The Best American Short Stories 1997: Selected from U.s. and Canadian Magazines - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0395798655 ISBN 13: 9780395798652

Publisher: Mariner Books, 1998

Synopsis

The best-selling story anthology includes both old and new talent, including Tobias Wolff, Donald Hall, Robert Stone, Cynthia Ozick, and Junot Diaz, and features works divided into such categories as "Perceived Social Values." Simultaneous.

About this title

About the Author:

E. Annie Proulx's novel The Shipping News recieved the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, the National Book Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. er other books include Heart Songs and Other Stories, Post Cards, and The Accordian Crimes. She currently lives in Wyoming.

From Kirkus Reviews:

Over 80 years old, this admirable series might consider a new rule: No stories included that will appear in book form before the "best" volume does. The latest entry features quite a few already reviewed by Kirkus as parts of story collections (Lydia Davis, Junot D¡az, Tobias Wolff, Tim Gautreaux, etc.) and even novels (by Cynthia Ozick and Clyde Edgerton). That caveat aside, Proulx selects stories from almost all major venues, which makes series editor Kenison's ramblings about on-line mags, none represented, a bit silly. Combative and feisty, Proulx clearly prefers more conventional narrative forms, though the subjects here are free-ranging. Standouts include Jonathan Franzen's ``Chez Lambert,'' a deft piece about an elderly couple and their daily lives in retirement. Equally textured and subtle is Jeffrey Eugenides's ``Air Mail,'' a chronicle of its narrator's post-collegiate Wanderjahr, which takes him to the East and an apparent experience of spiritual ecstasy. Heavily determined by place are Pam Durban's southern family tale ``Soon,'' about the legacies of tough-minded women; Donald Hall's anti-nostalgic ``From Willow Temple,'' spanning the century in Michigan and revealing the secret passions of some unforgiving people; and Alison Hagy's ``Search Bay,'' set on Michigan's Upper Peninsula and neatly reflecting the harsh life of its central figure, a retired seaman who lives alone. Richard Bausch defines the humor here with his hilarious ``Nobody in Hollywood,'' about two wayward brothers and the difficult women they encounter. Karen E. Bender's ``Eternal Love'' provides a touching counterpoint with its tale of two retarded adults getting married. Michelle Cliff and T.C. Boyle, both writers with heavy hands, consider the ironies of race and colonialism (Cliff) and the pro-life movement (Boyle). All in all, a strong sampling of what the major magazines (the New Yorker, Paris Review, GQ, etc.) are publishing these days. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Mariner Books
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0395798655
• ISBN 13: 9780395798652
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 400
• Editor: Proulx Annie, Wideman John Edgar, Kenison Katrina