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More Stories We Tell: The Best Contemporary Short Stories by North American Women
The second collection drawn together by editor Wendy Martin, these twenty-four exquisite examples of contemporary writing feature stories by Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, Mary Gaitskill, Alice Munro, Sandra Cisneros, and Lorrie Moore (to name a few).
We Are the Stories We Tell is also available from Pantheon.
We Are the Stories We Tell is also available from Pantheon.
384 pages, Paperback
First published April 27, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 16, 2013
Today my Japanese ESL student and I chose this book from the shelves of our library. It seems that with all of our activities, the choice of a short story anthology would be wisest.We agreed that our mutual decision proved to be most satisfactory upon our completion of the very first story.
Silver Water, by Amy Bloom, told of a family struggling with a young daughter's schizophrenia. It was evident in this brief tale the frustration, sadness and yearning they were experiencing. Nevertheless, Bloom was able to interject notes of humor and whimsy.
I look forward to reading more stories with its wonderful collection of authors; Margaret Atwood, Louise Erdrich, Jhumpa Lahiri and Alice Munro- to name a few!
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Today we read, Love, Forever , by Joyce Carol Oates. I prefaced our session by stating that I did not generally care for this author, but the length was well suited for our time together. It soon became obvious that I had made an ill-fated choice. At the risk of introducing a SPOILER here, I must explain. It is now five days since the horrifying massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. We both groaned and winced to discover that this story was about a divorced young woman, who desiring the love of her new boyfriend, shoots and slays her three small children. I will not divulge the ending of this loathsome tale. At the conclusion, my student said, "Now I know why you don't like this author".
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Ma, a Memoir , by Lynn Freed is a brief narrative about a woman and an episode with her elderly mother. It is apparent that Ma is senile, but Freed has approached this with sweetness, patience and even a note of humor. I am unfamiliar with this author, but I view this effort with more than a little respect.
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We have completed our reading of this book. I cannot conclude without mentioning Jhumpa Lahiri's story. As expected, she did not disappoint, rather she provided a snippet of enjoyment. This is the tale of a young Indian couple living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who have had the sad experience of the birth of a stillborn child. As always, Lahiri has expertly captured the mood and the surroundings of these people. My only criticsm of this is that I thirsted for more, but this is always the case with Lahiri's writing!
Silver Water, by Amy Bloom, told of a family struggling with a young daughter's schizophrenia. It was evident in this brief tale the frustration, sadness and yearning they were experiencing. Nevertheless, Bloom was able to interject notes of humor and whimsy.
I look forward to reading more stories with its wonderful collection of authors; Margaret Atwood, Louise Erdrich, Jhumpa Lahiri and Alice Munro- to name a few!
************
Today we read, Love, Forever , by Joyce Carol Oates. I prefaced our session by stating that I did not generally care for this author, but the length was well suited for our time together. It soon became obvious that I had made an ill-fated choice. At the risk of introducing a SPOILER here, I must explain. It is now five days since the horrifying massacre in Newtown, Connecticut. We both groaned and winced to discover that this story was about a divorced young woman, who desiring the love of her new boyfriend, shoots and slays her three small children. I will not divulge the ending of this loathsome tale. At the conclusion, my student said, "Now I know why you don't like this author".
************
Ma, a Memoir , by Lynn Freed is a brief narrative about a woman and an episode with her elderly mother. It is apparent that Ma is senile, but Freed has approached this with sweetness, patience and even a note of humor. I am unfamiliar with this author, but I view this effort with more than a little respect.
*************
We have completed our reading of this book. I cannot conclude without mentioning Jhumpa Lahiri's story. As expected, she did not disappoint, rather she provided a snippet of enjoyment. This is the tale of a young Indian couple living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who have had the sad experience of the birth of a stillborn child. As always, Lahiri has expertly captured the mood and the surroundings of these people. My only criticsm of this is that I thirsted for more, but this is always the case with Lahiri's writing!
December 1, 2022
read for class —
having read one of wendy martin’s other story collections, this one is definitely special. all of the stories have similarities and common themes. it makes it incredibly special to read. it’s also so fun when something clicks in one story because of something you read in another one! jhumpa lahiri’s story is definitely my favorite one that was included.
having read one of wendy martin’s other story collections, this one is definitely special. all of the stories have similarities and common themes. it makes it incredibly special to read. it’s also so fun when something clicks in one story because of something you read in another one! jhumpa lahiri’s story is definitely my favorite one that was included.
October 11, 2023
Read these stories one a day.
Read
September 1, 2016Some beautiful stories in this collection. I look forward to using it in my beginning fiction class this fall.
September 26, 2025
I don’t usually read short stories, so this collection was a challenge to get through, and honestly, it felt like there were too many. Still, a handful really stood out for me (Silver Water, Tiny, Smiling Daddy, Ma, a Memoir, and The Passenger were all 5 stars). Taken together, the stories explore themes of family, identity, self-discovery, and the quiet struggles that shape our lives. Overall, a mixed but rewarding experience, averaging out to about 4 stars.
February 15, 2026
2.5
I got this book from the library because it had the story "never marry a mexican," by Sandra cisneros. The title of this story has always stayed with me, though the content of the story is not what I had imagined it to be. Nevertheless, I wanted to read it again.
These are the three stories that had three star ratings from me.
Silver water, Amy bloom, three stars
Hairball, Margaret atwood, three stars
Able, baker, charlie, dog, Stephanie vaughn, three stars
I got this book from the library because it had the story "never marry a mexican," by Sandra cisneros. The title of this story has always stayed with me, though the content of the story is not what I had imagined it to be. Nevertheless, I wanted to read it again.
These are the three stories that had three star ratings from me.
Silver water, Amy bloom, three stars
Hairball, Margaret atwood, three stars
Able, baker, charlie, dog, Stephanie vaughn, three stars
June 19, 2009
Although I didn't particularly enjoy this collection, it's not because Wendy Martin has cherrypicked stories that are too culturally varied for me to be able to relate to on some deeper level. In fact, that is the best thing going for this book. It really takes a gander at writing from a wide range of mitigated groups of women. Interesting.
It is unfortunate that the stories that move Martin are not ones that move me. I don't know why. I generally found them boring and somewhat flimsy. I can think of a number of stories (by many of the same authors) that would be better suited to being anthologized. Perhaps there were copyright issues.
Regardless, my favorites are Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson" and Sandra Cisneros' "Never Marry a Mexican." The former explores economic inequality and the early 70's burgeoning culture of windowshoppers through the lens of a child, and the latter portrays the life of an adulterer on an edge between cultures.
It is unfortunate that the stories that move Martin are not ones that move me. I don't know why. I generally found them boring and somewhat flimsy. I can think of a number of stories (by many of the same authors) that would be better suited to being anthologized. Perhaps there were copyright issues.
Regardless, my favorites are Toni Cade Bambara's "The Lesson" and Sandra Cisneros' "Never Marry a Mexican." The former explores economic inequality and the early 70's burgeoning culture of windowshoppers through the lens of a child, and the latter portrays the life of an adulterer on an edge between cultures.
February 19, 2008
This is a great anthology of stories written by American women. Its collection has a good variety of writers from all areas of the American cultural experience that many anthologies tend leave out and focus on a more white American experience.
July 22, 2010
A gem of a collection! A chilling 4 page Oates story that read like a psychological horror film intermixed with the likes of Andrea Lee and Margaret Atwood allows for the perfect nightcap or subway companion.
July 11, 2016
A really great collection of stories - they resonate, intrigue, and provoke.
July 12, 2021
4.5 Fantastic collection of short stories.
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November 20, 2018Read this over senior week. I liked some stories more than others, but I appreciated the idea behind the collection more than anything else.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews