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The Best American Short Stories 2008
This brilliant collection, edited by the award-winning and perennially provocative Salman Rushdie, boasts a “magnificent array” (Library Journal) of voices both new and recognized.With Rushdie at the helm, the 2008 edition “reflects the variety of substance and style and the consistent quality that readers have come to expect” (Publishers Weekly).
“We all live in and with and by stories, every day, whoever and wherever we are. The freedom to tell each other the stories of ourselves, to retell the stories of our culture and beliefs, is profoundly connected to the larger subject of freedom itself.”—Salman Rushdie, editor
The Best American Short Stories 2008 includes KEVIN BROCKMEIER • ALLEGRA GOODMAN • A. M. HOMES • NICOLE KRAUSS • JONATHAN LETHEM • STEVEN MILLHAUSER • DANIYAL MUEENUDDIN • ALICE MUNRO • GEORGE SAUNDERS • TOBIAS WOLFF • and others
“We all live in and with and by stories, every day, whoever and wherever we are. The freedom to tell each other the stories of ourselves, to retell the stories of our culture and beliefs, is profoundly connected to the larger subject of freedom itself.”—Salman Rushdie, editor
The Best American Short Stories 2008 includes KEVIN BROCKMEIER • ALLEGRA GOODMAN • A. M. HOMES • NICOLE KRAUSS • JONATHAN LETHEM • STEVEN MILLHAUSER • DANIYAL MUEENUDDIN • ALICE MUNRO • GEORGE SAUNDERS • TOBIAS WOLFF • and others
384 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
11 people are currently reading
401 people want to read
About the author
E.L. Doctorow
100 books1,154 followersHistory based known novels of American writer Edgar Laurence Doctorow. His works of fiction include Homer & Langley, The March, Billy Bathgate, Ragtime, The Book of Daniel, City of God, Welcome to Hard Times, Loon Lake, World’s Fair, The Waterworks, and All the Time in the World. Among his honors are the National Book Award, three National Book Critics Circle Awards, two PEN Faulkner Awards, The Edith Wharton Citation for Fiction, and the presidentially conferred National Humanities Medal. In 2009 he was short listed for the Man Booker International Prize honoring a writer’s lifetime achievement in fiction, and in 2012 he won the PEN Saul Bellow Award given to an author whose “scale of achievement over a sustained career places him in the highest rank of American Literature.” In 2013 the American Academy of Arts and Letters awarded him the Gold Medal for Fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
July 9, 2017
I adored short stories when I was a teen, especially science fiction. I do still like them, it is just harder to commit to reading them when you don't know what you're going to get. I certainly would not have chosen many of these stories had I been given the description, I am therefore enlightened by having read them. The ones I most enjoyed were The Story, The Ordinary Son, The Gilgul of Park Avenue, The Fix, He's at the Office, The Bridegroom, The Thing Around Them, The Third and Final Continent, Allog and Basil the Dog.
September 12, 2019
I don't really care for short stories all that much, but figured I would read this to branch out. I didn't like most of the stories.
The ones I did like were:
Bones of the Inner Ear
The Fix
He's at the Office
The Third and Final Continent
People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water
The ones I did like were:
Bones of the Inner Ear
The Fix
He's at the Office
The Third and Final Continent
People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water
December 31, 2019
Ironically, the average of all the ratings I put on the short stories in this collection rounds to 3.142. E.L. Doctorow, in a very roundabout way, says that short story endings are a lost art, one that writers built over time but don’t seem to be able to reach today. He tries to put a positive spin on it—a return to the short story’s roots, freedom from golden shackles—but he doesn’t try very hard.
The problem is apparent in these stories. The endings tend to come out of nowhere (“their points of entry can be quite distant from their denouements”), be far too pat (“their central problem is made quite explicit”), or simply end without any light placed on the rest of the story (“the reader discerns a nice sense of freedom”).
Perhaps, in 1999, writers were afraid of any ending that might tempt the hand of fate at the fin de siècle.
