“In twenty-nine separate but ingenious ways, these stories seek permanent residence within a reader. They strive to become an emotional or in...
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reviews
Apr 13, 2010
David
rated it: 
There are four absolutely terrific stories in this book:
"The Caretaker" by Anthony Doerr
"When Mr. Pirazda Came to Dine" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"Tiny, Smiling Daddy" by Mary Gaitskill
"Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower
Some of the contributions, although they don't fully succeed, are well worth reading:
"Gentlemen's Agreement" by Mark Roth
"Someone to Talk To" by Debor More...
"The Caretaker" by Anthony Doerr
"When Mr. Pirazda Came to Dine" by Jhumpa Lahiri
"Tiny, Smiling Daddy" by Mary Gaitskill
"Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower
Some of the contributions, although they don't fully succeed, are well worth reading:
"Gentlemen's Agreement" by Mark Roth
"Someone to Talk To" by Debor More...
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Jan 15, 2012
David
rated it:
Like a lot of collections of varying emotional platitudes and experience, this is no different, and is always hit or miss, and rarely consistently great.
With the exception of an abysmal middle section that spans a couple hundred pages or so, the real meat of this book occurs somewhere at the beginning and the end.
What follows are little synopses of my top 5 stories. So, if by chance, you happen to have this book in your hands or are able to procure it for cheap, I recommend More...
With the exception of an abysmal middle section that spans a couple hundred pages or so, the real meat of this book occurs somewhere at the beginning and the end.
What follows are little synopses of my top 5 stories. So, if by chance, you happen to have this book in your hands or are able to procure it for cheap, I recommend More...
Aug 08, 2010
Isaac (Tower of Stories)
rated it: 
"The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories" was edited by Ben Marcus and was actually the first short story collection that I got for my Kindle, and I just got around to finishing it (shows how good I am about keeping up with things, huh?). It contains 29 stories by the authors listed on the cover. Some of the authors are famous and well-known, while others will be new discoveries for readers. It was published in 2004, before some of them became established. Wells Tower's story "
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May 28, 2010
Matthew
rated it: 
I'll be teaching this anthology as my primary fiction text in an intro to creative writing course this fall. As far as introducing student who have had little exposure to contemporary fiction and also providing a myriad of examples for beginning writers to think about constructing stories, this is an excellent source. You get some more traditional methods (Jhumpa Lahiri, Mary Gaitskill) mixed with highly lyrical stories. the George Saunders, Brian Evenson, William and Rick Bass stories are li
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Jul 19, 2009
Tanya
rated it: 
I normally hate anthologies. Most of the time they are filled with stories I've already read, are edited/picked by predominantly novelists (Best American Series anyone?), or are filled with stories I'd much rather have the author's collected work of instead. What got me interested in this particular anthology was that it was edited by Ben Marcus. Reading his own work was a liberating experience and I had no doubt that the stories in this would be at least worth taking a look at. I bought the
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Oct 23, 2009
Angie
rated it:
This was a really weak collection.
Stand-outs:
"Tiny, Smiling Daddy" by Mary Gaitskill (about a father/daughter relationship)
"X Number of Possibilites" by Joanna Scott (which I enjoyed for the beautiful, tight language of the prose)
"Short Talks" by Anne Carson (such poetry!)
"Letters to Wendy's" by Joe Wenderoth (this is a really humorous, absurd piece)
"The Caretaker" by Anthony Doerr (one of the longe More...
Stand-outs:
"Tiny, Smiling Daddy" by Mary Gaitskill (about a father/daughter relationship)
"X Number of Possibilites" by Joanna Scott (which I enjoyed for the beautiful, tight language of the prose)
"Short Talks" by Anne Carson (such poetry!)
"Letters to Wendy's" by Joe Wenderoth (this is a really humorous, absurd piece)
"The Caretaker" by Anthony Doerr (one of the longe More...
May 17, 2008
Katherine
rated it:
Anthologies are fun because you discover new authors. "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower blew me away. "Sea Oak" by George Saunders also stuck with me. Also, I was briefly obsessed with the book's cover design.
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Mar 09, 2010
I was given this a few years back and I actually think it's a pretty fantastic collection and I've gone on to read books by many of the authors in it. I saw a copy for cheap on the library sale rack and picked it up to pass along to a friend. I never really liked George Saunders until I read SeaOak in here which is so funny and sad. And also way big ups to Mathew Derby, that story and the collection that it's from are fantastic. Even A.M. Homes, who I get the feeling kind of drops the ball with
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Aug 14, 2009
Tre Tre
rated it:
Nice jacket design, amusing Ben Marcus introduction, and great yarns from George Saunders ("Sea Oak," available in his Pastoralia) and the mysterious Wells Tower ("Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned," apparently available in his book of the same name), neither of whom I was familiar with before I picked up this anthology. Thus the two stars.
Other than that, I was so incredibly bored by and detached from the rest of these stories that I couldn't finish most of More...
Other than that, I was so incredibly bored by and detached from the rest of these stories that I couldn't finish most of More...
Aug 09, 2008
Nathan
rated it:
In which I discover my new favorite author of fiction, non comic-book division.
While doing research for the creative writing class I will be teaching this year, I came across several recommendations for a short story contained in this book titled, "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower. I'm thinking pen name.
I bought the compilation and read the story on my walk home. Then I read it to Kristin because she was sick and in bed. It's about Vikings More...
While doing research for the creative writing class I will be teaching this year, I came across several recommendations for a short story contained in this book titled, "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower. I'm thinking pen name.
I bought the compilation and read the story on my walk home. Then I read it to Kristin because she was sick and in bed. It's about Vikings More...
Feb 23, 2010
Richard
rated it:
An amazing collection of short stories, contemporary and challenging. "The Paperhanger" by William Gay blew my mind. I loved "Sea Oak" by George Saunders. "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower was wild, and I enjoy almost all of A.M. Homes' work, so "Do Not Disturb" was great. You must own this book.
May 25, 2010
betsy
rated it:
Well there were a few of these I loved, a couple I liked, but a lot more I didn't care for. This was a Kindle book and I was annoyed that the stories weren't grouped into breaks so you could skip around. If I got a certain way into something and decided it wasn't for me I had to do "next page, next page, next page" until I got to the end. Annoying.
Jun 18, 2010
Karolina
rated it:
such an excellent collection of short stories. i've been using many of them in teaching my intro workshop at columbia.
stories by: gary lutz , mary gaitskill and christine schutt are not to be missed.
stories by: gary lutz , mary gaitskill and christine schutt are not to be missed.
Mar 02, 2011
Eugenie
rated it:
I haven't finished this yet, but the introduction by Ben Marcus is the best thing I can remember reading about how stories are created. And of course Sea Oak by George Saunders changed everything.
Feb 03, 2009
Mike
rated it:
If you want one book that will update you on all of contemporary American short fiction pick this up. Each of the stories are unique and brilliant.
Apr 03, 2009
Christopher
rated it:
First story in this book is worth the price of admission alone - easily the most memorable work of short fiction I've ever read.
Jul 21, 2008
Well, the first story I read was the A.M. Homes story. Very good. Others--Evenson (who I like, but have to work myself up to read), William Gay, Mary Caponegro--I'm not sure would be best for an undergrad intro to fiction writing class. I guess it depends on the class, but I'm afraid everyone would suddenly start writing bad gothic/horror stories. I haven't finished the entire collection yet, but I'm not feeling as excited about teaching with this book as I was when I started the Homes story, in
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Dec 16, 2009
Ione
rated it:
One of the best anthologies I've read in a while. Some of the standout stories include "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower, a quiet story about some reluctant barbarians who would rather sit around and talk about relationships than pillage and berserk, and "Sea Oak" by George Saunders, a disturbingly funny story about an old lady who comes back from the dead to tell her dysfunctional family what to do with their lives. If you've never given short fiction a
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Jan 26, 2008
Bobby
rated it:
Very disappointing collection. No surprises - the short story authors that I already knew were great had great stories (William Gay, using probably the most anthologized story in recent history, "The Paperhanger", A.M. Holmes, George Saunders) while more than 3/4 of the book's stories are limp and uninteresting. I did learn of one author that is new to me, though - Lydia Davis. Her story, "The Old Dictionary", all of 2.5 pages long, is *amazing*.
Mar 22, 2008
Art
rated it:
I really enjoyed this collection! It's a pretty diverse group of writers and i appreciated the mix-up of narrative and diction styles. I loved "The Caretaker" by Anthony Doerr and "All American" by Diane Williams and the Rick Bass, Christine Schutt and AM Homes were great as well. The introduction is by Ben Marcus and is worth the read. It also smells nice and has a comfortable heft, good cover colors, and the spine is sturdy.
Jan 04, 2009
Mollie
rated it:
A real mixed bag. Some were totally great -- I especially liked the Dave Eggers one -- but some were just trying to hard to be edgy and odd and it just didn't always work. I didn't read all of them; some of the more grotesque or purposefully obtuse I skipped altogether.
Jan 26, 2010
Kate
rated it:
I haven't read everything in this book - mostly because after reading a few gems, I found some of the other stories to be disappointing in comparison. I loved the stories by Saunders, Powell, and Tower. I enjoyed the stories by Lahiri, Gaitskill, Richard, and Homes. Perhaps I didn't enjoy other stories as much because the Saunders, Powell, and Tower left me wanting more of the same.
Nov 15, 2007
Gravity
rated it:
This is an amazing introduction to some of the most important contemporary short story writers. You won't find Alice Munro or her ilk here. Every story is a winner, which is amazing since the selection is as diverse as A.M. Holmes, George Saunders, Deborah Eisenberg, Aimee Bender through the neo-steinien writer Diane Williams. I will perform cartwheels to recommend this book!
Apr 07, 2011
Joshua
rated it:
Some great stories, like Saunders & Richard, and some duds like Aimee Bender, whose story didn't make any sense at all. Still, a nice survey of what's going on now.
Aug 05, 2007
Jenny
rated it:
this collection contains an introductory essay about the state of contemporary american fiction by editor ben marcus, the best george saunders story i've read, and lots more stories all odd and fictional! see also, harper's weekly, ben marcus v. jonathan franzen v. cynthia ozick, battle for the soul of today's readers!
Apr 07, 2009
mtthw
rated it:
A good, not so quick read of post post-modern (I don't know proper term for that) short stories. Read over the course of last winter in small bit, usually huddled over Patrick's space heater. Some of the stories were stand out, some of them were enjoyable only after you finished them: a sense of accomplishment!
Jan 05, 2008
Kirsten
rated it:
I picked this up because of the inclusion of one of my favorite short story writers, Aimee Bender. It seemed uneven to me, but i suppose that's subjective. A few of the stories stood out a lot, others were flat. I think this collection proves how challenging the format is.
