ones, but most of all: the hate against someone else. Something we can all relate to. The stories do also tell how to deal with these thing and not in the o More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2011

Cameron rated it:

I thought this book was amazing. It was full of interesting characters who fought through some of the hardest difficulties the human race has to offer. Among these difficulties are social outcasting, which can be seen in "Notes to My Sixth Grade Self". The book also presents death as one of the main challenges in many of its stories whether it be from, "The Isabel Fish", "Pilgrims", or even "Care". Although this book takes a very blunt and frank tone to so More...

1 comment like

Sep 09, 2011

Maggie rated it:

I really enjoyed this book. I haven't read many short stories before, and this book opened my eyes to this genre. My favorite story was Pilgrims, although I also thought it was the strangest. It was very suspenseful and shocking when the entire direction of the story shifted near the end. I read it twice just to make sure what I was reading was really happening, because it changed to quickly that I thought I had missed something. The story I disliked the most was What We Save. I just thought it More...

1 comment like

Aug 10, 2011

Heather rated it:

It has been a very long time since I have read a collection of short stories. I have noticed a connection in almost all of the reviews of this book, which is that everyone says they don't usually read short stories but this book was excellent. I have to agree completely. The stories compiled in this book are page turners; just the right length to develop a great, yet simple plot and the voices of the characters really stay with you. The first story, "Pilgrims", reeled me in and kep More...

0 comments like

Feb 07, 2010

Kasey rated it:

I can't remember when I've been so blown away by a writer I'd never heard of. I was inspired to read this by a review in Nick Hornby's fabulous The Polysyllabic Spree; he loved it, and now I understand why. What Hornby says about these stories seems right on to me: in a sense, they are about age-old subjects (grief, fear, love, growing up), but the characters and settings are fresh and vivid and startling. The first story, "Pilgrims," has stayed with me since I closed the book, as More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 09, 2011

Grace rated it:

The stories are all well written, and most of the stories leave you wanting to read more. I like how the book is about finding your way through a difficult situation, or learning to "breathe underwater" when it comes to situations that make you feel like you are drowning. It is a little depressing for my taste (thus four stars, instead of five), but most of the stories leave you feeling a little more confident in dealing with certain situations. Only a few of the stories (Pilgrims), le More...

1 comment like

Apr 03, 2011

Julie rated it:

Orringer writes with confidence, but without much passion. These nine stories are perfectly constructed, and the author has a keen ear for natural dialogue, but with few exceptions, I was not moved by the characters or their dilemmas.

In each, whether the voice is first or third person (even, in the case of Note to Sixth-Grade Self, second person), the protagonist is a young girl or a coming of age adolescent. Each faces a significant loss- either of a loved one or of innocence. Very More...

5 comments like

Aug 23, 2011

Elizabeth rated it:

Normally I am not a fan of short stories perhaps because I believe they are the hardest pieces of fiction to execute well. They are either too packed or too sparse and I usually feel like the author should just write a poem or an entire novel. This collection is an exception to the rule, however. Orringer knows how to meld together just the right amount of beautiful, poetic imagery and a plot that draws the reader in instantly. Both disturbing and powerful, each story touches upon the cross road More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2011

Kirstin rated it:

We just finished reading this in my short stories class, and it has gotten a good reception. The best part about using this book in the classroom is the fact it is easy for students to relate to the content. It's very close to their lives. They can understand the emotion and the characters.

The main issue I found teaching this book was the gender bias. It is largely from a female perspective. While I think it's possible for everyone to connect to the book despite the gender of More...

0 comments like

Nov 03, 2010

Sarah rated it:

One of the things I'm loving about working in educational software is that I'm surrounded by a ton of literaryish folks. It seemed, that even in publishing before, that to having an excited book conversation with a coworker was sort of rare and treasurable. I got this book from a coworker who wrote her thesis on Orringer, and though I read it piecemeal a few years ago, I was grateful for the opportunity to revisit it without the sense of automatic criticism and deconstructionist tendencies that More...

0 comments like

Sep 09, 2011

Nern rated it:

This collection is definably not a feel good story. It is full of depressing and emotional stories of the teenage years. It seems like almost all the mothers and fathers of the female characters have either died or are going to die. Through all this depressing stories I still wanted to read because it feels like the real teenage condition. It could easily happen to anyone and reads like a non-fiction book. The stories all happen in different time periods of life for the main characters, and More...

1 comment like