The highlights, for me, are:
Brownies, by Z.Z. Packer
The Anointed, by Kathleen Hill
People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water, by Annie Proulx
The Third and Final Continent, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Blind Josef Pronek, by Aleksander Hemon
He’s At the Office, by Allan Gurganus
Annie Proulx’s ending is the apotheosis of not trusting the idea of an ending that highlights these stories, Allan Gurganus’s the idea that the ending should simply reiterate what has gone before. Aleksander Hemon was unwilling to trust anything his story seemed to say, and belittled it in the comments as being a trivial equivocation of war in Yugoslavia to entry level jobs in the United States.
But each of those stories are good nonetheless because the authors were willing, momentarily, to provide a deeper glimpse into their characters, even if they can’t abide such seriousness after seeing it on paper.
The problem is apparent in these stories. The endings tend to come out of nowhere (“their points of entry can be quite distant from their denouements”), be far too pat (“their central problem is made quite explicit”), or simply end without any light placed on the rest of the story (“the reader discerns a nice sense of freedom”).
Perhaps, in 1999, writers were afraid of any ending that might tempt the hand of fate at the fin de siècle.
The highlights, for me, are:
Brownies, by Z.Z. Packer
The Anointed, by Kathleen Hill
People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water, by Annie Proulx
The Third and Final Continent, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Blind Josef Pronek, by Aleksander Hemon
He’s At the Office, by Allan Gurganus
Annie Proulx’s ending is the apotheosis of not trusting the idea of an ending that highlights these stories, Allan Gurganus’s the idea that the ending should simply reiterate what has gone before. Aleksander Hemon was unwilling to trust anything his story seemed to say, and belittled it in the comments as being a trivial equivocation of war in Yugoslavia to entry level jobs in the United States.
But each of those stories are good nonetheless because the authors were willing, momentarily, to provide a deeper glimpse into their characters, even if they can’t abide such seriousness after seeing it on paper.
October 29, 2018
A few years ago I bought a copy of the Best American Short Stories of 2002 at a used book sale. This was my introduction to the series and I became hooked. Each year a guest author is asked to read short stores that have been published in American and Canadian magazines and select about 20 – 25 of the stories they consider the best. For the year 2000 edition, E. L. Doctorow is the editor and Katrina Kenison is the Series Editor. So far this has been the best selection of the series that I have read. I thought that every story was either very good to excellent. My favorite was “Bones of the Inner Ear” by Kiana Davenport. It takes place in Hawaii and is a family story with heartbreaking events that are told as if they are just a part of life. Also, “The Thing Around Them” by Marilyn Krysl was terrifying and sad but beautiful. My favorite part of the book are the Contributors Notes at the end. I read each author’s note just before I read the story. It gives the story so much more meaning to know what the author’s intent or feelings were when writing the story.
I am have a lot more of the series to read to catch up to the current year but it is a worthy goal.
I am have a lot more of the series to read to catch up to the current year but it is a worthy goal.
May 30, 2018
It was a nice change to read some short stories.
January 7, 2023
"He missed our father-son Cub Scout banquet; it conflicted with a major envelope convention" . . .
Mention of camp songs.
I read this book of short stories one a day.
Mention of camp songs.
I read this book of short stories one a day.
August 6, 2015
Of course it's difficult to assign a rating to an anthology. Since it is impossible to rate the individual stories, I must assign stars to the collected ensemble. E. L. Doctorow, guest editor for the year 2000, seems to prefer long, involved family sagas that would lend themselves (I think) better to novels than to short stories, even after he goes on in his introduction about how different short stories and novels are.
The most grating of these stories was "Bones of the Inner Ear," by Kiana Davenport. In novel form, I might have had time to grow sympathetic to the various abused and abusive figures in this story about growing up poor in Hawai'i, but as it was, I felt I had barely met the character who emerges from the dung heap as the hero in the end.
