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52 Serial Shorts Complete Edition
“Truly fun, dark humor guaranteed.” – 5-star Amazon.fr review
“Fifty-two sharp-toothed stories with carnivorous intentions and limitless inspiration. You dive into them without ever losing the thread (of the suture). A delicious meal with the lions.” – Paris Match
Beware! Writers on the loose.
Seven of France’s top authors got together to play a collaborative writing game resulting in fifty-two wacky stories. They each wrote an episode, passing it on to the other, and so forth, until all seven had contributed to each story. They set traps, had fun, and used their prowess to continue and conclude each story. The result is this collection of short some are zany, some are clever, some are just plain weird, but all show the incredible creative skill of these seven very fine writers.
It is surrealistic, literally. This kind of collaborative writing–what could be more in line with the times?–dates back to a writing game invented by the French Surrealists in about 1925, called cadavres exquis. The direct translation is delightfully exquisite (or delicious, if you prefer) corpses. These corpses are not, in fact, decaying bodies, but entertaining seven-author stories that showcase true writing skill, mixing the styles, feelings and predilections of each author.
“Fifty-two sharp-toothed stories with carnivorous intentions and limitless inspiration. You dive into them without ever losing the thread (of the suture). A delicious meal with the lions.” – Paris Match
Beware! Writers on the loose.
Seven of France’s top authors got together to play a collaborative writing game resulting in fifty-two wacky stories. They each wrote an episode, passing it on to the other, and so forth, until all seven had contributed to each story. They set traps, had fun, and used their prowess to continue and conclude each story. The result is this collection of short some are zany, some are clever, some are just plain weird, but all show the incredible creative skill of these seven very fine writers.
It is surrealistic, literally. This kind of collaborative writing–what could be more in line with the times?–dates back to a writing game invented by the French Surrealists in about 1925, called cadavres exquis. The direct translation is delightfully exquisite (or delicious, if you prefer) corpses. These corpses are not, in fact, decaying bodies, but entertaining seven-author stories that showcase true writing skill, mixing the styles, feelings and predilections of each author.
214 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 15, 2013
11 people want to read
About the author
Harold Cobert
29 books5 followersHarold Cobert (né à Bordeaux en 1974) est un écrivain français. A la suite d'un accident de surf à l'age de 20 ans, il se met à l'écriture alors qu'il poursuit des études littéraires. Titulaire d'un doctorat ès lettres, il publie aux éditions Séguier une série d'ouvrages consacrée à Mirabeau intitulée Mirabeau, le fantôme du Panthéon.
En février 2007 sort Le Reniement de Patrick Treboc aux éditions JC Lattès, son premier roman, par lequel il donne un coup de pied dans la fourmilière médiatico-littéraire en racontant l’incroyable destin d’un jeune professeur intègre, criminel par accident, libéré de prison grâce à une émission de télé-réalité délirante qu'il a lui-même inventée.
En février 2007 sort Le Reniement de Patrick Treboc aux éditions JC Lattès, son premier roman, par lequel il donne un coup de pied dans la fourmilière médiatico-littéraire en racontant l’incroyable destin d’un jeune professeur intègre, criminel par accident, libéré de prison grâce à une émission de télé-réalité délirante qu'il a lui-même inventée.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 22, 2018
This review originally publihed in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 1.0 of 5
Way too many years ago, when I was in high school, some friends and I had listened to a couple of authors talking about how they had written a couple of books together. We thought it might be fun to do something similar and write a few shorts stories jointly. We'd each start a story then pass it on to the next person in the writing chain, and so on. Though we never really talked about it, I believe that we each realized that this process didn't work too well as our styles were quite different and the stories often devolved into scenarios where we would set up the next writer with a page-turner moment ala "He opened the door and couldn't believe what he saw" or "She never expected what happened next."
In 52 Serial Shorts, seven French authors haven't yet learned this lesson.
Harold Cobert, Irène Frain, Christine Orban, Daniel Picouly, Yann Queffélec, Tatiana de Rosnay, and Didier van Cauwelaert are French authors of varying notability but clearly with some skills and credits to each name. For an entire year the seven of them would write one short story a week, with each writing a part of the story on any particular day. Fifty-two short stories.
I didn't find a single story interesting or worth reading.
I did, however, find more than a few sections of stories interesting. The problem with this format is that there is no consistency to any story. Rather than taking the first (or second or third) part of a story and trying to figure out where the story is going and continuing with it, these authors have each made their own unique mark on each story and changed the direction of the story. ... Okay... perhaps this is a generalization. There were times that one section flowed into the next, but I do think it's safe to say that every single story was hijacked in some way but one or more of the authors.
There were times that I really wanted to keep reading what was started, but I never felt satisfied with the way the story developed.
I tried to assess if it was just one or two authors who were changing the stories, and if I had stopped reading before the end, I might have said yes, there were two authors in particular who changed these stories significantly. But having gone through the entire book, I believe that every author contributed to this dysfunctional flow of story.
What might be an interesting experiment once or twice, is just annoying when done fifty-two times.
Looking for a good book? Me, too. 52 Serial Shorts is not it.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Way too many years ago, when I was in high school, some friends and I had listened to a couple of authors talking about how they had written a couple of books together. We thought it might be fun to do something similar and write a few shorts stories jointly. We'd each start a story then pass it on to the next person in the writing chain, and so on. Though we never really talked about it, I believe that we each realized that this process didn't work too well as our styles were quite different and the stories often devolved into scenarios where we would set up the next writer with a page-turner moment ala "He opened the door and couldn't believe what he saw" or "She never expected what happened next."
In 52 Serial Shorts, seven French authors haven't yet learned this lesson.
Harold Cobert, Irène Frain, Christine Orban, Daniel Picouly, Yann Queffélec, Tatiana de Rosnay, and Didier van Cauwelaert are French authors of varying notability but clearly with some skills and credits to each name. For an entire year the seven of them would write one short story a week, with each writing a part of the story on any particular day. Fifty-two short stories.
I didn't find a single story interesting or worth reading.
I did, however, find more than a few sections of stories interesting. The problem with this format is that there is no consistency to any story. Rather than taking the first (or second or third) part of a story and trying to figure out where the story is going and continuing with it, these authors have each made their own unique mark on each story and changed the direction of the story. ... Okay... perhaps this is a generalization. There were times that one section flowed into the next, but I do think it's safe to say that every single story was hijacked in some way but one or more of the authors.
There were times that I really wanted to keep reading what was started, but I never felt satisfied with the way the story developed.
I tried to assess if it was just one or two authors who were changing the stories, and if I had stopped reading before the end, I might have said yes, there were two authors in particular who changed these stories significantly. But having gone through the entire book, I believe that every author contributed to this dysfunctional flow of story.
What might be an interesting experiment once or twice, is just annoying when done fifty-two times.
Looking for a good book? Me, too. 52 Serial Shorts is not it.
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
July 17, 2013
This delightful collection of 13 separate installments has been brought together into one volume: currently a month or so away from release, I was offered the opportunity to review this collection as a whole.
Based on a salon / parlor game created in 1920’s Paris by the French Surrealists, cadavres exquis or delicious corpses is a collaborative effort of 7 French authors written in collaborative form. Each author has written in their style, and contributed a passage to each story. The resulting product is 52 of the strangest and most uniquely clever short stories that highlight the author’s particular talents as they amuse, confound and delight readers.
Did I mention that the idea came from the French Surrealist ideas? Think Salvador Dali or André Breton, and you have a reference point for the delights found within these little tales. And they are perfectly suited when you only have a short time to read and need that quick diversion. Fortunately there are 52 different stories to choose from: each delightful in its own way.
The writing is beautiful, the skill each author brings to the forefront in the stories is apparent. The stories develop with an organic feel that is both unique and amazing as a reader to see. Writing a good short story is a difficult process: creating characters and situations that need resolution in only a few pages is often more miss than hit. That does not happen with this collection: each story has a beginning, middle and end, and the journey to the end is delightful and often unexpected. I don’t have a single favorite story, nor did I find a story that I didn’t like. Several were read more than once, there is a deliciously silky feel to the prose that delighted my senses and kept me reading, anxious and dreading to reach the end.
Whether you wait for the full collection, or dive in now with any one of the 13 volumes: you will not be disappointed in the result. This is a great opportunity to test the water with short stories, see if you may find a new favorite option for your reading.
I received the eBook copy from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
Based on a salon / parlor game created in 1920’s Paris by the French Surrealists, cadavres exquis or delicious corpses is a collaborative effort of 7 French authors written in collaborative form. Each author has written in their style, and contributed a passage to each story. The resulting product is 52 of the strangest and most uniquely clever short stories that highlight the author’s particular talents as they amuse, confound and delight readers.
Did I mention that the idea came from the French Surrealist ideas? Think Salvador Dali or André Breton, and you have a reference point for the delights found within these little tales. And they are perfectly suited when you only have a short time to read and need that quick diversion. Fortunately there are 52 different stories to choose from: each delightful in its own way.
The writing is beautiful, the skill each author brings to the forefront in the stories is apparent. The stories develop with an organic feel that is both unique and amazing as a reader to see. Writing a good short story is a difficult process: creating characters and situations that need resolution in only a few pages is often more miss than hit. That does not happen with this collection: each story has a beginning, middle and end, and the journey to the end is delightful and often unexpected. I don’t have a single favorite story, nor did I find a story that I didn’t like. Several were read more than once, there is a deliciously silky feel to the prose that delighted my senses and kept me reading, anxious and dreading to reach the end.
Whether you wait for the full collection, or dive in now with any one of the 13 volumes: you will not be disappointed in the result. This is a great opportunity to test the water with short stories, see if you may find a new favorite option for your reading.
I received the eBook copy from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
June 20, 2013
I received this ARC from Netgalley in return for an honest review.
7 top French authors got together to write this collection. Each wrote different parts and then passed it along to the other so that all contributed to the stories.
I don't know that shorts are for me, as I could not get into this book at all. I knew what I was getting into as I had read the description but I felt that it was very disjointed due to the many different authors switching back and forth every page or so.
However, it is obvious that the authors know what they are doing. The stories do come together and are cohesive. They range from crazy to touching and everything in between. I recognized a few of the authors names. If you're a fan of any of them I can see this being a must read.
7 top French authors got together to write this collection. Each wrote different parts and then passed it along to the other so that all contributed to the stories.
I don't know that shorts are for me, as I could not get into this book at all. I knew what I was getting into as I had read the description but I felt that it was very disjointed due to the many different authors switching back and forth every page or so.
However, it is obvious that the authors know what they are doing. The stories do come together and are cohesive. They range from crazy to touching and everything in between. I recognized a few of the authors names. If you're a fan of any of them I can see this being a must read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews