Back in the World: Stories

by Tobias Wolff

To American soldiers in Vietnam, "back in the world" meant America and safety. To Tobias Wolff's characters, Back in the World is where lives that have veered out of control just might become normal again. Unfortunately, the men and women in these gripping, pungent, and wonderfully skewed stories have only the vaguest notion of what normal is. A gentle priest finds himself in a Vegas hotel with a hysterical, sun-burned stranger. A show-biz hopeful undergoes a dubious audition in a hearse speeding across the California desert. An aging soldier is distracted from a night of philandering by a gun-toting neighbor and a suicidal enlisted man. As he moves among these unfortunates, Wolff observes the disparity between their realities and their dreams, in ten stories of exhilarating lucidity and grace.

Stories included "The Missing Person," "Say Yes," "The Poor Are Always With Us," "Sister," "Soldier's Joy," "Desert Breakdown," "Our Story Begins," "Leviathan," and "The Rich Brother."

"Terrific...The magic of his fiction cannot be explained. It is the ancient art of the master storyteller."--Tim O'Brien

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Literature, Social, Ebooks, Contemporary

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Tobias Jonathan Ansell Wolff is a writer of fiction and nonfiction.

He is best known for his short stories and his memoirs, although he has written two novels.

Wolff is the Ward W. and Priscilla B. Woods Professor in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University, where he has taught classes in English and creative writing since 1997. He also served as the director of the Creative Writing Program at Stanford from 2000 to 2002.

Reviews

[Miss Ravi · Rating 3 out of 5]

فضای داستان‌ها شبیه همه. منظورم حس و اثریه که روت می‌ذارن و نه موقعیت و داستان‌شون. اغلب‌شون یه لحظه کشف و شهود دارن که ممکنه هم‌زمان برای ‌شخصیت اصلی و خواننده اتفاق بیفته و به شیوه‌ای روایت می‌شن که انگار یه شکل اصیلی از قصه‌گوییه.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wolff's style is flawless. Characters are rich, descriptions are spare, simple, and powerful. For that his writing is always enjoyable to read.

Typically excellent dialog.

But more than once I wanted something to happen -- anything -- that didn't. Characters just move on, with no particular aim. The endings are seldom conclusive, and once there, you wonder just what the story accomplished. Well-written, but what was actually changed in the characters' lives?

It's entirely possible a second reading would change my mind.

[Thiago · Rating 4 out of 5]

While perfectly adequate in its own right, Wolff's diminutive short story collection reads a little dully when compared to some of his other titles. A thought-provoking book nevertheless.

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of enigmatic stories, wherein much is undisclosed and remains mysterious. Open-ended, life-like stories from a talented writer.

Not a collection to race through, but is one to re-read.

[Daryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old Bob Geldof song, from 1990, contains the lines "And I got into bed/And started reading a book/By a guy named Tobias Wolff/It’s good it’s short stories/Just before you sleep he’ll take/You off to Burma…Mandalay/Places like that." That may have been the first time I heard of Tobias Wolff (so thanks for that, Bob Geldof), and I've since read his novel The Barracks Thief and at least one other collection of short stories. Wolff is a master of the short story form, on a par with the likes of Raymond Carver. In a collection like this, there are often a few stories that really stand out. It's really hard to pick a favorite here. With the exception of one or two stories (that are merely very good), these are all excellent. The first story in the book, "Coming Attractions" really grabbed my attention and made me long for more; I keep thinking back on how good that was. "Desert Breakdown 1968" may be the other more outstanding story. All of these stories take place in America (no Burma or Mandalay here; Geldof must have been reading a different book), many of them in rural settings. This is a phenomenal collection and highly recommended to anyone who appreciates the form.

[Margaret Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoilers for book club!






















