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The Best American Short Stories, 1999
In making her selections for this year's volume of The Best American Short Stories, Amy Tan was drawn to stories that satisfied her appetite for the magic and mystery she loved as a child. In this vibrant audio collection, fantasy and truth coexist brilliantly in works by veteran writers as well as by accomplished new voices. Each tale, read here by its author, offers a rich journey into a different world.
5 pages, Audio Cassette
First published October 1, 1999
About the author
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
65 books7,182 followersChitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Divakaruni also writes for children and young adults.Her novels One Amazing Thing, Oleander Girl, Sister of My Heart and Palace of Illusions are currently in the process of being made into movies. http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books.... Her newest novel is Before We Visit the Goddess (about 3 generations of women-- grandmother, mother and daughter-- who each examine the question "what does it mean to be a successful woman.") Simon & Schuster.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.
Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.
She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.
Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.
She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).
Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
August 11, 2018
This was one of the stories Levar Burton read on his LB Reads podcast.
I really enjoyed this one. The character and those around him were described so realistically I felt like I was there on the train with The Professor. Having commuted via train for a good portion of my career, I completely get "knowing" those on the train and platform that take the same train. I would recognize certain people and if they weren't there one day, it felt like the day was "off" somehow.
Which was captured perfectly in this story. It almost seemed like it was sliding into magical realism, but there was a rational explanation for it all, which I quite enjoyed. I prefer the reason to be logical and based in reality, rather than the author couldn't figure out how it would work out, so MAGIC!
What the heck, I'm going the full 5 stars on this one. I haven't been liking Levar's choices of late, so this was a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended!
I really enjoyed this one. The character and those around him were described so realistically I felt like I was there on the train with The Professor. Having commuted via train for a good portion of my career, I completely get "knowing" those on the train and platform that take the same train. I would recognize certain people and if they weren't there one day, it felt like the day was "off" somehow.
Which was captured perfectly in this story. It almost seemed like it was sliding into magical realism, but there was a rational explanation for it all, which I quite enjoyed. I prefer the reason to be logical and based in reality, rather than the author couldn't figure out how it would work out, so MAGIC!
What the heck, I'm going the full 5 stars on this one. I haven't been liking Levar's choices of late, so this was a breath of fresh air. Highly recommended!
May 16, 2008
In a lot of the reviews it said that THIS is the book to own of all the current collections, and I have to say that I agree. Not that I have read the rest, but this collection is fascinating. Several times I found myself yelling at the book to stop withholding the next part of the story! 30 pages is too short! What happens next?! Needless to say, I have some new authors to hunt down.
Plus, this book was a thrift store find for me, and it has special significance because it's inscribed with beautiful notes to a college graduate and there was even a graduation card inside. I feel like it has some special blessing upon it or something... and it makes the stories inside just THAT much more magical.
Plus, this book was a thrift store find for me, and it has special significance because it's inscribed with beautiful notes to a college graduate and there was even a graduation card inside. I feel like it has some special blessing upon it or something... and it makes the stories inside just THAT much more magical.
January 29, 2009
Definitely among my favorites from this series. I think Tan's choices give a more distinct flavor to this collection - I repeatedly found myself thinking, "Yep, this is something Amy Tan would choose." I liked that. I mean, what's the point of having a celebrity author as guest editor if they're not going to impose their taste?
...and the stories are good, too, natch.
...and the stories are good, too, natch.
March 21, 2022
I only buy these collections for writing courses, and this one was assigned by the writer Jack Livings for a class on "detail" in fiction at Stanford Continuing Education. The class was fantastic. Some reviewers below said that this is "the" collection to buy... I have ended up with a lot of these since I take a lot of classes and I agree--this collection was fantastic. I actually loved the stories.
"The Hermits Story" by Rick Bass, "Mrs Dutta" by Chita Divakaruni, "The Best Girlfriend" by Sam Houston, "The Good Shopkeeper" by Samrat Upadhyay, and best of all the Interpreter of Maladies by the great Jhumpa Lahiri-- Loved all of these especially.
A Hemon's "Islands" was a unique choice for the collection.
Save the Reaper by She-who-will-not-be-named was terrifying. She does a great impression of Flannery O'Conor.
I used to not be a fan of short stories... but this collection was top notch!
"The Hermits Story" by Rick Bass, "Mrs Dutta" by Chita Divakaruni, "The Best Girlfriend" by Sam Houston, "The Good Shopkeeper" by Samrat Upadhyay, and best of all the Interpreter of Maladies by the great Jhumpa Lahiri-- Loved all of these especially.
A Hemon's "Islands" was a unique choice for the collection.
Save the Reaper by She-who-will-not-be-named was terrifying. She does a great impression of Flannery O'Conor.
I used to not be a fan of short stories... but this collection was top notch!
April 6, 2019
This short story by George Harrar had a bit of a Twilight Zone vibe- Walter, a staid man who craves routine, has his train commute schedule upended to his dismay and doesn't know what to make of it. While plausible explanations are given, the reader needs to decide was the story edging into magical realism, or was it simply odd coincidences that led Walter down a different (and possibly better) path?
March 22, 2018
The everyday of life can be habitual and ordinary. Get up. Go to work. Buy food. Go home. Sleep. At the end of the week meet with friends to blow off steam. Begin again.
When something changes within the ordinary it can both throw us off and also create an adventure.
Paraphrasing what Levar Burton asks at the beginning of this reading: What do you do when something changes/upsets within your routine?
When something changes within the ordinary it can both throw us off and also create an adventure.
Paraphrasing what Levar Burton asks at the beginning of this reading: What do you do when something changes/upsets within your routine?
June 29, 2019
I individually scored the short stories in this collection and it averaged out to 2.7. I was going to rate the book as a whole based on that average, but I'm rounding down instead because my overall impression was negative.
Out of 21 stories, I gave four 5 stars (and all of these were in the first half of the book). I gave one story 4 stars, five stories 3 stars, seven stories 2 stars and four stories 1 star. I gave a brief impression of each one (along with its rating) in my reading progress notes. My favorites (the 4- and 5-star stories) in order of how they appear in the book are: The Hermit's Story by Rick Bass, The Piano Tuner by Tim Gautreaux, The 5:22 by George Harrar, The Best Girlfriend You Never Had by Pam Houston and the Robbers of Karnataka by James Spencer.
I'm not impressed with Amy Tan's selections. What does it say about what someone values that out of hundreds of entries, she chooses a majority that are depressing and run the gamut of weird sexual themes? Almost every story had some sort of weird sexual innuendo or, worse, sexual abuse (not to mention the more seemingly innocuous occurrences of culturally acceptable sexual content in so many of the stories). Affairs, homosexuality, lurid behavior of all types played heavily into her selections. This is what good writing consists of?
And, man, you would be hard-pressed to identify many of these stories as truly uplifting or enjoyable to read. Most of them are morose if not downright disturbing. For me to rate something 1 star means I wish I hadn't read it and 20% of these stories fit that category. Less than 30% of the stories were what I considered to be really good.
Some of the stories were extremely well-written and since I almost never read short stories, it was kind of a novelty to sit down and read a whole story contained in about 10-30 pages. It's a totally different genre and skill set than what I'm used to (it's weird to have 20+ storylines rolling around in my brain that I only spent 30-45 minutes with each) and I appreciated what many of these authors were able to convey/evoke in such a short amount of time. But I also felt like the authors were trying to do too much in too short amount of time/space and relied too much on shocking/disturbing the reader to make an impact than on producing an actually good piece of literature. I got the point where I was almost dreading each story because I felt like I was at the mercy of a bunch of sadists and I resented them (and the editor) for subjecting me to their crap/trauma.
As a side note: I found it interesting, and enjoyable, that so many were set in India (or had Indian characters). It seemed odd to keep running into those stories (four or five of them) in such a small selection, but it was fun for me having just visited there this year.
I guess I wouldn't write off this whole series. Every collection will be different and I feel like reading short stories stretches me as a reader. I'd be interested in reading a different editor's collection. After reading these, I don't even want to read Amy Tan's own work. I can't imagine I'll like it if these are the short of stories she chose as "The Best American Short Stories." There were maybe one or two authors who I'll probably look up to see if they have anything else I want to read, but, as a whole, this book left me feeling kind of icky.
Out of 21 stories, I gave four 5 stars (and all of these were in the first half of the book). I gave one story 4 stars, five stories 3 stars, seven stories 2 stars and four stories 1 star. I gave a brief impression of each one (along with its rating) in my reading progress notes. My favorites (the 4- and 5-star stories) in order of how they appear in the book are: The Hermit's Story by Rick Bass, The Piano Tuner by Tim Gautreaux, The 5:22 by George Harrar, The Best Girlfriend You Never Had by Pam Houston and the Robbers of Karnataka by James Spencer.
I'm not impressed with Amy Tan's selections. What does it say about what someone values that out of hundreds of entries, she chooses a majority that are depressing and run the gamut of weird sexual themes? Almost every story had some sort of weird sexual innuendo or, worse, sexual abuse (not to mention the more seemingly innocuous occurrences of culturally acceptable sexual content in so many of the stories). Affairs, homosexuality, lurid behavior of all types played heavily into her selections. This is what good writing consists of?
And, man, you would be hard-pressed to identify many of these stories as truly uplifting or enjoyable to read. Most of them are morose if not downright disturbing. For me to rate something 1 star means I wish I hadn't read it and 20% of these stories fit that category. Less than 30% of the stories were what I considered to be really good.
Some of the stories were extremely well-written and since I almost never read short stories, it was kind of a novelty to sit down and read a whole story contained in about 10-30 pages. It's a totally different genre and skill set than what I'm used to (it's weird to have 20+ storylines rolling around in my brain that I only spent 30-45 minutes with each) and I appreciated what many of these authors were able to convey/evoke in such a short amount of time. But I also felt like the authors were trying to do too much in too short amount of time/space and relied too much on shocking/disturbing the reader to make an impact than on producing an actually good piece of literature. I got the point where I was almost dreading each story because I felt like I was at the mercy of a bunch of sadists and I resented them (and the editor) for subjecting me to their crap/trauma.
As a side note: I found it interesting, and enjoyable, that so many were set in India (or had Indian characters). It seemed odd to keep running into those stories (four or five of them) in such a small selection, but it was fun for me having just visited there this year.
I guess I wouldn't write off this whole series. Every collection will be different and I feel like reading short stories stretches me as a reader. I'd be interested in reading a different editor's collection. After reading these, I don't even want to read Amy Tan's own work. I can't imagine I'll like it if these are the short of stories she chose as "The Best American Short Stories." There were maybe one or two authors who I'll probably look up to see if they have anything else I want to read, but, as a whole, this book left me feeling kind of icky.
May 4, 2018
Interesting and sneaky. I'm not sure I really liked to protagonist or his attitude toward the woman in the story. As always, LeVar is a great reader.
March 21, 2018
OK, but not great.
August 12, 2017
Probably a few more stinkers than usual, and I didn't always vibe with Amy Tan's love of the uncanny or fairy-tale-like, but on the whole, plenty to enjoy here. In particular, I was pleased to be so completely won over by Jhumpa Lahiri, whom I'd been avoiding after reading a very tedious story of hers some years ago. "Interpreter of Maladies" was the arguably the best of the set.
