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The Saroyan Special: Selected Short Stories
A wonderful collection of Saroyan's short stories enhanced by illustrations from Don Freeman.
- GenresShort Stories
368 pages, Hardcover
About the author
William Saroyan
320 books694 followersWilliam Saroyan was an Armenian-American writer, renowned for his novels, plays, and short stories. He gained widespread recognition for his unique literary style, often characterized by a deep appreciation for everyday life and human resilience. His works frequently explored themes of Armenian-American immigrant experiences, particularly in his native California, and were infused with optimism, humor, and sentimentality.
Saroyan's breakthrough came with The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934), a short story that established him as a major literary voice during the Great Depression. He went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940 for The Time of Your Life, though he declined the award, and in 1943, he won an Academy Award for Best Story for The Human Comedy. His novel My Name Is Aram (1940), based on his childhood, became an international bestseller.
Though celebrated for his literary achievements, Saroyan had a tumultuous career, often struggling with financial instability due to his gambling habits and an unwillingness to compromise with Hollywood. His later works were less commercially successful, but he remained a prolific writer, publishing essays, memoirs, and plays throughout his life.
Saroyan's legacy endures through his influence on American literature, his contributions to Armenian cultural identity, and the honors bestowed upon him, including a posthumous induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame. His remains are divided between Fresno, California, and Armenia, reflecting his deep connection to both his birthplace and ancestral homeland.
Saroyan's breakthrough came with The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934), a short story that established him as a major literary voice during the Great Depression. He went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940 for The Time of Your Life, though he declined the award, and in 1943, he won an Academy Award for Best Story for The Human Comedy. His novel My Name Is Aram (1940), based on his childhood, became an international bestseller.
Though celebrated for his literary achievements, Saroyan had a tumultuous career, often struggling with financial instability due to his gambling habits and an unwillingness to compromise with Hollywood. His later works were less commercially successful, but he remained a prolific writer, publishing essays, memoirs, and plays throughout his life.
Saroyan's legacy endures through his influence on American literature, his contributions to Armenian cultural identity, and the honors bestowed upon him, including a posthumous induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame. His remains are divided between Fresno, California, and Armenia, reflecting his deep connection to both his birthplace and ancestral homeland.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 8, 2014
If you like sun, and the warmth it gives, you gotta read William Saroyan!)
Want to Read
August 4, 2021Read so far:
from The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934):
Myself upon the Earth--
*Seventy Thousand Assyrians--
Aspirin Is a Member of the NRA--
A Curved Line--
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8--
Laughter--
*The Shepherd's Daughter--
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze--2
*Seventeen--
***
And Man
Harry
Snake
from Inhale & Exhale (1936):
*Five Ripe Pears--
*The Oranges--
Two Days Wasted in Kansas City--
*Going Home--
*The Horses and the Sea--
World Wilderness of Time Lost--
*The Broken Wheel--
*War--
The Death of Children--
*The Barber Whose Uncle Had His Head Bitten off by a Circus Tiger--
Antranik of Armenia--
Little Miss Universe--
Our Little Brown Brothers the Filipinos--
The Dark Sea--
Malenka Manon--
The Proletarian at the Tap Drum--
The Black Tartars--
*The Little Dog Laughed to See Such Sport--
Train Going--
The Whistle--
*Finlandia--
The Armenian and the Armenian--
***
Christians Singing
London, ah London
My Picture in the Paper
Our Friends the Mice
Raisins
Resurrection of a Life--2
from Three Times Three (1936):
*The Man with the Heart in the Highlands--
Baby--
*The Beggars--
Quarter, Half, Three-Quarter and Whole Notes--
*The Living and the Dead--
from Little Children (1937):
*Laughing Sam--
*Sunday Zeppelin--
*Corduroy Pants--
*The Man Who Got Fat--
The Messenger--
*My Uncle and the Mexicans--
Where I Come from, People Are Polite--
*The First Day of School--
Countryman, How Do You Like America?--
***
The Cat--
The Crusade--
from Love, Here Is My Hat (1938):
The Trains--
One of the Least Famous of the Great Love Affairs of History--
*The La Salle Hotel in Chicago--
Ah Life, Ah Death, Ah Music, Ah France, Ah Everything--
*The Genius--
The Fire--
*The Filipino and the Drunkard--
*Jim Pemberton and His Boy Trigger--
***
Ever Fall in Love with a Midget?
Saturday Night
You're Breaking My Heart
from Peace, It's Wonderful (1939):
*The Insurance Salesman, the Peasant, the Rug Merchant and the Potted Plant--
The Year of Heaven--
*1924 Cadillac for Sale--
The Love Kick--
The Warm, Quiet Valley of Home--
*A Number of the Poor--
Peace, It's Wonderful--
*Piano--
The Sweet Singer of Omsk--
*The Russian Writer--
*The Journey and the Dream--
***
At the Chop Suey Joint on Larkin Street at Two-Thirty in the Morning
Johnny the Dreamer, Mary the Model at Magnin's, and Plato the Democrat
Noonday Dark Enfolding Texas
Romance
from The Trouble with Tigers (1938):
The Tiger--
*Sweetheart, Sweetheart, Sweetheart--
*The Brothers and the Sisters--
The Ants--
*The Great Leaping Frog Contest--
The Acrobats--
*Citizens of the Third Grade--
A Prayer for the Living--
Memories of Paris--
*The Job--
The Vision--
We Want a Touchdown--
from Saroyan's Fables (1941):
*Saroyan's Fables IX--
Saroyan's Fables XXIV--
from Dear Baby (1944):
Dear Baby--
*The Hummingbird That Lived through Winter--
*The Stolen Bicycle--
*The Story of the Young Man and the Mouse--
The Struggle of Jim Patros with Death--
Sailing down the Chesapeake--
I Know You Good--
*How It Is to Be--
*The Declaration of War--
Highway America--
My Home, My Home--
The Grapes--
*My Witness Witnesseth--
***
Knife-like, Flower-like, like Nothing at All in the World--2
Other stories:
Fresno--
Bitlis--
***
Palo
The Parsley Garden
from The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze (1934):
Myself upon the Earth--
*Seventy Thousand Assyrians--
Aspirin Is a Member of the NRA--
A Curved Line--
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8--
Laughter--
*The Shepherd's Daughter--
The Daring Young Man on the Flying Trapeze--2
*Seventeen--
***
And Man
Harry
Snake
from Inhale & Exhale (1936):
*Five Ripe Pears--
*The Oranges--
Two Days Wasted in Kansas City--
*Going Home--
*The Horses and the Sea--
World Wilderness of Time Lost--
*The Broken Wheel--
*War--
The Death of Children--
*The Barber Whose Uncle Had His Head Bitten off by a Circus Tiger--
Antranik of Armenia--
Little Miss Universe--
Our Little Brown Brothers the Filipinos--
The Dark Sea--
Malenka Manon--
The Proletarian at the Tap Drum--
The Black Tartars--
*The Little Dog Laughed to See Such Sport--
Train Going--
The Whistle--
*Finlandia--
The Armenian and the Armenian--
***
Christians Singing
London, ah London
My Picture in the Paper
Our Friends the Mice
Raisins
Resurrection of a Life--2
from Three Times Three (1936):
*The Man with the Heart in the Highlands--
Baby--
*The Beggars--
Quarter, Half, Three-Quarter and Whole Notes--
*The Living and the Dead--
from Little Children (1937):
*Laughing Sam--
*Sunday Zeppelin--
*Corduroy Pants--
*The Man Who Got Fat--
The Messenger--
*My Uncle and the Mexicans--
Where I Come from, People Are Polite--
*The First Day of School--
Countryman, How Do You Like America?--
***
The Cat--
The Crusade--
from Love, Here Is My Hat (1938):
The Trains--
One of the Least Famous of the Great Love Affairs of History--
*The La Salle Hotel in Chicago--
Ah Life, Ah Death, Ah Music, Ah France, Ah Everything--
*The Genius--
The Fire--
*The Filipino and the Drunkard--
*Jim Pemberton and His Boy Trigger--
***
Ever Fall in Love with a Midget?
Saturday Night
You're Breaking My Heart
from Peace, It's Wonderful (1939):
*The Insurance Salesman, the Peasant, the Rug Merchant and the Potted Plant--
The Year of Heaven--
*1924 Cadillac for Sale--
The Love Kick--
The Warm, Quiet Valley of Home--
*A Number of the Poor--
Peace, It's Wonderful--
*Piano--
The Sweet Singer of Omsk--
*The Russian Writer--
*The Journey and the Dream--
***
At the Chop Suey Joint on Larkin Street at Two-Thirty in the Morning
Johnny the Dreamer, Mary the Model at Magnin's, and Plato the Democrat
Noonday Dark Enfolding Texas
Romance
from The Trouble with Tigers (1938):
The Tiger--
*Sweetheart, Sweetheart, Sweetheart--
*The Brothers and the Sisters--
The Ants--
*The Great Leaping Frog Contest--
The Acrobats--
*Citizens of the Third Grade--
A Prayer for the Living--
Memories of Paris--
*The Job--
The Vision--
We Want a Touchdown--
from Saroyan's Fables (1941):
*Saroyan's Fables IX--
Saroyan's Fables XXIV--
from Dear Baby (1944):
Dear Baby--
*The Hummingbird That Lived through Winter--
*The Stolen Bicycle--
*The Story of the Young Man and the Mouse--
The Struggle of Jim Patros with Death--
Sailing down the Chesapeake--
I Know You Good--
*How It Is to Be--
*The Declaration of War--
Highway America--
My Home, My Home--
The Grapes--
*My Witness Witnesseth--
***
Knife-like, Flower-like, like Nothing at All in the World--2
Other stories:
Fresno--
Bitlis--
***
Palo
The Parsley Garden
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews