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The Best American Short Stories 2019
(The Best American Short Stories)
by
#1 New York Times best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anthony Doerr brings his“stunning sense of physical detail and gorgeous metaphors” (San Francisco Chronicle) to selecting The Best American Short Stories 2019.
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Hardcover, 400 pages
Published
October 1st 2019
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
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Mark Cofta
I found it a fun little tale, framed by a more complex thought about how time changes places and people.
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I've always loved the Best American Short Stories series, but I've only reviewed one of the volumes on here. It's about time I reviewed another.
As I wrote in the earlier review, what I like most about these collections is discovering new authors. That was definitely true this year. Of the 20 authors in this collection, I had only heard of 10 before, and of those 10 I had only read books by 3 of them. So: lots of discoveries, lots of names committed to memory, lots of scanning biographies to take ...more
As I wrote in the earlier review, what I like most about these collections is discovering new authors. That was definitely true this year. Of the 20 authors in this collection, I had only heard of 10 before, and of those 10 I had only read books by 3 of them. So: lots of discoveries, lots of names committed to memory, lots of scanning biographies to take ...more

Stories liked:
The Era by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Bronze by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Plan by Sigrid Nunez
Audition by Said Sayrafiezadeh
Natural Disasters by Alexis Schaitkin
Wrong Object by Mona Simpson
The rest of them, I read the first page or so and decided not to finish.
I didn't check thoroughly, but I only noticed one animal being harmed (in one of the stories I skimmed, not one of the ones listed above). I would prefer zero, but this is much better than the O. Henry Prize Stories of 2019, in whic ...more
The Era by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Bronze by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Plan by Sigrid Nunez
Audition by Said Sayrafiezadeh
Natural Disasters by Alexis Schaitkin
Wrong Object by Mona Simpson
The rest of them, I read the first page or so and decided not to finish.
I didn't check thoroughly, but I only noticed one animal being harmed (in one of the stories I skimmed, not one of the ones listed above). I would prefer zero, but this is much better than the O. Henry Prize Stories of 2019, in whic ...more

On loan from a friend. I've rescued a bunch of these already, but this might be the first I'll have read. One tale per day ...
1 - The Era by Nana Kwame Adej-Brenyah. Very derivative of "Brave New World," but still quite arresting. Beware of the future!
2 - Natural Light by Kathleen Alcott. I'll leave this one to the editor ... "The prose in Kathleen Alcott's haunting 'Natural Light' is always trending away from straightforward clarity toward something more interesting; the central narrative hangs ...more
1 - The Era by Nana Kwame Adej-Brenyah. Very derivative of "Brave New World," but still quite arresting. Beware of the future!
2 - Natural Light by Kathleen Alcott. I'll leave this one to the editor ... "The prose in Kathleen Alcott's haunting 'Natural Light' is always trending away from straightforward clarity toward something more interesting; the central narrative hangs ...more

This is my first year reading the Best American Short Stories, after having gotten more into short stories over the last few years. I am not a fan of multi-author anthologies, finding them impossible to “get into” when each new story is like starting a new book, and that’s particularly true here, where there is no unifying theme. From reading a number of both brief and in-depth reviews of this collection and its stories, I have the sense this year wasn’t the best for this series. Many readers on
...more

There are many reasons I look forward to the annual collection of Best American Short Stories; it helps keep me out of reading ruts of reading the same type of fiction, it introduces me to new writers causing me to order their books(but never on Amazon), updates me on favorite writers. It also reminds me of my dislike certain types of writing; dystopian stories have greatly improved by skimming skills.
Some of my favorites from this year's collection:
Wendell Berry's "The Great Interruption" recal ...more
Some of my favorites from this year's collection:
Wendell Berry's "The Great Interruption" recal ...more

Notes mostly for myself here, as readers don't need to be encouraged to pick up The Best American Short Stories' annual collection; these collections are a touchstone for those of us who enjoy short stories and you'll either check it out or not.
Proof in point: I read the 2019 volume strictly because of my devotion to Anthony Doerr and was curious about what kind of stories he finds entertaining/intriguing.
I liked the exposure to some legendary authors; Ursula K. Le Guin's "Pity and Shame" was ...more
Proof in point: I read the 2019 volume strictly because of my devotion to Anthony Doerr and was curious about what kind of stories he finds entertaining/intriguing.
I liked the exposure to some legendary authors; Ursula K. Le Guin's "Pity and Shame" was ...more

Two of the stories in this anthology stood out for me. One was Nicole Krauss’s “Seeing Ershadi,” which is characterized by an incredible flow, that is, a structure where the sections jump around in time and place, but seem organic, work without any hitch. I will certainly reread it a few times to see how Krauss constructed it. The other is Ella Martinsen Gorham’s “Protozoa,” a story of eighth graders, the kind of story that, contentwise and stylewise (dialogue that is too realistic, texting, etc
...more

It's a good collection. The first story was my favourite, but there were many gems throughout.
...more

Hit or miss, like most of these collections. From awful to mesmerizing, and of course my mesmerizing may be your awful. One thing I look for in these yearly collections is to hear current authors writing about our culture today. There was enough of that here to work for me. Best of the best by Nicole Krauss and Alexis Schaitkin.

Oct 03, 2019
Karen Carlson
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
story-anthologies-multi-authors
When I wrote my opening post for this year’s volume (the tenth time I've blogged BASS), I admitted I was worried since the bar was set so high by last year’s edition, and the couple of years before. And yes, this year felt like a bit of a letdown. In terms of expectations, maybe it was something like a stock market correction. Still, there’s something to find in all these stories, even though none of them blew my socks off.
What’s interesting is that, while I was a bit meh about many of them whil ...more
What’s interesting is that, while I was a bit meh about many of them whil ...more

Curated by Anthony Doerr (ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE), 2019's shorts were selected with an eye towards breaking the rules of form: multiple protagonists, pages of exposition, ambling subplots, unlikable narrators. In theory it's an exciting approach, yet while none are outright failures many read like style in search of substance. Or where there is substance, the style is less remarkable. My favorites fell into the latter camp, particularly this top five:
"Anyone Can Do It," Manual Munoz -- a ti ...more
"Anyone Can Do It," Manual Munoz -- a ti ...more

Highly Opinionated Review--en garde!
When I started working toward a certificate in writing at UCLA Extension, I immediately realized how little American fiction I read. The instructors do not, as a rule, assign translated fiction or even much English language works from the UK or India. It has been interesting re-reading stuff I read in high school, like Flannery O'Connor, Joyce Carol Oates, Cheever, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. It has also been interesting reading contemporary short-stories. Regar ...more
When I started working toward a certificate in writing at UCLA Extension, I immediately realized how little American fiction I read. The instructors do not, as a rule, assign translated fiction or even much English language works from the UK or India. It has been interesting re-reading stuff I read in high school, like Flannery O'Connor, Joyce Carol Oates, Cheever, Hemingway and Fitzgerald. It has also been interesting reading contemporary short-stories. Regar ...more

Oct 29, 2020
Ryan
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
best-american-short-stories
Well, that's a wrap! I've officially read (and taken notes on) every story in every guest-edited BASS to date†. That's, what... 857 stories over 5.25 years and 42 volumes? And 106,964 words of notes?! Holy moly. It's truly strange to finally be arriving at the finish line. I just finished the last story a few minutes ago, so the expected feelings—pride, relief, emptiness—haven't really had a chance to emerge yet. Mostly I just feel a little stunned!
Anyway, the 2019 edition. Frankly, anything wou ...more
Anyway, the 2019 edition. Frankly, anything wou ...more

This collection was more or less my first foray into short stories. As can only be expected, there were some that spoke to me and resonated deeply, and some of which I just wasn’t a fan. Editor Anthony Doerr speaks about breaking rules and boundaries in his introduction, and some of the included authors did this with grace, humor, and meaning. Perhaps I’m just not a fan of postmodern fiction, but there were some stories in this collection that broke the rules in ways that were off putting or jus
...more

Overall a strong collection.
My favorites:
Maria Reva - "Letter of Apology" - sometimes the inquisitor learns from the targeted
Jeffrey Eugenides - "Bronze" - beauty comes in many guises and may not be so beautiful
Jamel Brinkley - "No More Than A Bubble" - the young fool grows up
Said Sayrafiezadeh - "Audition" - again, the fool grows up, this time with a reduced balance in his account.
Jim Shepard - "Our Day of Grace" - beautiful interlocking stories told in letters from Civil War soldiers and their ...more
My favorites:
Maria Reva - "Letter of Apology" - sometimes the inquisitor learns from the targeted
Jeffrey Eugenides - "Bronze" - beauty comes in many guises and may not be so beautiful
Jamel Brinkley - "No More Than A Bubble" - the young fool grows up
Said Sayrafiezadeh - "Audition" - again, the fool grows up, this time with a reduced balance in his account.
Jim Shepard - "Our Day of Grace" - beautiful interlocking stories told in letters from Civil War soldiers and their ...more

The first 4 or 5 stories were not enjoyable for me so I skimmed over them. They were not a style or genre I like. The remaining stories were interesting, diverse, and reminded me of why I have always liked reading short stories. I was glad I continued reading as I almost gave up after the initial disappointment in this collection. It's been a few years since I picked up the yearly Great American Short Stories collection. I need to make it an annual read again.
...more

Some excellent stories, some that once I finished the whole collection I could no longer remember. Stand outs: The Era (Adjei-Brenyah), The Great Interruption (Berry), The Third Tower (Eisenberg), Anyone Can Do It (Munoz), Natural Disasters (Schaitkin), and Wrong Object (Simpson). The introduction is excellent too.

Only got through 11 of 20 stories and 4 out of the 11 I didn't even finish. I'm all for a short story anthology, just not this one. Maybe the previous years have a better selection.
Also, the only reason I got this book in the first place was for my creative writing class, so... ...more
Also, the only reason I got this book in the first place was for my creative writing class, so... ...more

Here's my penny's worth.
"The Era" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - A first-person schoolkid lives in an age where children are encouraged to tell the truth, and gene-therapy is available for those with money. "I don't have any gene corrections. I wasn't optimised at all", he says. "Leslie is always telling lies about how great things are or how nice everyone looks and how everybody is special". He regularly get an injection of Happy from the school nurse.
"Natural Light" by Kathleen ...more
"The Era" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah - A first-person schoolkid lives in an age where children are encouraged to tell the truth, and gene-therapy is available for those with money. "I don't have any gene corrections. I wasn't optimised at all", he says. "Leslie is always telling lies about how great things are or how nice everyone looks and how everybody is special". He regularly get an injection of Happy from the school nurse.
"Natural Light" by Kathleen ...more

The Era by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah starts collection off with a bang. Did not expect to get drawn into the Eugenides story, but I was. Touching to see LeGuin here. Am I delusional, or once upon a time did these collections include more "unknown" writers? I would love to see that every year, especially because anthologies like Best New American Voices are gone.
...more

I’ve been reading this series since the late 1990’s and most of them have been very good. This one is topnotch for the most part, there were several stories that stuck with me and only a couple I thought didn’t belong. Anthony Doerr put together a nice mixture of stimulating short stories on the human condition.

As a professional writer, I do my best to keep up with short stories in literary magazines and The New Yorker (which is impossible since it's almost weekly.) That said, I like to read the books in this series because these stories are considered the best of the best. Each volume has a guest editor who reviews stories chosen by the series editor. (No, the guest editor doesn't actually read *every* short story published in the U.S./Canadian market before making selections. You can read about this
...more
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Anthony Doerr is the author of five books,
The Shell Collector
,
About Grace
,
Memory Wall
,
Four Seasons in Rome
and
All the Light We Cannot See
. Doerr’s fiction has won four O. Henry Prizes and has been anthologized in The Best American Short Stories, The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories, and The Scribner Anthology of Contemporary Fiction. He has won the Barnes & Noble
...more
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