221st out of 600 books
—
1,405 voters
Airships
by
Barry Hannah
Now considered a contemporary classic, Airships was honored by Esquire magazine with the Arnold Gingrich Short Fiction Award. The twenty stories in this collection are a fresh, exuberant celebration of the new American South — a land of high school band contests, where good old boys from Vicksurg are reunited in Vietnam and petty nostalgia and the constant pain of disappoi...more
Paperback, 288 pages
Published
March 6th 1994
by Grove Press
(first published 1978)
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Mar 21, 2012
Mariel
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Mindy Metalman
Recommended to Mariel by:
Monkey
What are all these about?"
"What do you think?"
"I don't know... smudges? The vagueness of all things?"
"They aren't things. They're emotions."
"You mean hate, fear, desire, envy?"
"Yes. And triumph and despair." She pointed.
"This is subtle. They look the same," Levaster said.
"I know. I'm a nihilist."
"You aren't any such thing."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Because you've combed your hair. You wanted me to come in here and discover that you're a nihilist," Levaster said.
"Nihilists can come their hair." She bit her...more
"What do you think?"
"I don't know... smudges? The vagueness of all things?"
"They aren't things. They're emotions."
"You mean hate, fear, desire, envy?"
"Yes. And triumph and despair." She pointed.
"This is subtle. They look the same," Levaster said.
"I know. I'm a nihilist."
"You aren't any such thing."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Because you've combed your hair. You wanted me to come in here and discover that you're a nihilist," Levaster said.
"Nihilists can come their hair." She bit her...more
The easiest place to have wit is in the presence of another’s need.
Boy oh boy, there are a lot of wonderful books out there. Did you guys know this? It's true! I picked up Airships out of that same strange magnetic pull which makes you feel compelled to engage a stranger in conversation in a bar or on a sidewalk for reasons not explained by physical attraction. And to be honest, I don't find this book's cover particularly appealing, and the gr blurb about it leaves a number of somethings to be d...more
Boy oh boy, there are a lot of wonderful books out there. Did you guys know this? It's true! I picked up Airships out of that same strange magnetic pull which makes you feel compelled to engage a stranger in conversation in a bar or on a sidewalk for reasons not explained by physical attraction. And to be honest, I don't find this book's cover particularly appealing, and the gr blurb about it leaves a number of somethings to be d...more
Carlos winced. He wanted something gravely miserable. He had once married a girl from Grand Forks. They were both fat. She had hair on her back and her toes were black with fur. In fact, she was almost a man, seemed to have missed it by one flick of agitation of a gene. She dressed in cowboy fashion, jeans, boots, thirty-dollar hat now that she'd married a guy in the money. Carlos was a Presbyterian then, trying to be a preacher in Tucson, where Navajos started a fistfight during Carlos's sermon...more
Mar 09, 2013
J. Ergo
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
humor,
fiction,
short-stories,
always-re-reading,
transgressive,
supernatural,
horror,
historical,
gothic,
fantasy,
erotic,
crime
I am halfway through Airships, reading it for the fifth time, but not for a long time, and I can only think of two things. Return to Return may be the greatest short story I have ever read, and Barry Hannah is the only writer I truly love that makes me feel capable of being a writer. Every single other writer I treasure is a discouragement to my own writing through their ability to make me see things I've never seen before, in ways I am unable to imagine myself. The intelligence, wit, and crafts...more
It's difficult to give one rating to a book of short stories, but I enjoyed some of these so much that they overpower the few that I couldn't get into. Barry Hannah has lived down the street since I moved there at age 10, but after my mother stopped me from reading his books in middle school (smart woman), I didn't pick them up until recently. I'm very glad I did. My favorite stories were Water Liars, Love too Long, Return to Return, Our Secret Home, and Mother Rooney Unscrolls the Hurt. I didn'...more
A lot of these stories require a bit more focus and patience than most short stories do. They are convoluted and surreal with characters about whom you sometimes don't really care. And that's the beauty of them.
I would recommend:
"Love Too Long"
"Testimony of Pilot": intriguing and original, and you'll never forget Arden Quadberry.
"Return to Return": an odd account of jealousy, I suppose; good psychological read.
"Our Secret Home"
I would say "Constant Pain in Tuscaloosa" and "Mother Rooney Unscro...more
I would recommend:
"Love Too Long"
"Testimony of Pilot": intriguing and original, and you'll never forget Arden Quadberry.
"Return to Return": an odd account of jealousy, I suppose; good psychological read.
"Our Secret Home"
I would say "Constant Pain in Tuscaloosa" and "Mother Rooney Unscro...more
This has 5 star stories in it: 'Dragged Fighting from His Tomb', 'Testimony of Pilot', and 'Midnight and I'm Not Famous Yet'. Each of these stories are masterpieces. I just skimmed too many of the shorter pieces (that may be my fault, no his). I've got a pretty big soft spot for Barry Hannah: 'Long, Last, Happy' has all the best of this book and other stuff, too. I'd pick that up. I may read it again. Anyway, he's a top-tier writer. He's got equals, but I don't really care. His stories cut and h...more
The late Barry Hannah was unquestionably a good writer. His versatility was amazing. The characters that inhabit these stories are soldiers, tennis pros, cannibals and high school band members. Most of them are not very likable. They say and do nasty, shocking things. They are starchy and opinionated, and take some getting used to, which is why I think Hannah works better in the long form. His magic and sly humor take a while to creep up on you. Quite honestly, there are several stories here tha...more
Without ever wandering far from a very Southern core, these stories span a wide range of dysfunctions, primarily revolving around love, family, and friendship. And as a whole they are very well written and enjoyable to read. Their lengths vary greatly, which I didn't realize I would appreciate so much when just scanning the table of contents. But one or two stories spanning just a handful of pages between some of the lengthier ones was a bit like coming up for sweet little sips of fresh air betw...more
Jul 02, 2012
Sarah Beth
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Sarah Beth by:
the internet
Shelves:
dirty-south,
short-stories
Someone gets beaten up with a banana. I think that was my favorite part. As my sense of humor starts to corrode, I have to look around carefully for dumb things to laugh at. There are plenty in Airships.
I may be biased in my love for this book, since it is a book filled with Southern narrators and I am still preoccupied with all that because I am new to it. Really, tho, these are psychotic narrators and the South is the perfect setting for insanity. Insanity is my biggest fear and so I am living...more
I may be biased in my love for this book, since it is a book filled with Southern narrators and I am still preoccupied with all that because I am new to it. Really, tho, these are psychotic narrators and the South is the perfect setting for insanity. Insanity is my biggest fear and so I am living...more
Barry Hannah's "AirShips" is a collection of short stories that are twisted, completely inventive, and written in Hannah's distinctly southern style. Hannah has a talent for taking ordinary cliched plots, and making them his own in a way that I have seen few writers attempt, let alone succeed at. The book is fearless in that it does not follow the conventions of traditional literature- by doing this- the book is able to establish a unique tone and style that is innovative and entertaining. I fou...more
half read. had to stop for now because, although the stories are obviously pretty genius, they operate on the same physics, understand the same universe, are powered by the same god. i had to take a break from it. and i was getting all these strong feelings only partly associated with the stories: hannah reminds me of my dad's southern friends and how they told stories; hannah or someone like him might have stood in my dad's southern kitchen and told a funny, crazy story there; hannah's style, s...more
Apr 30, 2007
Sam
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
maniacs who love the South
Shelves:
shortfiction
It feels strange to give an explanation of why I love this book so much. I gave one of the stories, "Testimony of Pilot" to a group of kids I was teaching last winter, and I am afraid to say not a one of them found it the least bit interesting. In fact, they were mightily confused by it. We had been reading an O'Henry Prize collection, and I think they had gotten used to a very structured, rigorous kind of short story; the Hannah didn't really do if for them. But the reason I like Airships so mu...more
This is my first experience with Barry Hannah; I'm an obvious late comer. This collection is one surprising sentence after another. The characters here are other-worldly. Hannah is the kind of writer that is maddening to read because I can't see where he's coming from. Trying to track his narrative logic is impossible. His prose is all over the place (in the best possible way) and it's as weird and disturbing as his murderous characters.
The longer stories were the most impressive ("Testimony of...more
The longer stories were the most impressive ("Testimony of...more
3.5 stars - Some of the stories here were quite good.
The American South(east) is pretty central to the collection. Interestingly, there are even a few pieces set during the Civil War mixed in with the other, contemporary (considering its late '70s publication) stories.
There's a bit of the grotesque/horrific here, but also a lot of humanity.
Reminds me a little of George Saunders (because I read Saunders first), though I think Saunders is a little more lighthearted.
And some of Hannah's lines will...more
The American South(east) is pretty central to the collection. Interestingly, there are even a few pieces set during the Civil War mixed in with the other, contemporary (considering its late '70s publication) stories.
There's a bit of the grotesque/horrific here, but also a lot of humanity.
Reminds me a little of George Saunders (because I read Saunders first), though I think Saunders is a little more lighthearted.
And some of Hannah's lines will...more
I'll admit that it's an unfair bias of mine to assume that literature should have any real "point", but despite the sheer oddity of most of the stories in this collection, the appeal of Barry Hannah's strange style is the most enjoyable when he is the most lucid. As awkward to read as as they sometimes are, stories like "Love Too Long", "Testimony of Pilot", "Our Secret Home", "Eating Wife and Friends", "All the Old Harkening Faces at the Rail", and "Constant Pain in Tuscaloosa" are enjoyable. Y...more
Barry Hannah’s short story collection, Airships, is considered a classic of the genre by many. I have to say that although I enjoyed some of the stories, too many of them were too surreal and not based in reality. His milieu is the American South and perhaps my lack of familiarity with the area adds to my lack of appreciation for what he is trying to do. Essentially not my cup of tea, but perhaps I’ll give him another chance by reading one of his novels in the future.
I first read AIRSHIPS probably twenty-five years ago. It is an American short story classic. Hannah had a voice, and he wasn't afraid to use it. He also wasn't afraid of farce. It's true that I probably prefer O'Connor and Welty. Hannah's antic sensibility doesn't always work for me. That said, the man could "bend" a sentence like the greatest of jazzmen, and his fiction is fresh, unpredictable, reckless in fascinating ways. Stories like "Testimony of Pilot" and "Water Liars" remain among the gr...more
Picked this book up from right under the noses of all those trendy types at newtown vinnies. My edition is vintage contemporaries and has a fabulously retro cover that made me want to read it straight up. Some outstanding short fiction. Hannah's southern blend of humour with heart goes down so well I found myself re-reading stories before I'd even finished. 'Water Liars' & 'Testimony of Pilot' are highlights in an all round solid collection.
I was really took for a ride with this one and by that I mean that when I started this collection I was expecting southern fiction in the same vein as Faulkner or O'Connor. However, Hannah bears no comparison that I can think of. His stories are fresh and original with such a simple lyrical voice that it's hard not to get sucked right into these 20 beautiful and sometimes haunting tales.
As usual, as always: there’s something so unholy about Barry Hannah’s sentences that I want to strip them all of context and make the most beautiful poetry.
A lot of praise gets sung for “Testimony of Pilot,” and rightfully so, but the simple “Water Liars,” the mad and sweet “Love Too Long,” the Vietnam Catch-22 “Midnight And I’m Not Famous Yet,” and the delightfully slow-revealing horror of “Eating Wife and Friends”— more Walking Dead than Walking Dead, more The Road than The Road, and so funny...more
A lot of praise gets sung for “Testimony of Pilot,” and rightfully so, but the simple “Water Liars,” the mad and sweet “Love Too Long,” the Vietnam Catch-22 “Midnight And I’m Not Famous Yet,” and the delightfully slow-revealing horror of “Eating Wife and Friends”— more Walking Dead than Walking Dead, more The Road than The Road, and so funny...more
It's depressing how good Barry Hannah is. Reading him almost makes you want to quit your own feeble attempts at storytelling. There's not a weak piece in this collection. Unbelievably good. "Testimony of Pilot" is probably my favorite. "Mother Rooney Unscrolls the Hurt" is one of the most haunting stories I've ever read.
Mar 18, 2007
Lincoln
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Hell yeah, especially to dudes
Shelves:
all-time-favs
I can always tell a great book by the fact I'm constantly thinking of bits I'd like to steal while reading. By that criteria, reading Airships was like being tossed in the APC store at night without any security around. Okay, bad analogy. Airships is a collection of stories about war, sex, airplanes and horses. The usual, but done with incredible style and energy. I find that far too much modern short fiction is so polished and calculated it comes out as a dulled diamond (or more often polished...more
very original, great language. the jimi hendrix of american prose (this on the back cover of "high lonesome"High Lonesome
Amazon insisted five times when buying six other books that I buy Airships. So I did. I liked it better than the puffed up stories coming out of MFA programs all over the nation. I liked Testimony of Pilot, which most mention and LoveToo Long, which I saw no mention of.
I like the freedom Hannah demonstrates. Did he ever plan a story? Did he ever edit? Does it matter? I happy to only be trapped in his world not a world inhabited by thousands of others.
I don't think though I'll read another. I'm...more
I like the freedom Hannah demonstrates. Did he ever plan a story? Did he ever edit? Does it matter? I happy to only be trapped in his world not a world inhabited by thousands of others.
I don't think though I'll read another. I'm...more
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Barry Hannah was an American novelist and short story writer from Mississippi. He was the author of eight novels and five short story collections. He worked with notable American editors and publishers such as Gordon Lish, Seymour Lawrence, and Morgan Entrekin. His work was published in Esquire, The New Yorker, The Oxford American, The Southern Review, and a host of American magazines and quarterl...more
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“What a bog and labyrinth the human essence is... We are all overbrained and overemotioned.”
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“I looked over the despondency of the home crowd. Fools! Fools! I thought. Love it! Love the loss as well as the gain. Go home and dig it. Nobody was killed. We saw victory and defeat, and they were both wonderful.”
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Fr...more
Dec 16, 2012 05:35pm
ha! i wish. little league & martial arts were the only movement-based things i did as a youn...more
Dec 16, 2012 05:37pm