The Best American Short Stories 2004 (Best American Short Stories)

Rating:
Summary: Not so short stories
Review: Best American" delivers the short story to the forefront, a spotlight on a very underappreciated and misunderstood literary form. I will admit every story in this collection is above average; they are polished, well-written, and mature: publishable. However, that is not enough. SO many of them are criminally overwritten ("Breasts" by Stuart Dybek, "The Tutor" by Nell Freudenberger); I don't mind a long story, but you better have SOMETHING to say that warrants such length. SO many of them force a personal subject over literary substance ("What Furniture Would Jesus Pick?" by Annie Proulx). The majority are plain DULL, a profane offense for a "Best" short story. My issue with this collection is that (on the whole) it does not really excite or engage as a short story can and should. There are exceptions, which I will list at the end of this diatribe. However, I am disappointed that this is the "Best" of North American short fiction; it's simply not the case. Many small literary presses produce fresher, more thoughtful, less obvious fiction. Now, enough negativity. The following stories in this collection were FABULOUS:

1) "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie. This story knocked my socks off.

2) "Tooth and Claw" by T.C. Boyle. Not normally a Boyle fan, but this story rocks.

3) "Intervention" by Jill McCorkle. This was a gorgeous piece.

4) "Gallatin Canyon" by Thomas Mcguane. This is a model in brevity. Excellent piece.

5) "Runaway" by Alice Munro. Now she gets away with a lenghtier piece. Other LONG short story writers should take notice. This is a great story.

6) "All Saints Day" by Angela Pneuman. Cool story, setting. Nice children characters.

7) "Docent" by R.T. Smith. A bit "experimental" for me, but nonetheless very well done.

8) "What We Cannot Speak About We Must Pass Over in Silence by John Edgar Wideman." Awesome story. The "experimental" prose worked for me in this case.

That's 8 of 20 I feel are worth noting...I don't think I'll read The Best anymore...




Rating:
Summary: Now appearing, by popular demand...
Review: First, let me state that I always recommend both the "Best American" and "O. Henry" annual short story anthologies to anyone with a modicum of interest in present-day American literature. By reading these volumes, you get exposed to a wide variety of some (but by no means all) of the best stories by some of our best writers (or at least those writers who produce in the short story format). A well-written short story is an easily consumed treat that also teaches something new about the human condition. Given the time constraints of modern-day life, it's surprising that short stories are not more popular. But certainly these anthologies deserve a wide audience.

I will also warn that, since interpreting works of art is subjective, others will have different reactions to the stories in this volume. My interpretation of the choices that Lorrie Moore made in putting this volume together was that she erred on the side of including instantly recognizable (but therefore not terribly innovative) stories by well-known authors, as well as including lengthier selections. Although the selections are made blind, without knowledge of the author's name, the pieces by Edward P. Jones, Alice Munro, Annie Proulx, John Updike, Mary Yukari Waters and John Edgar Wideman are all very recognizable via their subject matter and writing styles. Length, meanwhile, negates two of the main attributes of a good short story: brevity and pithiness. E.B. White, who always advocated using as few words as possible to communicate an idea, would not be pleased with all of Moore's selections.

My favorite story in the 2004 volume is Thomas McGuane's "Gallatin Canyon", a true masterpiece of a short story written in the O. Henry style. Not a word is wasted, and every seemingly innocent or minor event quickly builds towards a life-or-death conclusion that exposes the nature of the main characters. It is a model for how to apply the classical short story form in the 21st century. The most innovative story is Stuart Dybek's "Breasts", which is truly (as Lorrie Moore so well characterizes) a Quentin Tarantino film transformed into short story format. However, like a Tarantino film, after all the violence has ended and the last joke has been played out, I find myself asking "yes, but what is the point?". Other notable stories, I felt, were T. Coraghessan Boyle's suspenseful modern day working-class romance "Tooth and Claw", and Edward P. Jones' "A Rich Man", which presents a view into the culture of inner-city Washington D.C. that has produced, among other things, the TV images of Mayor Marion Barry smoking a crack pipe.

My least favorite stories in this volume were Trudy Lewis's "Limestone Diner", which I felt was instantly forgettable, and, I'm sad to say, Annie Proulx's "What Kind of Furniture Would Jesus Pick?". Normally I really enjoy Ms. Proulx's work, but I felt that in this story she was just painting by the numbers, by invoking too many clichés: the Vietnam War as a conscious-raising event, the evil energy companies who are even more damaging to the environment than cattle-herding ranchers, and even a homosexual son who falls for the beefcake ranch hand.

All in all, the 2004 edition of the Best American Short Stories serves up a wide variety of different slices of present-day American life. While not the best volume in the series, it is well worth reading.


Rating:
Summary: I am in love again
Review: I never start at the beginning of a short story anthology because I don't want to submit to somebody else's idea of what is "first" among the "best". No, I like to begin on my own terms. This year my strategy was two-fold. First I would skip past anything that had been published in The New Yorker. From there I would try and identify something roughish and experimental. I chose "Docent" strictly because it had been published in The Missouri Review. Oh, did someone open a window? Now I remember what great writing is. I could not put the volume down and long before I finished reading R.T. Smith's brilliantly refreshing story, I knew I had already received my moneys worth.

When I had recovered my breath, I challenged Lorrie Moore in no small way. I mean to say I began at the beginning of the volume with Sherman Alexie's "What You Pawn I Will Redeem". (Published in The New Yorker - crow is good with ketchup.) After the first page I realized I should have started this anthology from the beginning. "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" is a devastatingly wonderful story. And had I read it first I STILL would have had "Docent" to look forward to.

I skimmed the table on contents - Annie Proulx and John Updike? What are these two lumbering giants doing in here? (I am a student of both authors.) Updike is probably in here because he's old and they're just doing him a favor. WRONG! "The Walk with Elizanne" is not only one of the finest Updike stories I've ever read; it is one of the best STORIES I have ever read! Let none of us question the Master's work. Updike hits one way out of the ballpark with this story. Thank you Sir.

As of yet I have not read much more but the news about this volume had to be told. If it only contained these three stories (and who knows what other gems sleep within?) it would have been well worth the asking price. Buy it, read it, put it in the pile you would save if your house were on fire.

Rating:
Summary: Great Collection, with one glaring (biased) omission...
Review: I pick up the Best American series every year, and I have seen over the years that the collection reflects its author. When I picked up 2000's edition, edited by E.L. Doctorow, one of my favorite short story authors, I found that I generally liked the stories in the collection. I am not as big of a Lorrie Moore fan, but I dislike only the content of her stories, not the way she tells them. As such, I didn't like some of the contents of this year's collection, but there is no question that the authors in that book deserve to be in it (with the exception of Deborah Eisenberg's "Some Other, Better Otto".) Boyle's "Chixiclub" would have been a better selection, but I loved D'Ambrosio's "Screenwriter", which I read for the second time this year. Anyone who wants to read what I think is a fairly glaring ommission should turn to page 444, and then look up Kevin Brockmeier's "A Brief History Of The Dead", my favorite short story of all time.

Rating:
Summary: definitely worth reading
Review: I thought this was a great collection. Ironically, given the first of the reviews I read here, I thought "Some Other, Better Otto" was one of the best of all of them. It would have made the collection worth reading by itself.
I could have quibbled a little with the inclusion of the seemingly fairly-pointless "Docent" and the kind of boring and unoriginal Updike story, but I think Moore did an excellent job of selecting stories, and the entire collection is worth reading.


Rating:
Summary: Expansive Multi-Perspective Appealing Life Stories
Review: Lorrie Moore had the unenviable task of selecting twenty short stories to include in this collection. As an author and avid reader she undoubtedly enjoyed her assignment. This volume includes an eclectic variety of stories with different subjects, settings and emotional tones. The writing styles of the many authors is very striking which can be a two edged sword for the reader, and I might add, the reviewer. Initially, I was put off by the variety and differences, for me, it is much easier to read stories by one author whose writing style is familiar. However, as I continued reading, I began to enjoy the vast expanse of human experiences being described and the diverse life styles being revealed.

In the first story, "What You Pawn I Will Reveal", Sherman Storie describes the lifestyle of a homeless Indian in Spokane, Washington. The reader is exposed to the culture, the friendships, the rules of life, and the establishment which both supports and challenges the homeless. The story takes a unique turn when the protaganist discovers a pow-wow Indian dance regalia in the window of a pawnshop. His mission becomes to regain ownership of this family heirloom. The story is worth reading to discover how this street person manages to do exactly that ... Another fascinating story is "Screenwriter". The main character is a patient in the psychiatric ward of a hospital. He is a wealthy screen writer who has had suicidal ideation since the age of ten, and which continued into adulthood, despite his successful career. It is the reason he is hospitalized. The reader is exposed to the inner thinking of this mental patient as he attempts to develop a serious relationship with a female 'in mate' who is known as 'the ballerina'. The story is fascinating as the reader experiences first-hand the challenges of beating the odds of establishing meaningful 'human contact' in an environment which is set up to prevent *exactly* that sort of thing. As they say, "where there is a will, there is a way" ... one needs to read the story to find out what happens. Another highly engaging story is "All Saints Day." On Nov. 1st, the United Methodist Church is having a "costume party" of sorts where the children are to dress up as Biblical characters. During the same time, some children hear a story about a youngster, Ryan, who is believed to be possessed by a demon. Ryan's behavior has been deteriorating adn even doctors could not determine the cause. His parents, along with the help of the minister, made the decision to do an 'excorcism'. The author does a stupendous job of combining the two events in a fascinating, creative and hilarious manner. One needs to read the story to discover what Biblical character ends up 'curing' Ryan of his 'demon' when the adult interventions were essentially unsuccessful. There are many other stories with equally unusual and engaging subject matter ... some are funny, some are serious: about friendship, justice, individuality, marriage, and even risque adult content. All of the stories are recommended as worth reading. Erika Borsos (erikab93)

Rating:
Summary: Lorrie Moore Does Excellent Job of Choosing Stories
Review: Lorrie Moore, renowned short story writer whose Birds of America is one of her best collections has edited and chosen twenty American short stories. The stories, as she confesses herself, tend to be longish, 20-30 pages for the most part. In the back of the book the writers give their accounting of the stories, explaining how the stories were set into motion and even touch on some important themes. Eight of the twenty stories, almost half, were chosen from The New Yorker. Its dominance as a source of "best" stories is somewhat disconcerting. Can one magazine really be that good? I don't know. I admire Lorrie Moore so I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. In any event, the anthology's contents follow:

1. What You Pawn I Will Redeem by Sherman Alexie
2. Tooth and Claw by T. Coraghessan Boyle
3. Written in Stone by Catherine Brady
4. Accomplice by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum
5. Screen writer by Charles D'Ambrosio
6. Breasts by Stuart Dybek
7. Some Other, Better Otto by Deborah Eisenberg
8. Grace by Paula Fox
9. The Tutor by Nell Freudenberger
10. A Rich Man by Edward P. Jones
11. Limestone Diner by Trudy Lewis
12. Intervention by Jill McCorkle
13. Gallatin Canyon by Thomas McGuane
14. Runaway by Alice Munro
15. All Saints Day by Angela Pneuman
16. What Kind of Furniture Would Jesus Pick? by Annie Proulx
17. Docent by R.T. Smith
18. The Walk with Elizanne by John Updike
19. Mirror Studies by Mary Yukari Waters
20. What We Cannot Speak About We Must Pass Over by John Edgar Wideman

Highlight of the collection for me is "Runaway" by Alice Munro. It is a well developed profile of a bullying husband and his effete, sympathetic, girlish wife and the story is haunting in the way it renders a dysfunctional couple and the wife's decision to choose a familiar hell over the fear of the unknown. Her imprisonment is all too common and explores universal themes of the way people acclimate themselves to a quiet, seething domestic inferno. In many ways Munro's story reminds me of a John Cheever classic, "Just Tell Me Who It Was."

Rating:
Summary: Great for killing time
Review: Something that stands out to me about this edition, certainly this was no accident, is how each of the stories draws a picture of an American landscape. Notable in their attention to setting are "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" (Seattle from the point of view of a homeless man), "Grace" (anomie in New York City), "A Rich Man" (poverty in Washington, D.C.), "Limestone Diner" (small town Missouri), "Gallatin Canyon" and "What Kind of Furniture Would Jesus Pick?" (the New West), "Docent" (a DAR who gives tours at Washington and Lee University) and "All Saints Day" (evangelical eastern Kentucky). Not all of the stories take place in the USA, however. "Runaway" is set in rural Canada, and "The Tutor" describes the inner life of two young people in India living in a sort of self-imposed diaspora, one dreaming about his years at Harvard, the other of a hardly-remembered childhood in San Francisco.