Lust, Violence, Sin, Magic: Sixty Years of Esquire Fiction

by Lawrence Rust Hills, Will Blythe

Representing sixty years of outstanding short fiction, this anthology of stories from the pages of Esquire features the works of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, Cheever, Roth, O'Connor, Carver, Updike, Styron, Godwin, and other notable writers.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Anthologies

588 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Brian Godsey, now on thestorygraph]

This really is a great collection of stories. The only exception is His Son, in His Arms, in Light, Aloft by Harold Brodkey. I don't like singling him out, but I just don't get it. It's not often that I can't read something, but there's an example.

Otherwise, the description of the book says it all. It's sixty years of stories from some of most well-known authors, all published in one of America's most reputable publications.

I think to say any more, I would have to go story by story, and I don't want to do that. But, there are not many short story collections that are better than this one.

[Steve]

All the names are here. For Esquire fiction fans, it just doesn't get any better than this.

[L8blmr]

If you can get beyond the somewhat tawdry title of this book, you'll discover a collection of short stories written for Esquire magazine by some big names in literature (and some I'd never heard of). I will warn potential readers that many of these tales are signs of the times they were written in and possess solemn, melancholy, and even morose tones, no "happily ever after" guaranteed. Still, if you've always wanted to read Hemingway, Steinbeck, Capote or O'Connor (plus a few dozen others) but don't want to commit to an entire novel, this book is for you.

[Jake Pescador]

mind blown after just reading the first short under each chapter: lust - erskine caldwell's august afternoon (1933), violence - ernest hemingway's the snows of kilimanjaro (1936), sin - f. scott fitzgerald's an alcoholic case (1937), and magic - john barth's the remobilization of jacob horner (1958).

[Sidik Fofana]

SIX WORD REVIEW: Ray Bradbury and Gabriel Garcia Marquez!