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A Faker's Dozen by Melvin Jules Bukiet ....Bukiet's writing is nothing if not innovative All Over by Roy Kesey.. In love with language and unconstrained by the bounds of realism, Kesey's wordplay is wondrous and astonishing American Cool by Susan DiPlacido.. hard-baked and brash on the surface as Las Vegas itself, the best stories have a quiet heart, shaped by dreaming and wanting. Aromabingo by David Gaffney.. An economy of language matches a rewarding vision of the many lives and voices of irreal, sad and hopeful strangers Astral Bodies by Jay Merrill... Seductive... Every story demands time, demands thought....
Back Burning by Sylvia Petter... A mixed bag, with some stand out pieces. The best displayed a dazzling sense of place and a sympathetic understanding of fractured relationships The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers... Sometimes
wistfully sad, yet displaying the extraordinary variety and vivacity of
human life Barcelona Plates by Alexei Sayle... full
of
detailed observations on the peculiarities of human existence, moving
between pathos, exasperation, warmth, violence The Best American Mystery Stories 2007
edited by Carl Hiaasen..Wide ranging
collection that should reach beyond mystery lovers to appeal
to fans
of plot-driven fiction. Best of Best American Erotica 2008
edited by Susie Bright.. demonstrates
that erotica is an organizing principle, not a genre laden with
pre-conceived notions about sex. The Birthday of the World and Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin .. an exploration of a world unlike ours, yet peopled by characters very much like us. The Book of Other People edited by Zadie Smith... A real mix: some blah, some good, a couple of stunning short stories. All proceeds to 826 New York Black Tickets by Jayne Anne Phillips... Unflinchingly honest in its portrayal of characters at the margins of American society, written in spare, powerful prose Breaking it Down by Rusty Barnes... Barnes' characters stay with you for a long while afterwards, the ultimate test of a great short story collection.
The Collected Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield.. belie the perception of a whole class and generation of writers (and women) as closeted, white-gloved, garden party-goers. Come Together, Fall Apart by Cristina Henriquez... paints a lush portrait of everyday people craving connection in these beautiful stories set in modern Panama. The Complete Short Stories by Muriel Spark ... From ghost story to surreal fantasy, social commentary, murder mystery, psychological thriller The Complete Short Stories by JG Ballard ... Ballard doesn’t just stretch your mind – he twists it, snaps it and then reassembles it in the wrong order.
The Deportees by Roddy Doyle... In Roddy Doyle’s first collection, he writes humorous tales about Irish immigrants that usually hit the mark..
Family Connections by Chrissie Gittins ... She’s like a female Alan Bennett, such is the power of her observation. Fifteen Modern Tales of Attraction by Alison MacLeod ... a fearless writer, pushing at the shape of short stories. G Gaza Blues by Etgar Keret and Samir el-Youssef ... Darkly funny, surreal and moving Heavier than Air by Nona Caspers ... Richly humane, compassionate, unassuming stories with a touch of the darkly comedic HeavyGlow Flash Fiction Anthology by Various ... Wonderfully rich and eclectic mix of stories
I ID Crimes of Identity:The Crime Writers’ Association Anthology by Various...Beautifully packaged, eclectic, surprising stories from new and established crime writers In Dreams Begin Responsibilities by Delmore Schwartz... Eight stories of such intellectual brevity as to make your nerves twitch. Later, At the Bar by Rebecca Barry... a clear-eyed look at a boozy world. Barry's wry humor keeps the dark territory from getting tedious. I liked it a lot. Leading the Dance by Sarah Salway ... Raw and edgy fiction, tackling modern subjects of love, sensuality and betrayal in appealing, stylistic language. Logorrhea: Good Words Make Good Stories by Various edited by John Klima ... inspired by hard-to-spell words ...authors rise to the challenge with wit and imagination The Loudest Sound and Nothing by Clare Wigfall ... A dark, disturbing and quite beautiful collection
McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories by Various... Dazzling imagination and fine writing go hand in hand Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link... weaves realistic character portrayals with noir fairy tales and new monster stories to create wondrous-yet-familiar worlds. Midnight Convoy and Other Stories by S. Yizhar... A powerful evocation of land and landscape, through intense storytelling... My Mistress' Sparrow is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro by Various...Here be love: abortive, adolescent, adulterous, ageing, blind, deceitful, doomed, forgotten, furtive, futuristic, impecunious, jealous, lost, marital, physical, posthumous, polyamorous, precocious, promiscuous, til-death-do-part and unconsummated love. Music for the Off-Key: Twelve Macabre Short Stories by Courttia Newland ... Authentic voices reflect the experiences of young Black people in London, in a style embracing several genres: fantasy, crime, literary and horror. ...
N No-one Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July... this book is a collection of QUIRKY short stories The Norton Book of Science Fiction by Various, edited by Ursula K. Le Guin and Brian Attebery... this collection represents excellence and innovation in science fiction writing spanning some thirty years, from 1960 to 1990. O Other Stories and Other Stories by Ali Smith... Ali Smith’s brilliant second collection maps new possibilities for the short story. PPassport to crime edited by Janet Hutchings... expanded my interest in crime and detective fiction written in the non-English speaking world.. Q R S The Secret Files of the Diogenes Club by Kim Newman.. Gripping, closely observed and quietly humorous tales that don’t disappoint. A fine introduction to Kim Newman’s interlinking realities. Self Help by Lorrie Moore...sharply clever collection ... satirizing the self-help genre, through an edgy, sometimes painful humour. Some New Ambush by Carys Davies...A solid collection of previous prizewinners, where mistakes have unexpected consequences and children bring anxiety. The Sky is a Well and Other Shorts by Claudia Smith... One flash from this collection packs the narrative/descriptive density of a novel. Sleepers Almanac by Various... Stories by Australia's hottest new writers St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell... bizarre settings, unbelievable plots and incredible characters.... The strangest thing is that they work emotionally too. The Stories of Ray Bradbury: Volume 2 by Ray Bradbury... Ray Bradbury’s eclectic and vividly imagined stories, first published in 1943, still have the power to grip the 21st century reader. Tales of Galicia by Andzrej Stasiuk... a kaleidoscope view of post-Communist Poland haunted by the past. Ten Journeys Through the Unknown by Heather Beck... Some original plot ideas, but the writing was too sloppy to enjoy. Rigorous editing would have improved this book a lot. There
Are Little Kingdoms by Kevin Barry... Rich, beautifully
written stories in an Irish setting ... And funny to boot. The Third Shore anthology by Various... diverse and unusual collection of women’s stories from 18 countries. The Turning by Tim Winton ... The power of Tim Winton’s writing lies in its spareness; with relatively few words, he is able to depict characters and scenarios that ring absolutely true. Two Tall Tales and One Short Novel by Heidi James, Kay Sexton, Lucy Fry ... A mix of very good and not so good.
U Under Compulsion by Thomas M. Disch ... For lovers of literary SF, surrealism and horror. Sardonic, cynical and coldly unsettling. V W Walking the Labyrinth by Brian George... Beautifully written, closely observed, ..vibrant characters. The Wind Across the Grass by Nuala Ní Chonchúir... Delicious mischief this writer achieved with language. Each chapter took me on a brutal or an ethereal journey... The Wow Signal by Patrick Chapman... A varied, left of field collection of dark stories, with poetic, innovative writing.
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