American Short Stories

by Douglas Grant

The American short story is one of the most distinct and important branches of the form. This selection from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries illustrates some of its finest achievements. Tales of the frontier, friendship, and life's experiences abound with lively characters, humorous incidents, and vivid descriptions. These fourteen stories, each in its way significant and influential, introduce the art and tradition of the short story as it was developed and extended by authors such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Henry James, and Ernest Hemingway. `This series of short stories is the bargain of the century. Snap them up while you can.' Daily Mail

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

398 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[WC Beaver · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Hemingway is a classic, but others in this volume selected and introduced by Douglas Grant fall short. Poe was a genius in all his works, his "The Black Cat" is a good choice, but the selection of Melville's "Benito Cereno" tests the pervasiveness of the most ardent sailor.
"Roman Fever" by Wharton is clever, as is the tale of bluejays dropping acorns down a hole in a house roof by Twain. London's "The Heathen" is insightful", while "The Beast in the Jungle" by Henry James tries a reader's patience.
Overall, the selection are warranted. How can stories by Hawthorne, Faulkner, Bierce, Garland, Crane, Anderson, and Porter not entertain?

[Lucynell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The American short story is one of my favorite possibly favorite kind of fiction and it's a good thing there's so much of it. This kinda old anthology includes 14 by some of the most famous writers of the genre. It's uneven but the highlights are really good. The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James would be a standout wherever it was included, its climax such stunning flow of I don't know what, poetry, possibly. Hamlin Garland's The Return of a Private is sentimental in the best sense of the word. It should be enough and it is. Stephen Crane's The Open Boat is awesome adventure and reminded me of Herman Melville who is also here but not all the way. Sherwood Anderson's I Want to Know Why negotiates innocence and individuality and that's always nice and I will certainly read more of his work if I can get it. Katharine Anne Porter's A Day's Work is an ode to resilience and has one of those things were the protagonist is always present yet kinda in the background until the end when you realize the whole thing is about them. Rough and funny. Others I'm sure may prefer other stories included here but those are the ones that stuck with me. Cool stuff.

[Prerna Munshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were some really refreshing stories in the Anthology. I loved the vivid depiction of abandonment and the constant attempt at survival in Stephen Crane's The Open Boat. Such lucid writing creates a firm and hypnotising visual landscape for the reader.
I also liked William Faulkner's Dry September which deals with complex issues of racism where a white man, ignorant of his own hypocrisy, goes on to lynch a black man for a crime that is not yet established.
Jack London's The Heathen is also captivating for its narration of an unparalleled friendship between a white and a colored man. Edith Wharton's Roman Fever slyly breaks the age old illusions of the two lady protagonists but with subtle humor.
Henry James writes about the Beast in the Jungle with such dexterity. A man welcomes his own doomed love life , despite having a great woman by his side for he is under a constant sense of foreboding. He is himself the beast.

There are stories like Poe's The Black Cat and Hemingway's Francis Macomber that come with Trigger Warnings of explicit depictions of animal harm. They may be read with care.

Recommending.

[Steven Groner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable works that range chronologically from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Ernest Hemingway ... basically mid-19th through mid-20th Centuries.

[Cindy Lofgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Black Cat was the only intriguing story in the bunch.