Rating: 
Summary: We are each in this book
Review: I was not looking for this book but in a thrift shop looking at other things. A woman came out of the back room with books in her arm that had just come in and she walked toward me with I Thought My Father Was God and handed it to me saying this looks like a good one, as if she knew me. I took it and have hardly been able to put it down since. I have read some of the stories aloud to my husband and we have laughed together and we have cried. When I wake in the morning I know the people are there waiting to tell their odd, miraculous, glowing, quiet stories and that in these stories I find threads of myself. I hope this is an ongoing book project because it is treasures like this that will spread the word that the world is not only about the dreaded stories on the 6 o'clock news - that these are the kind of stories that have the power to change the way we see our own lives and the lives of others no matter how small or insignificant they seem. These are the stories we need to understand that the world is more than the nightly news or the mostly violent movies on the screen today but the world is full of good, funny, clever, and an 'average sadness' of people trying to understand the Mysterious that happens to them in their lives.
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Summary: Hard to put down -- and great for reading aloud
Review: I wasn't sure I would like this book. The first story I read left me unimpressed. So it sat on the coffee table for a couple of months until I picked it up again. And I'm so glad I did.On this second try I started with the Introduction and gained appreciation for the work in my hands. Then I turned to the first story (not one randomly chosen in the middle). I was hooked. These are stories about people, animals and phenomena. Purportedly true to life. Many with astounding conclusions; others just unusual, or even supernatural. And they're short. Perfect for reading aloud to family and friends.
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Summary: Paul Auster does Chicken Soup for the Soul
Review: If you're like me and you sought out this collection because you enjoy Paul Auster's books, you will probably be disappointed. This is a book for the supermarket checkout line that evinces none of the ominous twists and keen language that make Auster's own stories so compelling. The book's stories are sorted by category. Under "War," for example, you will find the sort of self-indulgent reminiscences that belong in one of Tom Brokaw's insipid "greatest generation" tomes. Other categories are similarly disappointing. There are love stories as stale as Hallmark cards. And there are the obligatory saccharine Christmas stories as wretch-inducing as "A Very Special..." episode of a bad sitcom. (The movie /Smoke/ features Auster's own "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story," suggesting he may have a soft spot for this genre--but it takes a talent as formidable as Auster's to execute such pure schmaltz competently.) There is also a very subtle pretension in each story. In the context of the volume, each seems to present itself as a slice of Americana--to suggest to readers that in its simplicity a deeper truth about who we are is buried. That would have been fine were it not so deliberate. But each story, evidently fashioned with that goal in mind, has the character of a tall tale about to beat you over the head with a Deep Insight. Consequently, many have no more credibility than an Internet chain letter, which some will undoubtedly become at some point in the future. As such, what I found most bothersome was that they all purport to be true stories, but many simply do not pass the smell test. NPR's National Story Project, we are told, solicited listeners to submit their own true stories touching on such themes as fate and family--"true stories that sounded like fiction," notes Auster in the introduction. In their zeal to be read aloud on National Public Radio it appears many contributors attempted to craft fiction that sounded like true stories. Although a handful of the very short stories here are interesting enough to merit folding a corner or placing a yellow stickie, the majority are a waste. I do not even feel comfortable shelving it beside the Paul Auster volumes in my bookcase. The Publishers Weekly review on this page dubbing this a "bathroom book" may have stumbled upon a solution to that quandary.
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Summary: A Privilege to Be Included
Review: Imagine my surprise when I received a letter explaining that my story (T321 Interpretation of Dreams)would be included in this tremendous work! Once I received my copy, I sat down to read, and hours later, I realized what a wonderful collection of stories this is! Be prepared for this: those of us who submitted stories did not do so to be "discovered" as authors. We simply wanted to tell our tales. Therefore, (as I have seen from some reviews) you may find the writing elementary. We are not authors, and did not feel the need to adhere to the rules used by professional authors. These stories are written as if told around the dinner table over a cup of coffee, to dear friends, and others who are interested in what makes us each different. The experiences we each have makes us what we are, individuals. If you enjoy stories about real life, some funny, some melancholy, then this is the read for you. Enjoy!
