Angels and Awakenings

by M. Cameron Grey, Warren Chappell (Illustrator)

A collection of spectral shorts features the divine works of O. Henry, Edgar Allen Poe, Oscar Wilde, Isaac Asimov, Flannery O'Connor, Gabriel Garci+a7a Ma+a7rquez, and others.

408 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Laura Luzzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading a story each morning about the wonderful angels.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the title, I gotta say this isn't at all what I thought it would be: if you're looking for uplifting spiritual stories...look elsewhere. (However, Oscar Wilde's gorgeous "The Selfish Giant", a highlight at 5 stars for me, is exactly what one might expect.) It's certainly hard to beat the list of authors contained herein. I checked this out of the library because I read a short story by Wilbur Daniel Steele in a collection of crime/mystery short stories and I wanted to find something else by this author. Oddly, goodreads is now recommending Stephen King's "Joyland" to me (I've read it) but I have no idea why.*
A few other notables:
Bernard Malamud - "Angel Levine" - 3 stars
Leo Tolstoy - "The Three Hermits" - 4 stars
Isaac Asimov - "The Last Trump" - 4 stars (it isn't what you think...)
The Man Who Saw Through Heaven" - Wilbur Daniel Steele - 4 stars
Flannery O'Connor - "Revelation" - 3 stars
Frank O'Connor - "The Man of the World" - 3 stars
Conrad Aiken - "Mr. Arcularis" - 5 stars. The highlight of this collection and one of my favorite short stories of all time.
John Cheever - "The Angel of the Bridge" - 3 stars
Eudora Welty - "A Still Moment" - 2 stars...I didn't get it.
H.G. Wells - "The Man Who Could Work Miracles" - 3 stars. The original "Lost in Space" series used this kind of story several times.

*Two things: 1) I don't understand the relationship between "Angels" and "Joyland". 2) I read "Joyland" because I stopped reading King with "Gerald's Game" (30+ years ag) but forgot why. Now I remember.