The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction

by R.V. Cassill (Editor), Joyce Carol Oates (Editor)

In this Second Edition of The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction , master teachers and writers R.V. Cassill and Joyce Carol Oates have refreshed and updated the acclaimed original volume, celebrating not only the enduring literary genre but also that genre's continuing energy and success. Sixteen new writers have been added, including Charles Baxter, Ron Carlson, Sandra Cisneros, and Jamaica Kincaid, among others, as have useful biographical notes and bibliographies for all authors in the anthology.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies, Contemporary, Literature

556 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Ronald Verlin Cassill, Professor of English at Brown University, was a novelist and anthologist.

Reviews

[Thomas McDade · Rating 5 out of 5]

All winners of course.

[Gras Hopper · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is hard to rate the book as a whole because so many people have contributed to making this book into what it is. However, we talked about "Cowboys are my weakness" in class and I took it upon myself to read the story. I really enjoyed reading the story. This story has played a huge role in changing my perception of reading, writing and wanting to write better. It has been pretty inspirational and life-changing.

[Justina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a pretty good book for being a class read. I loved the different varieties of stories. My favorites were the ones that made people squirm when we read them aloud in class. It's always weird for people to hear their professer say "Fuck".

[Thom Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mine is 1988 edition...42 stories...A treasure trove.

[Myles · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.3/5.0) Hit or miss. My professor Bharati Mukherjee made us read her own story first. She also turned me onto Andre Dubus, though. So, thanks for that.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

(2nd Edition Version) I re-read the short stories in this book that I had read during a high school English class. It was such a joy to go back and revisit the characters and the plot and also gain some new insight into the themes and symbols. I would highly recommend this anthology for fans of short stories. My favorites were: Andre Dubus "A Father's Story", Raymond Carver's "Cathedral", Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" and Richard Ford's "Rock Springs". (Barthelme's "The Indian Uprising" gets an honorable mention for completely blowing my mind).

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been slowly working through these short stories all year.

My fav was: Pet Milk (Stuart Dybek)

I also really liked:
Descent of Man (T. Coraghessan Boyle)
Blazo (Ron Carlson)
The Babysitter (Robert Coover): really cool metafiction
A Fathers Story (Andre Dubus)
Cowboys are my weakness (Pam Huston)
Kwoon (Thom Johnson)
Lust (Susan Minot)
Emotion Recalled in Tranquility (Jonathan Penner)
Rules of the game (Amy Tan)
The Other (John Updike)
Taking Care (Joy Williams)
In the garden of north american martyrs (Tobias Wolff)

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Barcelona / Alice Adams --2
*The Rudy Elmenhurst story / Julia Alvarez --
The man from Mars / Margaret Atwood --3
*The Indian uprising / Donald Barthelme --
*Snow / Charles Baxter --
The Cinderella waltz / Ann Beattie --3
*Descent of man / T. Coraghessen Boyle --
Blazo / Roń Carlson
Cathedral / Raymond Carver --2
One holy night / Sandra Cisneros --2
*The baby sitter / Robert Coover --
*Murphy's Xmas / Mark Costello --
A father's story / Andre Dubus --3
Pet milk / Stuart Dybek --2
Saint Marie / Louise Erdrich --2
Rock Springs / Richard Ford --2
A very old man with enormous wings / Gabriel Garcia Marquez --2
*An evening performance / George Garrett --
In the heart of the heart of the country / William Gass --1
*The wizard / CS Godshalk
Putting a child to be / Tom Hawkins
In the cemetery where Al Jolson is buried / Ann Hempel --3
Cowboys are my weakness / Pam Houston --3
Kwoon / Charles Johnson --4
The black lights / Thom Jones --
Girl / Jamaica Kincaid --3
Follow the eagle / William Kotzwinkle --
*The new Atlantis / Ursula K Le Guin --
*No trace / David Madden --
Love life / Bobbie Ann Mason --
*Lust / Susan Minot --
The tenant / Bharati Mukherjee --2
*Wild swans / Alice Munro --
*Bad girls / Joyce Carol Oates --
The things they carried / Tim O'Brien --2
Emotion recollected in tranquility / Jonathan Penner --
*Souvenir / Jayne Anne Phillips --
*Coach / Mary Robison --
*Rules of the game / Amy Tan --
A death in the family / Hunter S. Thompson --
*The other / John Updike --
*Going to Russia / Guy Vanderhaeghe --
Everyday use / Alice Walker --3
Taking care / Jay Williams --2
In the garden of the North American martyrs / Tobias Wolff--3

[Erin Quinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love short stories. The language has to be taut and the plot points carefully constructed in a "good" short story--it's a particular skill set that not all writers possess. Anthologies are great for that reason. They do the weeding out for you and give you the "best" of the genre. At the very least, I now have a list of authors to check out.

[Ayny · Rating 4 out of 5]

many good authors.
mostly good, but some awkward short stories

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I disliked probably 3/4 of the stories in this collection, but the ones I did like were masterfully done