An anthology of eighteen original short stories features contributions by Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, E.L. Doctorow, Lawrence Block, Ed McBain, Erica Jong, and Nancy Taylor Rosenberg
Such a disappoint! 18 writers who have nothing in common except their publisher, who probably twisted arms to get this thing together. Stephen King and Joyce Carol Oates came through but “A Place for Nathan” by Rosenberg was was pathetic and “The Unsung Song of Mary Gallinger” was another pitiful story about a woman who gets it all in the end. I could have skipped the last few stories.
I like to read a short story between finishing a book and starting a new one. Kind of like a palate cleanser. I really liked some of these stories, but I did not understand why there was a pottery section in the book. The poems felt really out of place.
My favorite authors had excellent stories and those that are not on that list tended to have less interesting stories. Great selection of authors and interests.