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Rating: 
Summary: A book that takes the breathe away !
Review: I had given up reading for pleasure since my teen years and consumed only history, science and technology readings until the fateful Sunday, listening to NPR, heard William Trevor's, short story "Broken Homes", read by Meryl Strip. I could not take myself from the car to shop, Meryl had not finished the reading!
I then knew I would read more William Trevor and ordered this book straight away. Even since my life has changed! More than 8o stories with such an insight into human character, I wonder if Trevor is the modern Shakepeare, with a xray talent for discerning the inner workings of human souls? "Death In Jerusalem ", is haunting and wonderful. Every story a joy to read. I spend my evenings now listening to light jazz and reading William Trevor. My life has reached a new peak and the Tele is being sold for junk.
Rating:
Summary: Each story a jewel
Review: Illustrating once again that the best writers in English are Irish, Trevor displays his remarkable story-telling ability in the service of exploring the English, the Irish, and all the rest of us. He is remarakbly adept, too, at portraying women with sensitivity, and their plight with compassion. But more important than anything is the story and his craft in presenting it. The short story form demands deft, brief, but revealing characterization; he does not have the luxury of yards of open space. He does this with felicity. A great writer and a pleasure to read.
Rating:
Summary: The Master's Collection
Review: Not all stars are created equal. By awarding 5 stars to this book, the implication must be that they are stars of the purest gold. I have read some "5-star" novels and short story collections before, but little, in my experience, compares with this: the combination of an extraordinarily beautiful prose style, the seemingly effortless creation of literally hundreds if not thousands of alternately sympathetic and detestable (but always vividly memorable) characters, a profound insight into the psychology of the human mind to rival (and pretty easily surpass) that of any other writer alive, a recreation of atmosphere so real it clings, and a brilliant inventiveness when it comes to creating great story lines (and, often, superbly twisty [but never illogical] endings) places this collection among the very greatest of its kind. One measure of how deeply impressed I was with this book is that now, more than half a year since I finished it, I can look back through the table of contents and still remember not merely every story with tremendous vividness, but often where I was at the time I read it. Stated broadly, Trevor's stories seem to fall into two distinct types, English and Irish. The former tend to be (as do many of the earlier stories) sharp and edgy, whereas the latter tend to be quiet and pastoral. Although it is the Irish stories that appear to garner the greatest praise from the critics, I prefer the greater cynicism (often bordering on, but never quite reaching, downright misanthropy) of the English stories. Having to choose my favorites from among this potent collection is akin to separating gold coins that are 100% pure from those that are 99.975% pure (soft though they would be!), but three continue to haunt me just a little more than the others. "The Death of Peggy Meehan," one of the Irish stories, and one of the collection's shortest, tells the tale of a young lad who is taken to his first movie during a summer vacation, and how the fantasies he draws after seeing that movie color (for better or worse) the rest of his life. "In at the Birth," is, unusually for Trevor, a creepy ghost story that Rod Serling would have marveled over. In it, an elderly woman takes a baby-sitting job for a peculiar couple who turn out to be (and this is hardly among the most riveting revelations provided) childless. But rather than leave me frightened, it left me pondering the meaning of life, age, and human relationships. Finally, "The Hotel of the Idle Moon," is what I described to a friend as "the greatest short story ever written." Its title is especially evocative and, in its context, has a host (no pun intended!) of powerful resonances. The "set up" is baldly cliche: on a dark and stormy night a middle-aged couple stop in front of an estate, pretending that their car has broken down. Foul play, one can be sure, is bound to ensue. And so it does. But the play is much fouler and more upsetting than anything anyone can imagine (trust me, until you read this story you cannot imagine what happens). It is one of Trevor's gifts that such a story can't be adequately explained. It has to be read, felt, lived. Suffice it to say that by the end we realize that we have read nothing less than a parable of (very) contemporary times (I don't know when it was written) that manages, in a trice, to both limn and condemn humankind since the beginning of history. High marks also to "The Table," which reads like a hilarious comedy of errors until the last line suddenly blackens everything that came before it with perfect (and perfectly uncanny) inevitability, "The Forty-Seventh Saturday," as poignant a story of loneliness as I know, and "O Fat White Woman" (the title may be funny; the story is anything but), which spins a tale of the tragedy that follows passive resistance. (And when is the last time you read a story that dealt with that? Why does it seem that Trevor is our only contemporary writer who consistently confronts such common yet seemingly taboo foibles?). As is usual with Trevor, the tragedy occurs on many planes and is of an inestimable magnitude. Oh, heck, let me not forget "Nice Day at School," an incredibly sensitive and piercing drama, and the superb and highly regarded "In Isfahan," in which a married, middle-aged English man meets a married, youngish English woman on tour in Iran. They try to get close, but their chequered pasts prevent them. What we don't realize until the end, however, is that one of their pasts isn't real. Or is it? And what purpose does fantasy play in encroaching human relationships? Can it be used to repel as well as to lure? Or is it there to comfort? And, if so, comfort whom? Particularly rich stuff. Amidst a sea of great short story collections, this one by William Trevor will always have its place at the top. There's a word for books like this, and that word is "perfect." May it never go out of print.
