Men and Women

by Erskine Caldwell, Carvel Collins

A collection of Caldwell's finest short stories moves deftly from youth to old age. Caldwell shows great perception of adolescent awakening to awareness of physical love and the often humorous tribulations of youthful courtship. Marriage and aspects of love and life in later years are the subjects of further stories, as well as an astute glance at old age and death before finishing with the fantastic story of the fly in the coffin.

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Erskine Preston Caldwell was an American author. His writings about poverty, racism and social problems in his native South won him critical acclaim, but they also made him controversial among fellow Southerners of the time who felt he was holding the region up to ridicule.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erskine_...

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is nothing overly inspiring amongst these works. As per usual, Caldwell is very descriptive in his works and his themes cover race, sex, alcohol, however, in these collected works there was a lack of religion and priests involved. If you have read Love and Money and Black and White, some of these stories have been repeated. In some ways the biggest cheat of these stories is that the majority of these stories aren't really short stories in their own right, they are a compilation of chapters from is main works. It is in part an attempt to create more works for Caldwell to sell as books but, not an original text within its own right.

If you are looking to get into Caldwell as an author this is a wonderful work to pick up and read. For someone who has read a lot of his works, there will be very few and original stories within it to keep you amused.

[Jay Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this collection very uneven. The first five stories were interesting as well as “Country Full of Swedes” and a couple others. Then there were others that were just boring (which is the worst thing you can say about a story, right?).

[Gu Kun · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved Caldwell's "Tobacco Road", "God's Little Acre" and his short story "August Afternoon". Didn't like any of the fourteen (of twenty-two) stories I read from this book. For me, a good story should have a plot and a payoff. These don't. They're more like sketches (of good-old rural life). A major disappointment.

[G-phy · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is a bit like a Southern Steinbeck. There were a few stories that involved dead dogs that I had to skip, but all and all I really like the simplicity and sadness of his stories. Also I think Erskine is more of a woman's name.