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Summary: A JOY TO READ
Review: It's hard to describe the cumulative power of these seemingly unrelated true stories, but it's there -- there's nothing out there vaguely like this book. In a time like this, it's more important than ever to hear each other's stories. And Paul Auster's introduction is a gem.
Rating: 
Summary: The Touch of the Editor's Hand
Review: Like all anthologies, this one has pieces both strong and weak. Nevertheless, there were enough striking stories to carry me through the book. Auster's hand is sometimes perceptible, smoothing and refining these tales, but his presence is even more evident in the similar feel of the stories chosen. For instance, many blend irony and chance; a number emphasize shame for youthful prejudice; and over almost all hangs an indefinite non-theistic spirituality intended to strike a cord with the post-modern reader. I wonder what a similar anthology from 1900 or 1950 would have sounded like?
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Summary: Memories brought to life
Review: My husband heard about this book listening to NPR. It reminded him of stories I had told him of my diversed, varied past experiences. I found it had alot of similar stories/ past memories equal to mine. Brought back many childhood/adult memories to me. Once I statred reading I couldn't put it down. Read the enitre book in less than a day. ENJOYED IT 1000%.It will be #1 on my Christmas list for friends and family members.
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Summary: ....... but is it good lierature?
Review: OK, here's the deal; I've read all of the reviews and agree with all of the non-five star reviewers. Every "less-than-favorable" review is dead-on. Unfortunately, these reviewers are too polite.
I too listen to NPR. I too have read Paul Auster. I've also read this book. This book really tries. Unfortuately, every 'story-teller' seems to have graded poorly in High School Creative Writing. The quality of the writing completely disctracted me from the content. I'm no elitist snob - but I am not that far off here. I agree with a previous reviewer who compared these stories to content in Reader's Digest. With one exception: Reader's Digest uses actual writers - not the old man at the end of your street.
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Summary: Everybody has a Story
Review: Paul Auster asked his NPR listeners to send stories: "I told the listeners that I was looking for stories. The stories had to be true, and they had to be short, but there would be no restrictions as to subject matter or style. What interested me most, I said, were stories that defied our expectations about the world, anecdotes that revealed the mysterious and unknowable forces at work in our lives, in our family histories, in our minds and bodies, in our souls." The result is an uneven anthology, anthologies being prone to uneven-ness when they are composed of efforts from varying authors. The title story itself is disjointed. Some of the stories I can relate to: "A Plate of Peas" and some I cannot: "A Picture of Life" by a whiney woman, who, post-divorce, was so poor (?!) that it took TWO moving vans to move her & her stuff to a new hovel. "Let them eat cake!" Some are heart-rending: If , like me, you cry during "Old Yeller," skip "Pooh." Some of the writers probably stretched or completely ignored the "truth" requirement. Some are pseudo-existential musings. A lot are "just plain folk" with a story to tell. Most of the writers here do not have aspirations to be Haruf or Proulx (stifle gag reflex) or, in the words of Little Jackie Paper and his Dragon, Puff, "other fancy stuff." It's not Shakespeare's sonnets or a guide to brain surgery, but overall it's an interesting way to fill the time during TV commercials.
Rating:
Summary: "I Thought My Father Was God"- A review
Review: The moment I finished this book I wanted to flip back to the first page and start all over again. Paul Auster has compiled some of the most touching, fantasical, inspiring, and disturbing stories ever written by the American public. "I Thought My Father Was God" will heighten your senses and deepen your appreciation for the art of storytelling. Every one of us has a story to share and these will open your eyes to the diverse and complex experiences of the people who live thousands of miles from your home, as well as those who live next door. Give this book to someone you love. They will thank you for it.
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