Rating:
Summary: stupendous
Review: So often are masterful short story writers compared to Chekhov that it has become a cliche and lost any potency that it may have once held and that's a shame because if any writer deserves comparison to the great master it is William Trevor. His stories are deceptively mundane but stick with the story and you will be amazed by the insight into the lives of regular people displayed by Mr. Trevor. He is a true master and in a hundred years time, short story writers will be compared not with Chekhov but with Mr. Trevor (but will he pass into that rare group of writers referred to by last name only? I think so.)This book is to be read now
Rating:
Summary: The Master's Collection
Review: Someone else here refers to the problems of 'star' hyperbole. He's right. The five stars Trevor deserves must be especially large and dazzling.
He goes wrong, just a little, once in a while. So did every truly great writer we know. Most of the time he opens a door on the world of two or three people, and shows us the universe in the process. He is a breathtaking artist. Witness 'Another Christmas' - in a dingy living room and armed with no one but an aging Irish couple, he brings home the Troubles in Ireland in epic, heartbreaking scope. And 'Torridge'...a girl said to me when this story first appeared in The New Yorker that it was like Beethoven's Fifth; you can't imagine it not having been around before. It's that good.
Readers! You can do no better than to get to know what this man can do with a pen.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Prose Writer in the English Language
Review: This book sits perched in the backseat of my car, easily accessed for a quick William Trevor fix. Trevor is, for me, God's greatest current gift to literature. Each of these stories is a gem. The characters are complex and the situations they find themselves in moving, funny and unique. I recommend this book to anyone who loves language, wit and perfect storytelling.
Rating:
Summary: the greatest of all short story collections
Review: This is, perhaps,the finest of all books. With 85 magnificent stories, virtually every one a solid masterpiece,William Trevor stands at the ultimate heights of his genre. Each story is a compressed gem and,while I have to admit that not every one is the greatest thing ever written, when you are blown away by about 1100 pages of a 1261 page opus, it is worth it in the end. Even the lesser stories have their merits, beautiful writing and sincere exploration of character. This is a book that everyone should read. I understand that this is a bit of an ethusiastic cliche and it is not a statement I have made before. But the sometimes comedic, usually heartbreaking tales contained within this book are just about all anyone needs to learn the wide range of emotions suffered by humanity. Do not pass up this unique offer. You will never have a better opportunity to be entertained while learning everything about human nature.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Mesmerizing
Review: What more could a Trevor fan ask for than a single book containing 1,261 pages and 85 of his most splendid stories? No one weaves a tale as fine as William Trevor. His ability to place the reader into the hearts and souls of his characters is nothing short of remarkable. His stories do not focus on plot but rather on human emotion. They center on ordinary circumstances with extraordinary consequences. From the young schoolgirl with a crush on her teacher, to the betrayed wife, to the obese lonely man longing for love, Trevor covers a wide variety of people who are besieged with despair and striving for purpose. I'm amazed at how often I hear the reply, "William Tevor? I've never heard of him," when I speak of my favorite short story writer. I can't help but to boast about this great man's talent. He packs incredible power into sparse words that leave an unforgettable impact on his audience. Perhaps some day when
Mr. Trevor is no longer with us he will receive the recognition he deserves. In the meantime, his small legion of fans can relish his gift and treasure the fact that we are among the first to appreciate his eloquence and style.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Mesmerizing
Review: What more could a Trevor fan ask for than a single book containing 1,261 pages and 85 of his most splendid stories? No one weaves a tale as fine as William Trevor. His ability to place the reader into the hearts and souls of his characters is nothing short of remarkable. His stories do not focus on plot but rather on human emotion. They center on ordinary circumstances with extraordinary consequences. From the young schoolgirl with a crush on her teacher, to the betrayed wife, to the obese lonely man longing for love, Trevor covers a wide variety of people who are besieged with despair and striving for purpose. I'm amazed at how often I hear the reply, "William Tevor? I've never heard of him," when I speak of my favorite short story writer. I can't help but to boast about this great man's talent. He packs incredible power into sparse words that leave an unforgettable impact on his audience. Perhaps some day when
Mr. Trevor is no longer with us he will receive the recognition he deserves. In the meantime, his small legion of fans can relish his gift and treasure the fact that we are among the first to appreciate his eloquence and style.
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