The O. Henry Prize Stories 2007 (Prize Stories (O Henry Awards))
by Ursula K. Le Guin, Laura Furman Lily Tuck
book data
116 ratings,
3.68
average rating, 37 reviews
(more data...)
edit
published
May 8th 2007
by Anchor
binding
Paperback, 384 pages
isbn
0307276880
(isbn13: 9780307276889)
description
An arresting collection of contemporary fiction at its best, these stories explore a vast range of subjects, from love and deception to war and the in...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »
friend reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
This book is currently not featured on any Listopia lists.
Add this book to your favorite list »
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 180)
All ratings
|
5 stars (18)
|
4 stars (48)
|
3 stars (45)
|
2 stars (5)
|
1 star (0)
|
avg 3.68
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in December, 2007
As usual with these collections, there is a mix of treasure and trash. For me the standouts were Charles Lambert's "The Scent of Cinammon," Yannick Murphy's "In A Bear's Eye," and Christine Schutt's "The Duchess of Albany." Alice Munro's "The View from Castle Rock," is good too I suppose but I'd already seen it in so many other places that it didn't really have any impact this time. I'm beginning to agree with my friend Cyndi that the O'Henry collections, ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
Interesting. I read the stories in random order (usually I read collections from front to back) and for some reason started out with what felt, to me, like duds: meticulously worded studies of complicated interior lives, stagnant relationships, and constructed sounding life circumstances.
I can't believe two of the three jurors loved "The Room," one of the most boring stories I've ever read. Dysfunctional marriage + pointless affair = melancholy sense of nothing really matt...more
I can't believe two of the three jurors loved "The Room," one of the most boring stories I've ever read. Dysfunctional marriage + pointless affair = melancholy sense of nothing really matt...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
I particularly liked "Gringos" by Ariel Dorfman, "The Gift of Years" by Vu Tran, and "The Scent of Cinnamon" by Charles Lambert. What do these 3 stories have in common? I ask myself. Strong settings (wish I could travel more) and a sense of surprise--what I thought was happening (and at times what the characters thought was happening) wasn't necessarily what was really happening. How did Dorfman, Tran, and Lambert do that?
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in August, 2008
So far this is such a good collection. "Summer: with Twins" is beautiful and The Scent of Cinnamon is atmospheric, a perfect ghost story, and beautiful example of how wonderful genre writing can be.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in May, 2009
It's relevancy and writing
that lead me to a lesser score
for this anthology than
the year after
Some slices of the human life
just don't wring my bells
or appeal to my peelings
I suspect this is due
to my taurishness
which is at star wars
with my mooning aquarians
and rising with the librans
...or some such truck
Thus...
when I likes it
I likes it
my precious
and there ain't no explaini...more
that lead me to a lesser score
for this anthology than
the year after
Some slices of the human life
just don't wring my bells
or appeal to my peelings
I suspect this is due
to my taurishness
which is at star wars
with my mooning aquarians
and rising with the librans
...or some such truck
Thus...
when I likes it
I likes it
my precious
and there ain't no explaini...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
I picked up this collection so I could get better familiar with the types of stories that were not only being accepted by literary journals across the country, but being honored in some way as well. Instead of reading dozens upon dozens of literary journals to understand every niche market, this was my way of researching the cream of the crop selected for these journals. I can’t say all these stories were all that deserving, but I can count my self educated. I bought (and started reading) this...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2008
I picked up this short story collection because one of the authors was a professor I had in college. Because this is a collection, I can't really summarize, but I will say that even when I didn't particularly *like* what happened in a story, one of the reasons I enjoy short stories is that I can appreciate the form quite separate from what goes on in the narrative. Did the story make me think or surprise me? Did anything stay with me so that I had to wait a bit before moving on to the next one? ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2008
I know it's not a fair comparison, since O. Henry pulls its stories a bit differently than Best American does, but man, did this blow BASS 2007 out of the water. For one, I was able to read it in about 1/25th the time. For two, the stories were actually really good (see my review of the Best American Short Stories 2007 for what those were like -- hooboy). This collection was diverse enough to never be boring, and had very few pieces that stood out as clunkers. It also had way fewer of the "...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
These collections are always difficult, given the selection of editors, and the world weary vision that must eventually infuse the reading process for professional readers. There are great stories in this book - William Trevor always a joy - and then a fair amount of mediocre stories that fly under the radar of 'experimental.' Sometimes, as in "The Bear" the experiments pay off, but frequently they are more frustrating than anything else. That said, it was a great teaching book beca...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2009
I enjoyed this anthology well enough, but what has stuck with me is a single piece of (repeated) imagery from one of the stories. None of them have really stuck with me beyond that, and I found that I wasn't particularly absorbed in what I was reading much of the time.
