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The Great Frustration
by
Seth Fried (Goodreads Author)
Channeling Steven Millhauser by way of George Saunders, The Great Frustration is a sparkling debut, equal parts fable and wry satire. Seth Fried balances the dark—a town besieged, a yearly massacre, the harem of a pathological king—with moments of sweet optimism—researchers unexpectedly inspired by discovery, the triumph of a doomed monkey, the big implications found in a...more
Paperback, 192 pages
Published
May 1st 2011
by Soft Skull Press
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This collection exudes the nicely equalized balance of variance and unity that I crave from art, but maybe especially from short story collections. The book's gaze shifts and leaps from laboratory to picnic grounds, from Harems to Conquistadors to the animals inhabiting the Garden of Eden to Norse myth to recognizable contemporary landscapes, and so on.
Seth Fried's overall writerly skills are remarkably well-honed, especially for a debut. I would be easily convinced in a double-blind experiment...more
Seth Fried's overall writerly skills are remarkably well-honed, especially for a debut. I would be easily convinced in a double-blind experiment...more
Good stories, including several that involve our fine primate friends (always a topic of interest for me). Yes, if you start one story ("Those of Us in Plaid") with the sentence, "Our job was simple: get the monkey in the capsule," you won't have to do much more to earn my readership. I also particularly like "The Frenchman" and the final story in the collection, "Animalcula."
From "Animalcula," in which 14 new creatures are described to an audience presumed to be scientists:
"...the universe is a...more
From "Animalcula," in which 14 new creatures are described to an audience presumed to be scientists:
"...the universe is a...more
Seth Fried's short story collection, The Great Frustration, is funny, well-written and extremely difficult to put down. With this collection, Fried displays his imagination and skill.
In the first story, "Loeka Discovered," a group of scientists discover a prehistoric man, whose release from a deep freeze unfreezes emotions among the scientists. As the narrative of the prehistoric man's life changes based on further discoveries, the scientists' moods swing wildly, creating entertaining results....more
In the first story, "Loeka Discovered," a group of scientists discover a prehistoric man, whose release from a deep freeze unfreezes emotions among the scientists. As the narrative of the prehistoric man's life changes based on further discoveries, the scientists' moods swing wildly, creating entertaining results....more
Oct 13, 2011
Sharon
marked it as did-not-finish
Too clever by half. The first two stories are both told in the first person plural, which is a bit much. It's all very allegorical, but with an ironic veneer that makes it seem very heavy handed.
The second story, "Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre" started out so funny that it's what drew me to the book. Every year something hideous happens and a bunch of people at the picnic die. But every year everyone goes back. But the details that elaborate on it--how everyone starts out irate but gradually o...more
The second story, "Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre" started out so funny that it's what drew me to the book. Every year something hideous happens and a bunch of people at the picnic die. But every year everyone goes back. But the details that elaborate on it--how everyone starts out irate but gradually o...more
I first heard about Seth Fried when one of his tweets about Hurricane Irene went viral:
"If your apartment is hit by a dolphin, DO NOT GO OUT TO SEE IF THE DOLPHIN IS OKAY. That's how the hurricane tricks you into coming outside."
That was funny enough to earn him a new follower (me) on Twitter. So then I got to see whenever The Great Frustration got a new accolade, whenever another indie bookstore recommended it, and so on. And it also made sure I was in on the deal when his collection was free...more
"If your apartment is hit by a dolphin, DO NOT GO OUT TO SEE IF THE DOLPHIN IS OKAY. That's how the hurricane tricks you into coming outside."
That was funny enough to earn him a new follower (me) on Twitter. So then I got to see whenever The Great Frustration got a new accolade, whenever another indie bookstore recommended it, and so on. And it also made sure I was in on the deal when his collection was free...more
Some great short stories, others that I didn't like at all. "The Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre" is the short story I always wanted to write. It's an amazing short story! The satirical wit makes it one of the best short stories I have ever read; a damning indictment of American culture and politics. I just wish I liked more of the stories in this collection. I almost couldn't finish the last story, "Animalcula..." I'm sure we'll hear more from this gifted writer.
taking george saunders to pretty fucked up extremes. a bit repetitive, and (wait for it) frustrating in the way fried seems to take each story to the same place. but very funny, and enormously imaginative.
Fantastic collection! Reminded me of some of my favorite short story writers: Vonnegut, George Saunders, Stephen Millhauser, and Jim Shepard. Smart, funny, inventive stuff!
I think what I found so fascinating with this collection of short stories is that it was Seth Fried's debut collection. His language is that of an experienced writer who has been releasing novels for the past ten years. His stories are hilarious, frightening, and absurd. I especially loved his last story "Animacula: A Young Scientist's Guide to New Creatures." It was strange, very funny, and suprisingly real (seeing that he made up the entire world of tiny animal-like particles). I really enjoye...more
This book just wasn't my cup of tea. It is well written, absurdist and inventive; just not the sort of work I enjoy.
wow. this collection was fabulous! my favorite stories were: Frost Mountain Picnic Massacre, The Great Frustration and The Frenchman (I read this third one twice.. tearjerker).
One of the best things I've read this year.
My rating is about as borderline as can be. What nudged it into four-star range was the last story, "Animalcula". It's a very clever, absurdist, science-y story that is one of the few to really stand out in this otherwise good-but-not-great collection.
This collection was uneven for me. I found the title story, Loeka Discovered, and The Scribes' Lament to be stand-out stories, primarily for handling unique subject matter in a memorable voice. There is a lovely unraveling of the status quo in each of them.
Wonderful; quirky stories with a point. Detailed comments (with spoilers) at A Just Recompense.
Okay so I don't mind dabbling in short stories here and there, and this compilation is really nice. For most of them you really feel like the subject is short-storyable.
This book was very interesting and flowed nicely. The context of the short stories had similar violent characteristics that were quite disturbing at times.
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May 20, 2013
Efsa
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Brent
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May 14, 2013
Vibiana
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May 12, 2013
Jessie
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May 11, 2013
Stephanie Harper
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Seth Fried’s work has appeared in numerous publications, including McSweeney’s, One Story, and Vice. His debut short story collection, The Great Frustration, was published in May 2011 by Soft Skull Press. He also writes a literary humor column for Tin House, Das Kolumne.
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Steve, my best answer is that reading good books leads easily to finding other good books, especially when using Goodreads. I also netwo...more
Feb 14, 2013 10:08pm
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