American Short Story Masterpieces: A Rich Selection of Recent Fiction from America's Best Modern Writers
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Book Overview
This highly acclaimed collection of short stories by American writers contains only the best literary art of the past four decades. Editors Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks have selected fiction that "tells a story"-and tells it with a masterful handling of language, situation, and insight. But what is so special about this volume is that it mirrors our age, our concerns, and our lives. Whether it's the end of a marriage, as in Bobbie Ann Manson's "Shiloh," or the struggle with self-esteem and weight in Andre Dubus's "The Fat Girl," the 36 works included her probe issues that give us that "shock of recognition" that is the hallmark of great art--wonderful, absorbing fiction that will be read and reread for decades to come.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0440204232
ISBN13:9780440204237
Release Date:April 1989
Publisher:Dell
Length:528 Pages
Weight:0.61 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 4.2" x 6.9"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
Best Bang for the Buck
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
Perhaps I am biased by nostalgia since this was the text used way back in my high school creative writing class, but this sublime anthology is pound for pound the best collection of short fiction around. There are other excellent collections -- Scribner's Anthology of Contemporary Short Fiction comes to mind -- but ASS masterpieces (as we called it back then) has a splendid mix of short story classics in addition to an absurd number of gems. On the all-time classic side, there is "Sonny's Blues," "Rock Springs," "Where are you Going, Where Have you Been?", "A Good Man is Hard to Find," "The Conversion of the Jews," and "The Liar" just to name a few. It's already a terrific list; how many other collections have all these under one roof? But then there are a whole host of lesser-known stories that push this sucker over the top. "1/3, 1/3, 1/3," "A Poetics for Bullies," "The Ledge," "The Heavenly Animal" ... all first-rate stories. And it's only $8.00! Forget Best American Short Stories of the Century. Forget the Norton Anthology. If you can only have one fiction anthology on your shelf, this should be the one.
Contains some of the best short stories I have ever read.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
I read "Midair" standing up in the bookstore. This book contains some true classics in short story writing.
Great book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This book will boggle your mind. The words used to describe the situations in the short stories. There are more that many excellent stories in this book. I find it more enjoyable that a single novel. Advanced school programs use this as a learning experience. It is a 4 star book.
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