Favorites in rough order of preference:
* Jhumpa Lahiri - "Interpreter of Maladies"
* Alice Munro - "Save the Reaper"
* Nathan Englander - "The Tumblers"
* Junot Diaz - "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars"
* Heidi Julavits - "Marry the One Who Gets There First"
* Hester Kaplan - "Live Life King-Sized"
* Lorrie Moore - "Real Estate"
And a few honorable mentions:
* James Spencer - "The Robbers of Karnataka"
* Tim Gautreaux - "The Piano Tuner"
* Rick Bass - "The Hermit's Story"
* George Harrar - "The 5:22"
Favorites in rough order of preference:
* Jhumpa Lahiri - "Interpreter of Maladies"
* Alice Munro - "Save the Reaper"
* Nathan Englander - "The Tumblers"
* Junot Diaz - "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars"
* Heidi Julavits - "Marry the One Who Gets There First"
* Hester Kaplan - "Live Life King-Sized"
* Lorrie Moore - "Real Estate"
And a few honorable mentions:
* James Spencer - "The Robbers of Karnataka"
* Tim Gautreaux - "The Piano Tuner"
* Rick Bass - "The Hermit's Story"
* George Harrar - "The 5:22"
September 10, 2022
I rather randomly picked this edition of the long-running series to read, on a whim, in the fall of 2008. The stories, all published a decade before I read them (that seemed much a greater length of time to me then than it does today), had a rather outsized impact on me. I still recall particular scenes from several of the stories collected herein.
"In the whole anthology only one stinker-- Annie Proulx['s story]. It sucked," I wrote in a journal later, presumably in 2009. (If you should ever see this, I'm sorry Annie Proulx! I don't know why disliked your story so much. Perhaps I would feel different today.) I go on, "'Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter' [by Chitra Divakaruni] is probably my favorite. Some of the best stories I've ever read." I still think they are.
"In the whole anthology only one stinker-- Annie Proulx['s story]. It sucked," I wrote in a journal later, presumably in 2009. (If you should ever see this, I'm sorry Annie Proulx! I don't know why disliked your story so much. Perhaps I would feel different today.) I go on, "'Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter' [by Chitra Divakaruni] is probably my favorite. Some of the best stories I've ever read." I still think they are.
March 7, 2012
I love love LOVE the Best American Short Stories collections. I keep one in my car at all times. It's so much easier to keep that in the car instead of any book that I'd have to read front to back. I can just pick this up, read a story over lunch, and then put it down again.
I loved several of the stories in here - "The Piano Tuner" by Tim Gautreaux, "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter" by Chitra Divakaruni, and "The 5:22" by George Harrar. It's always so wonderful to see how each edition varies from one guest editor to the next.
I loved several of the stories in here - "The Piano Tuner" by Tim Gautreaux, "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter" by Chitra Divakaruni, and "The 5:22" by George Harrar. It's always so wonderful to see how each edition varies from one guest editor to the next.
July 11, 2018
Amy Tan uses her opportunity as guest editor to write her autobiography, which isn't surprising considering the rest of her work centers almost entirely on her. Tan's egotism notwithstanding, this might be the worst of the series. It is so evidently an effect of Tan's own proclivities it makes 1999 look bad as a year for short stories, of which I am certain it was not. Junot Diaz's "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars" and Tim Gautreaux's "The Piano Tuner" are the only efforts from this collection I enjoyed. The rest were incredibly predictable or otherwise uninteresting.
July 29, 2008
For a collection of the best american short stories of an entire year, this was pretty pathetic. There were a few bright lights, several pretty decent stories, and an awful lot of terrible stories. Best stories: "The Hermit's Story", "The Sun, the Moon, the Stars", "Marry the One Who Gets There First", "Live Life King-Sized", "The Uncharted Heart".
Worst story by far: "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter". What an incredibly unthoughtful, tepid and prosaic work of fiction.
Worst story by far: "Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter". What an incredibly unthoughtful, tepid and prosaic work of fiction.
November 1, 2021
2021The Best American Short Stories, 1999, Amy Tan, editor with Katrina Kenison, Series Editor. This book revived for me the joy of reading a good short story. It is published yearly with stories selected by different guest editors, in this 1999 edition by Amy Tan, herself a wonderful writer of short stories. She selected twenty-one short stories from one hundred and twenty selected from American and Canadian publications by author Katrina Kenison, who has assisted in this yearly collection from 1992 to 2006 (according to Wikipedia), and who wrote a short foreword describing the history of this collected of stories. Amy Tan wrote a fifteen-page introduction that is well worth reading, describing how she got interested in stories as a child with her father reading to her and describing the development of her criterion for judging the best short stories of nineteen ninety nine. Her prime criterion is “Voice.” Her selection of stories is excellent, comprising men and women authors, each with their distinctive voices covering a wide range of subjects. I didn’t like all the stories, but I liked most of them. I couldn’t pick a favorite, finding a lot of them so captivating and unique that I couldn’t pick a winner from that top shelf. I read each story in one sitting, as Amy Tan does, and recommend this book for any reader that relishes the joy of being surprised by unexpected reading experiences.
April 12, 2018
3.0⭐ “Often he listened to his short wave, and the crackling sound of far-off voices seemed to him as if coming from a large immigrant family living on the other side of the thin walls.”
**Spoilers**
I’m on the 22nd episode of LeVar Burton Reads, and gifted with “The 5:22” by George Harrar.
Stephen King said, “I think reality is thin, you know, thin as lake ice after a thaw, and we fill our lives with noise and light and motion to hide that thinness from ourselves.” I love when writers take on that thinness of reality and I think that this was Harrar’s take on that.
It was sort of Murakami in it’s subtle surrealism, but, to be honest, I could have done with a stronger dose of the unreality aspect. It was too subtle in my opinion, and I think it left this story a little forgettable. But I enjoyed it. My favorite aspect by far was hearing about Walter’s book, it lifted him off the page. Besides that little aspect, he seemed underdeveloped to me. It was hard to care about him or love him. His infatuation with the woman on his train seemed contrived.
I’m dogging on it a little, but it really was a pleasant read. Always like velvet from LaVar. Until next time.
Casual reminder to sip your hot tea or coffee before it goes cold on you.
- 📚☕♥
**Spoilers**
I’m on the 22nd episode of LeVar Burton Reads, and gifted with “The 5:22” by George Harrar.
Stephen King said, “I think reality is thin, you know, thin as lake ice after a thaw, and we fill our lives with noise and light and motion to hide that thinness from ourselves.” I love when writers take on that thinness of reality and I think that this was Harrar’s take on that.
It was sort of Murakami in it’s subtle surrealism, but, to be honest, I could have done with a stronger dose of the unreality aspect. It was too subtle in my opinion, and I think it left this story a little forgettable. But I enjoyed it. My favorite aspect by far was hearing about Walter’s book, it lifted him off the page. Besides that little aspect, he seemed underdeveloped to me. It was hard to care about him or love him. His infatuation with the woman on his train seemed contrived.
I’m dogging on it a little, but it really was a pleasant read. Always like velvet from LaVar. Until next time.
Casual reminder to sip your hot tea or coffee before it goes cold on you.
- 📚☕♥
June 21, 2018
Perhaps I'm a bit too dense to understand what the author was trying to convey. Maybe it was about how anything in your life can change, and nothing is for certain? So, if that were the case, then sure this does the job, but honestly it doesn't make for a great story. Hearing about a guys train commute is just plain dull..LeVar does a great job as always, but this is another strikeout for me on the LeVar Burton Reads Podcast.
November 24, 2021
Rick Bass' The Hermit's Story" felt psychedelic.
Annie Proulx's "Bunchgrass" made me thankful that my life isn't boring.
Houston's "Best Girlfriend" rocked me; made me feel unstable for the whole day. So glad I'm not single and in my 20's.
For me, "The Piano Tuner" by Tim Gautreaux tells the story of a man using his work to tangentially help others.
"Islands" by A. Hemon has a cool structure, and examines family and history with it.
Annie Proulx's "Bunchgrass" made me thankful that my life isn't boring.
Houston's "Best Girlfriend" rocked me; made me feel unstable for the whole day. So glad I'm not single and in my 20's.
For me, "The Piano Tuner" by Tim Gautreaux tells the story of a man using his work to tangentially help others.
"Islands" by A. Hemon has a cool structure, and examines family and history with it.
January 12, 2025
10. The Bunchgrass Edge of the World (Annie Proulx)
9. The Best Girlfriend You Never Had (Pam Houston)
8. The Robbers of Karnataka (James Spencer)
7. The Good Shopkeeper (Samrat Upadhyay)
6. Real Estate (Lorrie Moore)
5. The Piano Tuner (Tim Gatreaux)
4. Live Life King-Sized (Hester Kaplan)
3. The 5:22 (George Harrar)
2. Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri)
1. Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter (Chitra B. Divakaruni)
9. The Best Girlfriend You Never Had (Pam Houston)
8. The Robbers of Karnataka (James Spencer)
7. The Good Shopkeeper (Samrat Upadhyay)
6. Real Estate (Lorrie Moore)
5. The Piano Tuner (Tim Gatreaux)
4. Live Life King-Sized (Hester Kaplan)
3. The 5:22 (George Harrar)
2. Interpreter of Maladies (Jhumpa Lahiri)
1. Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter (Chitra B. Divakaruni)
May 22, 2017
Excellent collection. Diverse, interesting stories. My favorites were: The Sun, The Moon, The Stars by Junot Diaz, Live Life King-Sized by Hester Kaplan, Save the Reaper by Alice Munro, The Rest of Her Life by Steve Yarbrough.
This collection also features Melissa Hardy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lorrie Moore, and Annie Proulx, to name a few.
I look forward to reading more in this series.
This collection also features Melissa Hardy, Jhumpa Lahiri, Lorrie Moore, and Annie Proulx, to name a few.
I look forward to reading more in this series.
July 15, 2018
I enjoyed this short from the Levar Burton Reads podcast and of course, Levar's narration was wonderful, as always. It was surreal and entertaining, but as other reviewers have mentioned, it's almost too understated. I felt like the author could have made it a little more impactful, but while I did enjoy reading it, I'd forgotten just about everything about it only a week later.
July 11, 2019
I was made to read this book for school, but you know what? I really liked it. Amy Tan does a great job editing, and she wrote a heartfelt memoir-style opening that’s as interesting to read as any of the short stories. The amount of authors and different varieties of stories are extensive and very enjoyable. If you’re in the market for a short story collection, this is the one for you.
January 26, 2023
I have purchased and given away at least 5 copies of this 1999 Amy Tan Collection containing “Mrs Ditka Writes a Letter” and 2 or 3 other TOP stories. I have tried all subsequent years, but this collection has not been surpassed “in my book.”
March 21, 2026
I liked the sun the moon the stars, islands, mrs dutta writes a letter, marry the one that gets there first, interpreter of maladies, save the reaper, the bunchgrass edge of the world and the rest of her life. The others were kind of mid...
May 22, 2017
Really uneven collection. Quite enjoyed a few; many left me with nothing.
March 22, 2018
This great little story was read on one of LeVar Burton‘s podcasts. It had an Alfred Hitchcock vibe.
March 28, 2018
It kind of feels like an episode of the twilight zone. It reminds us that life is changeable and that we need to not take it for granted.
March 30, 2018
It's a semi simplistic yet eye opening tale about seeing things you may miss if you never bother to take the time to look up.
March 31, 2018
From the LeVar Burton Reads podcast.
The middle bit, in which everything starts to disappear works very well, but I got to say that the ending felt too neat for my taste.
The middle bit, in which everything starts to disappear works very well, but I got to say that the ending felt too neat for my taste.
April 3, 2018
Every time I relisten to this book, I learn something else about myself, my life, the people around me.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews