The Stories of Alice Adams

by Alice Adams

In her long and illustrious career, Alice Adams turned the short story into an art form by offering telling glimpses into the lives of "ordinary people made extraordinary by [her] perception" (Newsweek). Now, with this posthumous compilation, readers can become reacquainted with Þfty-three of Adams's best-loved stories, culled from her Þve award-winning collections. A Þtting tribute -- and an extraordinary primer for those new to Adams's work -- The Stories of Alice Adams celebrates the voice, vision, and spirit of one of America's most beloved writers.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Classics, Short Story Collection

640 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Alice Adams was an American novelist, short story writer, academic and university professor.

She was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia and attended Radcliffe College, graduating in 1946. She married, and had a child, but her marriage broke up, and she spent several years as a single mother, working as a secretary. Her psychiatrist told her to give up writing and get remarried; instead she published her first novel, Careless Love (1966), and a few years later she published her first short story in The New Yorker. She wrote many novels but she's best known for her short stories, in collections such as After You've Gone (1989) and The Last Lovely City (1999).

She won numerous awards including the O. Henry Award, and Best American Short Stories Award.

Reviews

[Liz Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Adams writes short stories with the complexity and beauty of 200 page novels, making sure you feel every beating of your heart, every drop of shed tears, and every sound that comes form the passing of the pages. I feel like she is not recognized for her incredible talent as much as her art demands it. Such poetic and lyrical prose put against the background of life during different eras with such magnificence that the simplicity of it will make you tear a bit. Just read her.

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though the themes can become repetitive and the quality of the stories is sometimes uneven, Alice Adams has a particular way of capturing the emotions of women. Raised in Chapel Hill, educated at Radcliffe, and living most of her adult life in the Bay Area, Adams captures those places particularly well. She writes very insightfully about Southern relationships.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

For fans of the precise, detailed style of John Cheever and Richard Yates.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, this woman has incredible credentials--25 stories in the New Yorker, 23 stories in the O. Henry collections, won the O. Henry six times, etc etc etc. Impressive, but I just Don't. Get. It.

I'm going to fling out an over-used, under-understood adjective here--well-written. I see this used haphazardly all over this site, and my assumption is that when people think that a book is good, in a generic "good" kind of way but are unable to be more articulate, they say that it is well-written, regardless of the writing. So the adjective becomes meaningless, having been misused so often.

But I will attempt to revive it here--these stories certainly are well-written. If there is one thing that The New Yorker, O. Henry will vet, it's the quality of the writing. You don't rack up accolades like she did without being a decent writer. Structure, pacing, dialogue--all good.

So the next question is--what are you writing about? And this is my issue with these stories, not the writing. I found these stories so immediately forgettable, so easy to put down and lose interest in. Even the stories that I liked best, I didn't like. The first story in the collection, "Verlie I Say Unto You," is about how a rich family doesn't really know what's going on in the private life of their maid. Well, right. Of course not. Was this supposed to be surprising?

But I kept reading them, looking for something else. And when I gave up on finding something engaging, I kept reading them anyway, because it's easier to analyze the structure of a story when you aren't distracted by--plot or character or humor or voice. So I can't say I'm coming away with nothing here, but I'm alarmed that such low-interest stories could do so well. Or confused by it.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is Alice Adams not up at the top of the list of the best Contemporary American authors because she's a woman? Is it because her career was quiet, she had a long and fairly stable life and her books are discreet and poetic rather than splashy or controversial? These stories are absolutely, undeniably perfect. Sweet, sad, lyrical, quietly feminist, funny, not a miss among them.

[Shanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. How had I not heard about her before this point?

[Lisa Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I began reading this collection with great enthusiasm then found myself irritated with the author toward the end of the 600+ pages. I don’t have evidence that the stories at the first of the anthology were written early in Adams’ career and that the book arranged them chronologically but it would be my guess. The last ten or more stories were struggles to get through, boring topics like runaway cats or dogs needing a home. There were signs that these last ones were written for a more modern audience. There was way more evaluation of a particular love affair according to the sex factor. Adams livened up the dialogue with some F bombs. Out of all these stories, we never meet a repeat set of characters, a challenge for a reader. In short, most stories are the musings of a dissatisfied often older woman who doesn’t consider herself pretty as she mentally trips through memories of past loves and places with longing and regret. She is never happy in the present. On the whole, the collection is a downer.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with some other reviewers here. While most of these stories are merely a series of events in people's lives with no real conclusion or revelation, the stories are surprisingly addictive and compelling, and you keep on reading. I think perhaps that is owed to the author's talent as a writer. She has a way of making you feel as though she is your friend and has come to visit and tell you about some mutual acquaintances. Although certainly not mind bending, still a comfortable and enjoyable read.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s no question that Alice Adams is a good writer, with great characters. A couple of these short stories I loved, and most of them were easy to read. That said, there were immense similarities between the stories. With a few exceptions, I felt like I was reading the same story over and over, with a couple tweaks around the edges.

[Walker Iversen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best collection of short stories I've ever read and worth 700+ pages. Alice Adams stories are not ambitious, but small and incisive. They have lingered with me like no short story I've read before.

[Karen Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are SO MANY stories in this book (53!). They are gems, but not to be read in one fell sweep I think. So after reading a few, I have decided to take this book back to the library and purchase one of my own. I look forward to indulging in a story a week, or something like that.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Adams never disappoints

[Mark Bremmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! Realistic people! True problems! The nutty, stupid stuff we all do. Adams was an expert at pulling it all together.

[Hannah Sloane-Arenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning, the best short story collection I’ve ever read. I can’t believe it took me so many years to discover the sheer brilliance of Alice Adams.

[Despina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed her short story “at the beach”

[David Buhler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are short and end with a twist. One story, Roses and Chrysanthemums, especially well written and wonderful.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the stories drew me in and kept me rapt at the author’s gift for capturing the complexity of human relationships.

[Coralie Loon]

There are a few good stories in here but this collection is so. god damn. long, and a lot of them felt it. Overall I don't know that she is the writer for me...

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

from Beautiful Girl (1979):
Verlie I say unto you --3
Winter rain --
Ripped off --
*The swastika on our door --
*Flights --
*Beautiful girl --
Home is where --
A pale and perfectly oval moon --
Roses, rhododendron --4
For good --
***
*Alternatives --
*The gift of grass --

from To See You Again (1982):
*Snow --
Greyhound people --3
By the sea --
An unscheduled stop --
*The girl across the room --
Lost luggage --
Berkeley house --
Legends --
At the beach --
*Truth or consequences --
To see you again --4

from Return Trips (1985):
*Alaska --
Return trips --
La señora --
New best friends --
A public pool --
Waiting for Stella --
Barcelona --2
Separate planes --
*Molly's dog --
Mexican dust --
Elizabeth --
Sintra --2
My first and only house --

from After You've Gone (1990):
*1940: Fall --
The end of the world --
Fog --
Tide pools --
Favors --
*Ocracoke Island --
Your doctor loves you --
*After you've gone --

from The Last Lovely City (1999):
*His women --
*The haunted beach --
Great sex --
Raccoons --
Old love affairs --
A very nice dog --
The visit --
*The last lovely city --
*The islands --
The drinking club --
*Earthquake damage--

***
Uncollected:
*Complicities--
The oasis--2

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This magnificent collection of short stories is 600-or-so pages of goodness! It took me a long time to read them because I wanted to pause after each one and think about it. Alice Adams presents vignettes of women's lives that really appealed to me. It was also fortuitous that I traveled to San Francisco during this time because the author lived there for many years and set many of these stories there. That said, I don't know if others will love it as much as I did--it might just have been a perfect time for me to revel in this collection.
Can't wait to read more of her fiction!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like Alice Adams' writing, but I'm not really a fan of short stories. What I would like is to have this book on my Kindle so I could pick it up and read a story when I have limited time to read. I do like Alice Adams' stories.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading Alice Adams books years ago as well as her short stories in the New Yorker. She has been one of my all time authors over the years along with Margret Atwood and Kurt Vonnegut.

The stories are all so well written and just such a pleasure to read!!

[Lauri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemed like a lot of the same thing over and over...

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Adams was a master of the short story, as well as the novel.