The best of these mini-novels is Annie Proulx's "People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water," which you can find in the excellent collection Close Range. We need the story of how these two families came to ranch country generations before in order to understand their conflict. It's long, but climbs tenaciously to its inevitable end, with the startling originality that I love in Proulx's work.
Other stories were more satisfying to me because they balanced background with action: Allan Gurganus's "He's at the Office," a take on Death of a Salesman; Tim Gautreaux's "Good for the Soul"; and Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Third and Final Continent." Though these three stories were on the long side as well, they circled back to create satisfying resolutions. This collection helped me discover that I like a story that is able to stand alone. These three are true, contained "stories" that you could re-tell boiled down to anecdote form. They have a plot skeleton, unlike "Bones" (irony unintended, but now that I see it, I'm keeping it).
One puzzler here is a Raymond Carver story, "Call if You Need Me." Since the author died in 1988, I suppose this must have been published posthumously to merit inclusion in this 2000 collection. It's not Carver's best. My favorite Carver stories are tight, short, almost airless, communicating their characters' meager choices in the very sparseness of the telling. This story is about a dissolving couple well-off enough to rent a house for the summer to work out their troubles. They fail to make a compelling case, to each other or the reader, and drift away like the horses they see in the night -- a moment that is supposed to represent some sort of epiphany, but seems gimmicky instead.
Another story that bucks the mold is ZZ Packer's "Brownies," which takes place over a four-day Brownie camping trip, with only a whiff of generational drama in the background. The writing here sizzles like Packer's initials, helping us to see past color to individuals. I'll be looking for more from her.
Finally, you'll have to tell me what "Pet Fly," by Walter Mosley is about, because I'm still not sure: it has something to do with color and corporations, and loneliness.
At any rate, Doctorow has gathered a diverse bunch of writers whose stories tend to meandering length. If you like your short stories with the emphasis on the short, try another year in this collection.
The most grating of these stories was "Bones of the Inner Ear," by Kiana Davenport. In novel form, I might have had time to grow sympathetic to the various abused and abusive figures in this story about growing up poor in Hawai'i, but as it was, I felt I had barely met the character who emerges from the dung heap as the hero in the end.
The best of these mini-novels is Annie Proulx's "People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water," which you can find in the excellent collection Close Range. We need the story of how these two families came to ranch country generations before in order to understand their conflict. It's long, but climbs tenaciously to its inevitable end, with the startling originality that I love in Proulx's work.
Other stories were more satisfying to me because they balanced background with action: Allan Gurganus's "He's at the Office," a take on Death of a Salesman; Tim Gautreaux's "Good for the Soul"; and Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Third and Final Continent." Though these three stories were on the long side as well, they circled back to create satisfying resolutions. This collection helped me discover that I like a story that is able to stand alone. These three are true, contained "stories" that you could re-tell boiled down to anecdote form. They have a plot skeleton, unlike "Bones" (irony unintended, but now that I see it, I'm keeping it).
One puzzler here is a Raymond Carver story, "Call if You Need Me." Since the author died in 1988, I suppose this must have been published posthumously to merit inclusion in this 2000 collection. It's not Carver's best. My favorite Carver stories are tight, short, almost airless, communicating their characters' meager choices in the very sparseness of the telling. This story is about a dissolving couple well-off enough to rent a house for the summer to work out their troubles. They fail to make a compelling case, to each other or the reader, and drift away like the horses they see in the night -- a moment that is supposed to represent some sort of epiphany, but seems gimmicky instead.
Another story that bucks the mold is ZZ Packer's "Brownies," which takes place over a four-day Brownie camping trip, with only a whiff of generational drama in the background. The writing here sizzles like Packer's initials, helping us to see past color to individuals. I'll be looking for more from her.
Finally, you'll have to tell me what "Pet Fly," by Walter Mosley is about, because I'm still not sure: it has something to do with color and corporations, and loneliness.
At any rate, Doctorow has gathered a diverse bunch of writers whose stories tend to meandering length. If you like your short stories with the emphasis on the short, try another year in this collection.
May 28, 2011
Oh, I remember why I don't like short stories--depressing.
A few of the stories were interesting. Most were seriously depressing and at least half left me wondering why I bothered. I like a story where we get to know the character and care about him or her because of the way he or she behaves. Very few of these stories had that to them. Most of them seemed to be "commenting" on "social problems" or something. Can you be a little more subtle.
l learned 2 things from this selection of stories:
1) people are shitty to each other
2) I don't care for short stories (Oh, I should say I re-learned that)
Based on these stories, I'd read Annie Proulx again and Amy Bloom. Possibly Kathleen Hill and Marilyn Krysl had me until the very end. However, all of these were hella depressing except Amy Bloom (though she was dark). Not a one of these stories was funny. Is that so hard to ask for in a short story? And apparently it is impossible to write a short story without someone dying or at least having a major heartbreak or tragedy.
A few of the stories were interesting. Most were seriously depressing and at least half left me wondering why I bothered. I like a story where we get to know the character and care about him or her because of the way he or she behaves. Very few of these stories had that to them. Most of them seemed to be "commenting" on "social problems" or something. Can you be a little more subtle.
l learned 2 things from this selection of stories:
1) people are shitty to each other
2) I don't care for short stories (Oh, I should say I re-learned that)
Based on these stories, I'd read Annie Proulx again and Amy Bloom. Possibly Kathleen Hill and Marilyn Krysl had me until the very end. However, all of these were hella depressing except Amy Bloom (though she was dark). Not a one of these stories was funny. Is that so hard to ask for in a short story? And apparently it is impossible to write a short story without someone dying or at least having a major heartbreak or tragedy.
January 29, 2009
Interesting that so many authors who appeared in the 1999 collection are also in the 2000 volume. And stories in both collections by Annie Proulx eventually became part of Wyoming Stories.
October 31, 2017
The melting-pot edition, as it were, with a focus on capturing a broader range of American voices than is usually the case in these collections. Though none of the stories unequivocally knocked my socks off this time around (after reading 23 BASS collections in a row, I might be becoming harder to impress), the overall quality was high, with only a handful of misses in the mix. My favorites:
Ron Carlson - "The Ordinary Son"
Junot Diaz - "Nilda"
Aleksandar Hemon - "Blind Jozef Pronek"
ZZ Packer - "Brownies"
And some honorable mentions:
Percival Everett - "The Fix"
Allan Gurganus - "He's at the Office"
Geoffrey Becker - "Black Elvis"
Frances Sherwood - "Basil the Dog"
Ron Carlson - "The Ordinary Son"
Junot Diaz - "Nilda"
Aleksandar Hemon - "Blind Jozef Pronek"
ZZ Packer - "Brownies"
And some honorable mentions:
Percival Everett - "The Fix"
Allan Gurganus - "He's at the Office"
Geoffrey Becker - "Black Elvis"
Frances Sherwood - "Basil the Dog"
June 26, 2017
My favorite pieces from this collection:
+ Mychael Byers - The Beautiful Days
+ Ron Carlson - The Ordinary Son
+ Allan Gurganus - He's At The Office
+ Kathleen Hill - The Anointed
+ Ha Jin - The Bridegroom
+ Mychael Byers - The Beautiful Days
+ Ron Carlson - The Ordinary Son
+ Allan Gurganus - He's At The Office
+ Kathleen Hill - The Anointed
+ Ha Jin - The Bridegroom
Read
January 4, 2025stand outs for me:
The Ordinary Son — Ron Carlson
Bones of the Inner Ear — Kiana Davenport
The Fix — Percival Everett
He’s at the Office — Allan Gurganus
The Third and Final Continent — Jhumpa Lahiri
Pet Fly — Walter Mosley
The Ordinary Son — Ron Carlson
Bones of the Inner Ear — Kiana Davenport
The Fix — Percival Everett
He’s at the Office — Allan Gurganus
The Third and Final Continent — Jhumpa Lahiri
Pet Fly — Walter Mosley
November 9, 2017
I haven't finished it yet but so far it seems an excellent collection.
August 19, 2018
Picked this up at the library for the Jhumpa Lahiri story. Disappointed to see I've already read it. Lots of other good stories though.
February 14, 2022
Faves (in order):
1. "He's at the Office" by Allan Gurganus
2. "The Beautiful Day" by Michael Byers
3. "Call if You Need Me" by Raymond Carver
4. "The Anointed" by Kathleen Hill
1. "He's at the Office" by Allan Gurganus
2. "The Beautiful Day" by Michael Byers
3. "Call if You Need Me" by Raymond Carver
4. "The Anointed" by Kathleen Hill
June 1, 2025
this took me forever to read but the stories are really great
March 15, 2008
Noteworthy/memorable:
The Beautiful Days is one of my favorite stories and I don't exactly know why. It's fairly long and there's a lot of development that may or may not be necessary, but by the end I am always just fascinated and staring into space wondering, how did we get here?
The Fix is a story with a simple premise, but the quick and riveting extrapolation of that premise gives poignant meaning to the phrase "a gift and a curse."
The Third and Final Continent is another good example of Lahiri's acclaimed style. It's a straightforward story but it still gets you thinking.
Honorable mentions:
The Story, Black Elvis, Nilda
Take-home message:
Another average year in the BASS series. There are certainly great stories mixed in though, and the diversity of stories makes it more entertaining in general.
The Beautiful Days is one of my favorite stories and I don't exactly know why. It's fairly long and there's a lot of development that may or may not be necessary, but by the end I am always just fascinated and staring into space wondering, how did we get here?
The Fix is a story with a simple premise, but the quick and riveting extrapolation of that premise gives poignant meaning to the phrase "a gift and a curse."
The Third and Final Continent is another good example of Lahiri's acclaimed style. It's a straightforward story but it still gets you thinking.
Honorable mentions:
The Story, Black Elvis, Nilda
Take-home message:
Another average year in the BASS series. There are certainly great stories mixed in though, and the diversity of stories makes it more entertaining in general.
December 19, 2014
Every story is a nine or a ten. It’s like being faced with a large box of Godiva chocolates and being forced to pick your favorite(s). All stories should move (go somewhere) like these. Prose that moves (the reader) like these.
Ron Carlson's "The Ordinary Son" is great, so much evocative detail bringing a certain period alive.
Kathleen Hill's "The Anointed," is quite fine. She uses great allusions to literature and music in developing the character of a teacher. The teacher's diction is so elevated yet is never condescending, always uttered to raise her students up. She is one who opens herself up to her students yet withholds in an odd but necessary combination. She may be a failed artist but without rancor or bitterness. Teaching becomes her art.
And many more. Check out this volume from your local library!
Ron Carlson's "The Ordinary Son" is great, so much evocative detail bringing a certain period alive.
Kathleen Hill's "The Anointed," is quite fine. She uses great allusions to literature and music in developing the character of a teacher. The teacher's diction is so elevated yet is never condescending, always uttered to raise her students up. She is one who opens herself up to her students yet withholds in an odd but necessary combination. She may be a failed artist but without rancor or bitterness. Teaching becomes her art.
And many more. Check out this volume from your local library!
January 1, 2009
I love short stories. Each of these "Best ofs" definitely reflects that year's editor. I especially liked "The Gilgul of Park Avenue" by Nathan Englander and "The Anointed" by Kathleen Hill.
Quote from The Anointed:
"We cannot see into the mysteries of another person's life, dear boys and girls. We have no way of knowing what deaths a soul has sustained before the final one. It is for this reason that we must never presume to judge or to speak in careless ways about lives of which we understand nothing. I tell you this so that you may nor forget it. We may honor many things in life. But for someone else's sorrow we must reserve our deepest bow."
Quote from The Anointed:
"We cannot see into the mysteries of another person's life, dear boys and girls. We have no way of knowing what deaths a soul has sustained before the final one. It is for this reason that we must never presume to judge or to speak in careless ways about lives of which we understand nothing. I tell you this so that you may nor forget it. We may honor many things in life. But for someone else's sorrow we must reserve our deepest bow."
September 11, 2014
Took a long time to get through this, because at first I skipped around reading authors I knew, and then I went back and started from the beginning. A solid, rewarding collection of diverse voices. Of course, there are stories one will like more than others, but honestly, there are no duds here.
The stories are arranged alphabetically, based on the author's name, which is almost like not bothering to arrange them at all. I guess this prevents the dilemma of trying to select "one of the better stories" to start out the collection.
The stories are arranged alphabetically, based on the author's name, which is almost like not bothering to arrange them at all. I guess this prevents the dilemma of trying to select "one of the better stories" to start out the collection.
February 19, 2008
There is a story in here by Michael Byers called "The Beautiful Days." Apparently it is loosely based on his senior year at Oberlin (I say loosely because I have no idea if these things actually happened to him, only that the descriptions of the college and town are dead on). I find myself coming back to this story a lot not just because he evokes the place so well, but also because it's an example of a story that is not flashy yet memorable.
August 18, 2009
Thus far, my favorite group of selections (of the Best American Short Stories series). You really surprised me, Mr. Doctorow. Congrats!
Favorites:
"The Story" (The last sentence really tore my heart to shreds)
"The Ordinary Son" (hilarious)
"The Fix"
"Good for the Soul" (ending = worth it)
"The Beautiful Days"
"People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water" (again, the ending... ahhhhh "hu hu hu")
Favorites:
"The Story" (The last sentence really tore my heart to shreds)
"The Ordinary Son" (hilarious)
"The Fix"
"Good for the Soul" (ending = worth it)
"The Beautiful Days"
"People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water" (again, the ending... ahhhhh "hu hu hu")
May 22, 2010
More short stories; a very different rhythm is required than for novels. It's better to try and finish a story in one sitting, because it's very hard to pick up the thread if you put the book down.
I think that how much I like these collections depends very much on how much I like the editor.
A few of my favorites this time;
"The Ordinary Son" Ron Carlson
"He's At The Office" Allan Gurganus
"People In Hell Just Want A Drink Of Water" Annie Proulx
I think that how much I like these collections depends very much on how much I like the editor.
A few of my favorites this time;
"The Ordinary Son" Ron Carlson
"He's At The Office" Allan Gurganus
"People In Hell Just Want A Drink Of Water" Annie Proulx
August 8, 2012
Another fine collection. I like meandering through the collection willy-nilly. Discovered some new authors I will now have to try to find either collections by them or novel length works. But really, I do enjoy a tasty little tid bit of a story. Anyone who thinks the short story collections are over, hasn't picked up one of these volumes yet. So many different genres in one book! Divine.....
March 7, 2010
I am in a short story phase right now. I am going to read as many of these "Best American Short Stories" as I can get my hands on. This one was great. Short stories are such a different way to tell a story. My favorites in this collection was 'The Anointed' by Kathleen Hill, and 'The Fix' by Percival Everett.
December 20, 2007
Stand-out after stand-out in this one. Starts out with Amy Bloom's "The Story," which is just shockingly good.
Read it at the beach. It was falling apart there, its cracking spine filling with sand. I remember holding it together against the gusting breeze, which wanted to take its pages away.
Read it at the beach. It was falling apart there, its cracking spine filling with sand. I remember holding it together against the gusting breeze, which wanted to take its pages away.
March 18, 2012
There are some good stories here, but I've read better editions of this collection. My five favorites (no particular order) are "The Fix," "He's at the Office," "Brownies," "People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water," and "The Third and Final Continent."
Read
August 3, 2019Some uplifting stuff (He's at the Office). Plenty of disturbing stuff (People in Hell Just Want a Drink of Water and Basil the Dog).
November 3, 2012
Fantastic collection from this year
June 1, 2014
This is one of the best volumes in "The Best American" series. Only one or two misses in this collection.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews