This is usually a really good series, but I was not impressed by this year's edition. I mean, Stephen King? Really? Sorry, but I want to be able to trust the Best American anthologies to cater to my snotty academic standards.

thanks Dave....it's funny I put this down for a little while and than I read 3 in a row that were all very good - Wait, Allegiance & Findings & Impressions. I think Allegiance has been my favorite so far - I liked the way the story unfolded through the daughter's perspective.

It gets better. Hang in until the end. I put it down just before the Richard Russo story. I found that one to be a little sluggish, but the last two were interesting.

I was also hesitant to pick this one up because King was the editor - I don't usually read his genre. It seems my concerns were founded so far. "St. Lucy's School for Girls Raised by Wolves" was definitely out there - it did hold my interest. I fail to see any point in the first story "Pa's Darling." "Toga Party" follows and isn't much better - as I'm reading that one I'm thinking would anyone be interested in a bunch of retirees going to a Toga Party? I'm working on "Horseman" now, I'm hoping it's better since I've heard many good things about Richard Russo but have yet to read his novels.

Thanks for the tip!

I don't think I could trust King to pick a good collection of short stories. Also out, however, is The New Granta Book of the American Short Story, edited by Richard Ford. Its reviews seem far more favourable.

Yes - actually, I'd read that before, in The New Yorker. Alice is always reliable. Love her.

Kristen
Have you read the Alice Munro story "Dimension" yet?

I'm about 40% of the way through this collection at the moment, and I feel like the stories suffer from the very same afflictions King complains about in the preface. These don't feel like joyful acts of writing to me; they feel like stories designed to impress other short story writers.

I'm a little underwhelmed.