Rating: 
Summary: Hit and (mostly) miss.
Review: After the disappointment of Carol Shields' last book, the novel Larry's Party, I thought I would give her a second try with this collection of short stories. At times Shields doesn't disappoint - Dressing Up For The Carnival has a few wonderful stories - I particularly like 'Mirrors'. However, in many stories Shields tries to put an imaginative and poetic slant on the everyday banal - but sadly with little success. Most of the stories here seem forced, the result of some self-imposed writing excerise that in the end read like teenage creative writing exams. For such an accomplished writer many of these stories seem young and naive - even unfinished perhaps. Her themes of aging women, often disappointed by life or the infidelities of men, are bittersweet but in the end left me with nothing.
Rating:
Summary: Hit and (mostly) miss.
Review: After the disappointment of Carol Shields' last book, the novel Larry's Party, I thought I would give her a second try with this collection of short stories. At times Shields doesn't disappoint - Dressing Up For The Carnival has a few wonderful stories - I particularly like 'Mirrors'. However, in many stories Shields tries to put an imaginative and poetic slant on the everyday banal - but sadly with little success. Most of the stories here seem forced, the result of some self-imposed writing excerise that in the end read like teenage creative writing exams. For such an accomplished writer many of these stories seem young and naive - even unfinished perhaps. Her themes of aging women, often disappointed by life or the infidelities of men, are bittersweet but in the end left me with nothing.
Rating: 
Summary: A True Example of Writing as Art
Review: Carol Shields can take an ordinary word and polish it into a shining gemstone. Finely-tuned phrases are scattered plentifully throughout each chapter of _Dressing Up for the Carnival_, straddling the gap between poetry and fiction. This collection of stories is so spare, it almost feels empty at first. But you find Shields has emptied her work of distractions and needless explanations so you can more clearly see . Her focus on minute details is selective and purposeful. She reveals deep insights on the human condition through small observations-ones only a keen observer could see, and only a master writer like Shields could translate into words. If you want to be entertained, this book may not be for you. If you want to think deeply and be stirred to a higher level of emotion, pick up this book. You'll find yourself setting it down after every story so you can absorb each word.
Rating: 
Summary: Hooked by Carol Shields
Review: Carol Shields hooked me in with Stone Diaries and I have subsequently enjoyed Happenstance, Larry's Party and a Celibate Season. I have just completed Dressing Up for the Carnival and am yet again amazed by Carol's ability to take the simplest things and see into them and beyond their common use. The story Mirrors is a typical example - we take them so much for granted and yet we do not look at them but "into them". Her language is rich, descriptive, insightful and makes me want to hear her voice. I love the glimpses she gives into married lives and the various swings and roundabouts of relationships, the distances between people and the tiny, meaningful, tender moments - Windows is a typical example. I am delighted to discover that I have many more of her books to enjoy and am now about to continue my research on Carol with the help of this site.
Rating:
Summary: Hooked by Carol Shields
Review: Carol Shields hooked me in with Stone Diaries and I have subsequently enjoyed Happenstance, Larry's Party and a Celibate Season. I have just completed Dressing Up for the Carnival and am yet again amazed by Carol's ability to take the simplest things and see into them and beyond their common use. The story Mirrors is a typical example - we take them so much for granted and yet we do not look at them but "into them". Her language is rich, descriptive, insightful and makes me want to hear her voice. I love the glimpses she gives into married lives and the various swings and roundabouts of relationships, the distances between people and the tiny, meaningful, tender moments - Windows is a typical example. I am delighted to discover that I have many more of her books to enjoy and am now about to continue my research on Carol with the help of this site.
Rating: 
Summary: I Enjoy Her Complete Novels Much More
Review: Carol Shields is an amazingly talented author and her books amaze me. I am a huge fan of "The Stone Diaries" and I personally think it's one of the best novels of our time, but I must confess that I don't enjoy her work in short stories. I think that her talent is better suited for novels and I certainly think she deserves a world of praise for her books. But, again I didn't really like this one as much. I found it fragmented and hard to follow. It was lackluster and I was really hoping for more. Sadly, I can't rave about this book as much I would have liked.
Rating:
Summary: I Enjoy Her Complete Novels Much More
Review: Carol Shields is an amazingly talented author and her books amaze me. I am a huge fan of "The Stone Diaries" and I personally think it's one of the best novels of our time, but I must confess that I don't enjoy her work in short stories. I think that her talent is better suited for novels and I certainly think she deserves a world of praise for her books. But, again I didn't really like this one as much. I found it fragmented and hard to follow. It was lackluster and I was really hoping for more. Sadly, I can't rave about this book as much I would have liked.
Rating:
Summary: A splendid storyteller.
Review: Dressing Up for the Carnival is a novel where the ordinary and typical become unusual and special in the hands of this splendid storyteller.
Rating:
Summary: A paragon of mediocrity
Review: I recently finished reading Carol Shields' short story collection, Dressing Up for the Carnival. I'm a big fan of Carol Shields, having enjoyed Larry's Party, The Stone Diaries, even adding Swann to my wicked Top Five list - but this one didn't hit the spot. Although the stories were charming and well-written, they weren't engrossing. I need to be EN-GROSSED! Instead I felt like I was wading through the bad stuff (I use the term "bad" for effect only) to get to the good. Some real gems here, but not a stellar collection. Somewhat recommended - that is, to fans, and not just the casual passerby.
Rating:
Summary: stories that stretch how we see the world
Review: It's hard to describe the effect of these stories -- perhaps mindbending would be as close as you can get. Who else would devote whole stories to keys, or a meteorologist strike or the founder of a nudist camp? My only small complaint is that at times some of the stories, especially those taking place in the academic realm, are almost too clever for their own good. The collection as a whole though is strong and quite imaginative and profound. Shields is certainly an interesting writer -- there is nary a dull moment and some quite enlightening ones.
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