I guess that's all to say that the 2007 collection wasn't particularly worth the 1 year wait to get it from my library. (Though I think the wait had more to do with it being ordered & processed & read by the cataloging...more
I guess that's all to say that the 2007 collection wasn't particularly worth the 1 year wait to get it from my library. (Though I think the wait had more to do with it being ordered & processed & read by the cataloging...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2009
Best stories:
The company of men- Jan Ellison
The company of men- Jan Ellison
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
A lot of people whose opinions I respect really like these annual short story anthologies. After I finish this one and the Best American 2007 (maybe Stephen King can really pick 'em?), I solemnly swear to quit buying them because they never fail to disappoint.
After my carping above, the collection picked up, but I am still not convinced that I should continue to invest my money and time in these "best of" collections. I ended up skipping 3 stories and really enjoyed about...more
After my carping above, the collection picked up, but I am still not convinced that I should continue to invest my money and time in these "best of" collections. I ended up skipping 3 stories and really enjoyed about...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
Same as with Best American, insightful as to what garners attention in today's short fiction world. "The View From Castle Rock," by Alice Munroe, is as good as she consistently is. Nice work with varying points of view. "Mudder Tongue," by Brian Evenson, has stuck with me long after I read it, though I keep questioning why. "Djamilla," "Summer, with Twins," and "City Visit" were also standouts. I wasn't a huge fan of William Trevor's "T...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
I wasn't very impressed with the collection this year. Maybe it was just crankiness on my part, but for the most part I felt underwhelmed. However, for me the standouts were "The Gift of Years" by Vu Tran, "Mudder Tongue" by Brian Evenson, "El Ojo de Agua" by Susan Straight, and naturally, "The View from Castle Rock" by Alice Munro (which I had already read).
If I was on the prize jury and got to write a little introductory blurb for one story...more
If I was on the prize jury and got to write a little introductory blurb for one story...more
Read in November, 2007
I'm calling it quits on this one. I tried to like it, but after reading more than a quarter of the stories in this collection, not one of them moved me at all. I can picture all the authors, sitting at home, dressed in black turtlenecks and hunched over their keyboards, maybe smoking thin cigarettes. They just have that literary coolness to them that (to me) winds up just plain inaccessible.
I tried, I failed. What else is new?
I tried, I failed. What else is new?
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2008
since 1997 i have read many of the O. Henry Prize collections. usually they are filled with surprising and extraordinary stories. this year was not the case. i can't imagine there was such a lack of quality stories, so my guess is the jurors chose poorly. with the exception of a few stories like "galveston bay, 1826", "view from castle rock" (both historical works), and "a stone house", the collection was a yawn.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommends it for:
those curious about the next generation
the o'henry prize collections are always so great because you get to read the work of young writers who have never published before, but happen to have written something brilliant, right next to the work of the likes of alice munro. of course, the material is uneven (the william trevor that the editors liked so much to me was brutally boring) but the highs make up for the lows.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
You get a lot of bang for your buck with a good short story collection, which is why I try to pick up either the O. Henry Awards or the Pushcart Press volume every year. Not every story is great, but for the ones I don't like so much I turn it into an exercise of "What are the elements that make this a worthy short story." And usually, I can figure it out.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
So far I have read "Galveston Bay, 1826" by Eddie Chuculate;"The View from Castle Rock" by Alice Munro; and "A Stone House" by Bay Anapol. I have been dazzled by them all, especially Galveston Bay and Stone House. If stories could be wallpapered to a room for a week or two, or however long you felt like, I would choose those two.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2007
I read half of this latest from the O'Henry awards on the plane. There are some stunning stories here (even one from Sana--I know her!), and I delighted in the diversity of styles. I tend to enjoy this anthology series better than the Best American.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
None found
groups with this book