I don't think the book club is going to like this collection very much, but I did 😁 Some of these are very strange, with a sort of eerie tension about them, and there are frequent references to sex or drugs. But the writing is SO good. Tobias Wolff is a master at writing characters who feel like real people. He does this thing I find fascinating, where a character will admit something awful about themselves - not something they did, but something about the way they ARE - and though it's impossible to admire the awful thing, you immediately feel sympathetic for the character, because it's hard to admit that sort of thing about yourself. Many of Wolff's characters are honest like this.
The people in these stories are not made to be emulated or admired, and I think it's important to keep that in mind. Like, a lot of them are tragic, or messed up, or really wrong. But there is still beauty here, either in faint notes of hope for the characters or in the writing itself, and I appreciate this collection for that.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leviathan is a classic. That reads like something that was written today. It really deeply resonates.

Desert Breakdown, Say Yes, The Rich Brother, etc. were satisfying as well. Made you come in and leave with a different feeling.

Wolff has a tendency to make these short stories feel shorter than they are -- often due to great exposition -- but also means some of his other stories abruptly end feeling unresolved. The journey was still amazing nonetheless.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought these stories would be about soldiers returning from Vietnam. They were not. Nor is there a story with the title in this collection of ten stories. Most of these stories didn't do much. I only enjoyed three of them. Not predictable at all. Some you ask yourself- and the point was? In some you are led on without any resolution like in Our Story Begins when a restaurant busser gets off work and overhears a story being told at the next table over. You think, oh how clever, the story is the story being eavesdropped. But that story the reader and listener don't know how it ended as the party at the table abruptly leave.

[Mateo Toledo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuentos. Genial.

[Nick Otte]

Elusive, penetrating, and utterly clean. Like a roll of glass knives.

[Joshua Dysart · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cleanly realized. So succinct and wonderfully observant of human nature. Each story is a magic trick, a sleight of hand. What the stories are about exists nowhere in their words. Meaning lies underneath the text, submerged. The stories are like the surface of an ocean. Nothing happens and most things are unexpressed, but emotion, aspiration, morality, and conflict are all explored. In my own work I rely so much on fancy word smithing to try and dazzle, or cover up for having nothing much to say, not so Wolff, he's too sure of himself to make that mistake, and too intimate with his craft to feel the need to impress. Great read.

[Andres Eguiguren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth work I read by Wolff, but curiously only the first of his story collections. There is a touch of Raymond Carver in this 1985 collection, with characters who find themselves short of reaching their dreams. For example, there is the Vietnam vet who realises that "being back in the world" (the U.S.) as a private first class after twenty years in the army was not quite what he was hoping for. There are some gems in this collection, but The Night in Question (1996) seems to get the stronger reviews overall.

[Kendall]

Collection of short stories. This was a special Reader's Edition published in 1996 that I found in a NYC bookstore. It was meant for reviewers and it's full of typos. Good stories- but the endings all frustrated the hell out of me because the message was so subtle that half the time I didn't get what the message was.

[Terry Heller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic short story collection by Tobias Wolff. I would read anything this guy cares to publish. I would read Tobias Wolff's grocery list.*

*If there was a four and one-half star designation, I would have given it to this book. There isn't, and I couldn't quite go all of the way up to five. But this book is terrific.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had only read a couple anthologized Wolff stories until reading this collection. I truly loved it. Simple and good.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unreal. I will probably put all of my reading plans on hold to catch up on Wolff's short stories. Highlights: Missing Person and Desert Breakdown, 1968.

[Tim O'Leary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vintage Contemporaries books from the mid-eighties were normally a go-to source for undiscovered writers who were looking to get some traction. They are more often than not gems. And if I spot any on the shelf, it's a conditioned reflex to snatch it. These ten short stories, each about twenty pages in length, were originally published in 1985--but have to drop the other shoe--none of which, I can honestly say, stands out. Except that in their overriding influence, they are reminiscent of what is obviously Wolff's muse; Raymond Carver. That is to say, as a slave to mimicry, having much in common in tone, style, dialogue, character development and plotline treatment--middling stories attempting prototypical Carver endings ultimately devoid of any climax. Raymond Carver is overrated mostly, and just as I have discovered time and again, frequently underdelivers. Why writers are so quick to emulate him, and why they freely admit, then, to doing so, is not my place to understand or explain. I would add Chekhov to this quandary, also. (?) Carver even goes on to flatter himself on the inside cover with his solicited recommendation: "Tobias Wolff has somehow gotten his hands on our shared secrets, and he's out to tell everything he knows." Shared secrets? Hardly. And what does this summary judgement even mean? What are we talking about, here, "The National Inquirer"? So what we have is a lost opportunity for a submission that in the right hands (T.C. Boyle, comes first to mind) would be an authentic, imaginative, entertaining and memorable collection. But this is not Boyle, nor Proulx, nor Updike, nor Hemingway, nor even a better-than-common decent knock-off of Carver--whatever that may be worth. Sorry. Just not feeling it. In short, there's not enough craft in evidence to warrant keeping this copy in my library. So am returning it for a refund before the bookstore's one-week deadline is up. Vintage Contemporaries, did you see something I didn't? Won't be so quick to judge a book by its cover next time.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Back in the World (published in 1985) is Tobias Wolff’s second collection of short stories, the others being In the Garden of the North American Martyrs (1981) and The Night in Question (1997).

On the whole, I think Back in the World lacks the intensity of the other two collections: it is Tobias Wolff we are talking about, so you don’t really find anything which isn’t worth reading, but some of the stories seemed to me just underwhelming.

What I liked about this book is the unity of feeling. I think I can’t be wrong in saying that this is a book about solitude and the many forms it assumes in the lives of the characters. Every story is soaking with loneliness.

My personal favourites were:

1. Coming attractions
I had actually read this story some time ago and it had stayed with me (even if I forgot it was this story in this book). There were times when I would ask myself: where did I read that good story about the girl cleaning up the cinema and finding the glasses, then waiting for his boss and making strange phone calls? So I was obviously very happy when I found it was the first story in the book.

2. Desert Breakdown, 1968
In this one and in (3.) The Rich Brother I sensed a strong Flannery O’Connor influence in the brutality of the characters’ actions or intentions, even if Wolff’s characters never get to the extremes to which O’Connor pushed hers.

4. Our Story Begins
I didn’t really understand the ending of this one, but I really liked the general atmosphere.

I am really curious to see how many of my favourites from the three collection made it into the 2008 book of collected stories, which is next in my reading list.

[Tim Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never been much of a short-story reader. Yes, I indulged in Cheever during my youthful pseudo-intellectual period (which dissolved into the more plebeian pursuit of newspapering) and more recently, in an effort to erase my monolingualism. I wrestled in Spanish through a couple of collections by García Márquez (La Frontera de Cristal is amazing), but in general I’ve always felt, well, short-changed by the short story.

The truncated tale never satisfied me. If I liked the story, I wanted more. It’s like a good restaurant. Why eat there and have only an appetizer? I felt cheated, like the kitchen didn’t bring me the rest the meal.

Then a friend gifted me a dog-eared copy of Tobias Wolff’s Back in the World (1985), a collection of stories centered on – or, better said, delightfully off-centered on – post-Vietnam War America, an era in which the battered nation was pockmarked with damaged individuals who found themselves mysteriously still alive even though a part of them had died.

Among these hobblers are a priest devoid of religion; a single woman adrift in loneliness; a pair of brothers, separated by money, but bound by blood; and a young father whose desert reality collides with his Hollywood dreams. Disaffection unites them. The joys of life, as quotidian as they might be, elude them.

In its ten stories, Back in the World – the World being any place other than ‘Nam for U.S. soldiers of the time – reminds us that nothing in life is ever finished, hardly anything is what it seems to be, and no one person can exist apart from everything else.

Wolff is an astute observer, whether it be of the disappointments of Las Vegas, the ennui of military life, or the fear brought on by an angry whale. He conveys what he sees in descriptive, readable sentences that frequently end with a surprise (proving, once again, that hardly anything is what it seems).

As for my metaphor of the short-story as an insubstantial serving, reading Back in the World convinces me to modify it: A good short-story is a piece of excellent sushi, only one bite or two, but a meal in itself. In the dexterous hands of Wolff, Back in the World is a satisfying omakase.

