In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction

Rating:
Summary: A Never-Ending Parade of Lightweights
Review: I can't figure out why the editors and publishers of this volume are claiming it to be a celebration of a new art form. Brief creative nonfiction? Hardly. Some of the pieces here could be called creative, but absolutely none of them are nonfiction. Nonfiction is the study of issues or phenomena with evidence and analysis. Here we have a collection of what everyone else in the world calls memoirs, and which have been easily found for decades in magazines and newspapers. While such works can be a relaxing and non-stressful read when you come across them, in a compilation such as this book they are repetitive and mind-numbing. I count 91 submissions in this book, and every single one can be categorized as a simple memoir, especially since almost all of them have "I" or "me" or "our" in the opening sentence. Very few stand out from the crowd in any way. Incongruous winners include Richard Rodriguez's disturbing meditations on the struggles of Mexican migrant laborers, David James Duncan's piece about witnessing an accidental death, Michael Shay's thoughts about giving his son Ritalin, and six or seven pretty good pieces on the various horrors of war. But otherwise, the book inflicts upon us a never-ending parade of quaint musings and meditations, attempted deep thoughts on minor matters of human interest, and several dozen interchangeable Thoreau-like nature reflections. Memoir writing has its own strengths and usefulness, but this lightweight and sluggish book is not the groundbreaker it thinks it is. [~doomsdayer520~]

Rating:
Summary: A truly collaborative work of art
Review: So many of the stories in this book are just so poignant, so special, so.... ! They are like individual little works of art.

Rating:
Summary: A truly collaborative work of art
Review: So many of the stories in this book are just so poignant, so special, so.... ! They are like individual little works of art.

Rating:
Summary: Don't miss this inspiring collection
Review: Whether you're a reader, a writer, or a dabbler, you'll surely find plenty in this lovely collection to please your mind and lighten your spirit. Not one of the essays is longer than 2000 words, and many are only a paragraph or three in length. Yet each is a little sparkling gem, a nugget of pure gold. There's one by Kathleen Norris (already known for her lyrical spiritual writing) about rain that just takes the breath away. Each, in some small way, connects us to the common pulse of humanity running through the veins of the world around us.
Top rating.