[John Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first came across Tobias Wolff in the early 1990s when his book, This Boys Life, was made into a motion picture in 1993. It was the story of Wolff's life as a boy, played by a very young 12-13 year old, and obviously very talented, Leonardo Di Caprio. His mother (Ellen Barkin) runs away from a bad situation to "start over again." As a new single mother, she claims it will be an adventure for the two of them. It isn't long before she adds a boyfriend to the mix, played by a disturbed and narcissistic Robert De Nero (remember Cape Fear?). GREAT movie! Raw. The author unflinchingly bares his soul. https://www.imdb.com/videoplayer/vi26...

Back in the World is a collection of short stories, many set in the San Francisco Bar area -- familiar streets and restaurants and bars, an integral character in themselves. These stories read as quick and openly and raw as This Boys Life. I was so enthralled with it, I read the entire book in one setting, finishing one story and anxious to turn the page on the next.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I typically have a hard time with books of short stories, but Woff is clearly a very talented writer and thus swept me along through his collection. I would happily read more stories by him, and as a writer, seek to emulate much of what he has done in this collection. (The priest in Las Vegas was especially memorable.)

However . . . I'm going to crib from another reviewer, because he wrote exactly what I feel:

But more than once I wanted something to happen -- anything -- that didn't. Characters just move on, with no particular aim. The endings are seldom conclusive, and once there, you wonder just what the story accomplished. Well-written, but what was actually changed in the characters' lives?

It's entirely possible a second reading would change my mind.

Honestly, I wish I would have read this book as part of a class. I feel I would glean much more from it with a wise instructor at the helm. Anyone know of a Wolff MOOC out there?

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tobias Wolff had provided an introduction and scattered comments to the collection of Hemingway short stories, so I thought I'd rad a collection of Wolff's short stories. An interesting compilation of tales about relations and characters, like the Hemingway stories these leave the reader hanging, wondering what happens next. While published in 1968, the themes are just as relevant today more than 50 years later: The Vietnam vet is not much different from the many homeless veterans roaming our cities now; the two couples drinking and snorting coke have not changed; the relationship between brothers, one rich, one broke has not changed. Wolff has a good grasp on human relations, family dynamics, and friendships.

[Claire Fuller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A near-perfect collection of ten short stories first published in 1986. My #librarianhusband and I read these to each other while dinner was cooking. Wild teenager Jean gets scared when she's left alone at her job in a movie theatre so makes some prank telephone calls in Coming Attractions. Father Leo learns how to make money for the convent and then takes his bonus to Vegas in The Missing Person. In The Poor are Always with Us, Russell gets into an argument in a garage and ends up with more than he bargained with. And in my favourite, Desert Breakdown, 1968 a young man decides whether to leave his wife and child at a desert gas station. All of them so good.

[Jace Einfeldt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read In the Garden of North American Martyrs by Tobias Wolff, and this collection most definitely holds its own as a masterful sophomore collection. Great stories throughout. My personal favorites were “Say Yes,” “The Missing Person,” “Desert Breakdown, 1968,” and “The Rich Brother.” The last story (“The Rich Brother”) does everything that a great concluding story should do. It stings, it lingers, and leaves you blown away for hours after reading it. 👍

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tobias Wolff is such an excellent writer- this collection of short stories is no exception. They are not flowery or fancy, but with basic language he paints such a vivid picture. For me, the Only drawback is that I wish they would Resolve- he kind of leaves you to wonder how/if it works out. That is most likely his intention- to not neatly wrap it up.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third collection of stories by Tobias Wolff that I've read and there has yet to be a story that has let me down. Other than Alice Munro, there's really no other author I know who is that consistent.

[Miguel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Enjoyed the first two short stories. There's just a lack of exciting plots and interesting themes that would otherwise grab my attention. The "direct" writing style also feels sterile and does nothing to me.

[Romi · Rating 2 out of 5]

El puntaje es bien subjetivo. Está muy bien escrito, los personajes creibles y los diálogos muy buenos. Pero no me llegó al corazon,las historias son muy realistas, prefiero un poco de fantasía. Me costó mucho terminarlo.

[MB Shakespeare · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fave quote: "You could tell this was CA because in Arizona a McCarthy billboard would last about five minutes…the people there were just incredibly backward."

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite