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Emerald City and Other Stories
These eleven masterful stories, the first short-story collection from acclaimed author Jennifer Egan, deal with loneliness and longing, regret and desire. Egan's characters—models and housewives, bankers and schoolgirls—are united by their search for something outside their own realm of experience.
170 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
229 people are currently reading
3713 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Egan
54 books8,516 followersJennifer Egan is the author of several novels and a short story collection. Her 2017 novel, Manhattan Beach, a New York Times bestseller, was awarded the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction, and was chosen as New York City’s One Book One New York read. Her previous novel, A Visit From the Goon Squad, won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the Los Angeles Times book prize, and was named one of the best books of the decade by Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly. Also a journalist, she has written frequently in the New York Times Magazine, and she recently completed a term as President of PEN America. Her new novel, The Candy House, a sibling to A Visit From the Goon Squad, was published in April, 2022, and was recently named one of the New York Times’s 10 Best Books of 2022, as well as one of President Obama’s favorite reads of 2022.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 370 reviews
March 29, 2012
With every book I read of Jennifer Egan's, I become a bigger and bigger fan. The one flaw that plagued some of her novels was clumsy plotting, but the short story form fits her style well and these masterful stories are beautifully rendered. Her keen eye for the glow of moments and how they resonate in our lives is at the center of each of these tales, and Egan draws much wisdom from the lives she observes here. Most poignantly, Egan hones in on economics in a way that most fiction writers shy away from, and this adds extra significance to these stories in the context of our current financial troubles. She is acutely aware of how money and the pursuit of it shapes the choices we make in relationships and careers, and is unafraid to show both the positive and negative ramifications of this on the lives of her characters. A must read for fans of her Pulitzer-Prize winning "A Visit from the Goon Squad."
February 23, 2020
Guarda dove sei
Racconti di una Jennifer Egan giovane promessa, al tempo dell'università. Le donne di Egan sono catturate in momenti di trauma, di perdita: un tradimento, un divorzio, una disillusione, una ferita, un fallimento, una resa. Ogni volta trovano in qualcosa o in qualcuno, se stessi forse, la voglia e la forza di cambiare, di ricominciare. I luoghi in cui Egan ambienta le storie hanno una dimensione di geodiversità: New York, il Midwest, la California, e poi Messico, Spagna, Tahiti, Kenya. Egan apre al lettore le porte dell'infanzia, dell'adolescenza, dell'età adulta; così intreccia inaspettate trame, immagina un dolore vivo e incoerente, disegna tensioni che non si riescono a controllare. Il legame tra le persone è l'unica cosa a salvarsi, dopo che ogni cosa si è allontanata, si è oscurata, fino a spegnersi in uno stanco crepuscolo. La solitudine e la paura minacciano tutti, realtà celestiali acquisiscono una doppiezza ostile, sghemba, tormentata; una volta che l'oggetto temuto agisce il trauma, questo rivela ad un secondo sguardo un'inedita opzione, quella di una svolta, di un riequilibrio, di una rinascita che recupera un senso nuovo e complessivo dell'esistere. Forse qui risiede la più evidente qualità di queste short stories: stabilire con il lettore una graduale intimità emotiva, che caratterizza un'interpretazione capace di ascendere verso un piano intuitivo di pura persistenza.
“Mi torna in mente quello che ha detto Bradley sui modellini, che sono rotti e che spetta a lui ripararli. Un pezzo giusto, penso, e tutto andrebbe a posto, come i soldati che depongono le armi sul campo di battaglia. Un pezzo soltanto. Sì, ma quale? Poi Bradley alza gli occhi. Deve aver sentito che lo guardavo. Non dice niente, ci limitiamo a guardarci a lungo, nessuno dei due si muove. Il fuoco gli illumina il viso facendo sembrare gli occhi vuoti. L'unico rumore è lo scricchiolio del legno nel fuoco. Mi alzo quasi in piedi e salto. Mantengo la calma finché le scarpe non si staccano dal ramo e vedo il falò venirmi incontro come una gigantesca bocca arancione. Urlano tutti. Sento lo schianto che produco, un calore forsennato che mi arruffa i capelli e i vestiti. Poi sono sulla spiaggia, un peso che è Bradley mi fa rotolare e mi colpisce, spingendomi dentro la sabbia fredda, spegnendo le fiamme con il suo corpo”.
Racconti di una Jennifer Egan giovane promessa, al tempo dell'università. Le donne di Egan sono catturate in momenti di trauma, di perdita: un tradimento, un divorzio, una disillusione, una ferita, un fallimento, una resa. Ogni volta trovano in qualcosa o in qualcuno, se stessi forse, la voglia e la forza di cambiare, di ricominciare. I luoghi in cui Egan ambienta le storie hanno una dimensione di geodiversità: New York, il Midwest, la California, e poi Messico, Spagna, Tahiti, Kenya. Egan apre al lettore le porte dell'infanzia, dell'adolescenza, dell'età adulta; così intreccia inaspettate trame, immagina un dolore vivo e incoerente, disegna tensioni che non si riescono a controllare. Il legame tra le persone è l'unica cosa a salvarsi, dopo che ogni cosa si è allontanata, si è oscurata, fino a spegnersi in uno stanco crepuscolo. La solitudine e la paura minacciano tutti, realtà celestiali acquisiscono una doppiezza ostile, sghemba, tormentata; una volta che l'oggetto temuto agisce il trauma, questo rivela ad un secondo sguardo un'inedita opzione, quella di una svolta, di un riequilibrio, di una rinascita che recupera un senso nuovo e complessivo dell'esistere. Forse qui risiede la più evidente qualità di queste short stories: stabilire con il lettore una graduale intimità emotiva, che caratterizza un'interpretazione capace di ascendere verso un piano intuitivo di pura persistenza.
“Mi torna in mente quello che ha detto Bradley sui modellini, che sono rotti e che spetta a lui ripararli. Un pezzo giusto, penso, e tutto andrebbe a posto, come i soldati che depongono le armi sul campo di battaglia. Un pezzo soltanto. Sì, ma quale? Poi Bradley alza gli occhi. Deve aver sentito che lo guardavo. Non dice niente, ci limitiamo a guardarci a lungo, nessuno dei due si muove. Il fuoco gli illumina il viso facendo sembrare gli occhi vuoti. L'unico rumore è lo scricchiolio del legno nel fuoco. Mi alzo quasi in piedi e salto. Mantengo la calma finché le scarpe non si staccano dal ramo e vedo il falò venirmi incontro come una gigantesca bocca arancione. Urlano tutti. Sento lo schianto che produco, un calore forsennato che mi arruffa i capelli e i vestiti. Poi sono sulla spiaggia, un peso che è Bradley mi fa rotolare e mi colpisce, spingendomi dentro la sabbia fredda, spegnendo le fiamme con il suo corpo”.
January 27, 2018
I picked this book up purely because I was attracted to the cover and nothing more. Finishing it has made me feel like I have been on the most exhausting journey of my life around a collection of vibrant and powerful places. Each story is set in a different country regarding a different relationship within a different group of people and it's really fascinating. Each story took me out of myself, pushed me further than I expected and entertained me to boot. This is a author to watch.
June 6, 2021
Each of these 11 stories has a fantastic first line - my favorite, from “Sacred Heart,” being “In ninth grade I was a great admirer of Jesus Christ” - but often I felt that these stories of relationships on the brink did not live up to their openers. Most take place in a major city (Chicago, New York, San Francisco) or a holiday destination (Bora Bora, China, Mexico, Spain), but no matter the setting, the terrain is generally a teen girl flirting with danger or a marriage about to implode because the secret of a recent or long-ago affair has come out into the open. Recurring elements include models/stylists/fashion photographers and people getting conned out of money. The title story is set in New York, described as “a place that glittered from a distance even when you reached it.”
To me the best story, for offering something a bit different, was “One Piece,” about a brother who seems to hurt everything he touches but comes through for his sister when it counts. Egan’s characters are caught between emotional states: remembering a golden age, regretting a moment that changed everything, or hoping that the best is yet to come. “The Stylist” was the one story that reminded me most of A Visit from the Goon Squad. As soon as I closed the book, I found that I had trouble remembering details of any of the stories.
To me the best story, for offering something a bit different, was “One Piece,” about a brother who seems to hurt everything he touches but comes through for his sister when it counts. Egan’s characters are caught between emotional states: remembering a golden age, regretting a moment that changed everything, or hoping that the best is yet to come. “The Stylist” was the one story that reminded me most of A Visit from the Goon Squad. As soon as I closed the book, I found that I had trouble remembering details of any of the stories.
June 25, 2025
Rarely do I find a book of short stories that I love. This one was another that I liked enough but couldn't love. As usual, a couple of stories stood out, but the rest either bored me or blurred one into the other, or they start out string but fizzle out in the end. Actually, most of the endings were disappointing - they often felt like Egan just wanted to stop writing. The ones I enjoyed, however, were really good and will stick in my mind for a while. The one I liked most was called One Piece. There was a haunting quality to it, and the sibling dynamic was palpably tragic.
October 16, 2018
Video review
Insightful stories focused on crucial moments in the lives of well-rounded characters, showcasing Egan's gift to say the unspeakable. That they mostly feature a plot too is just as exciting as a 2-for-1 offer on hand soap at your supermarket of choice.
Insightful stories focused on crucial moments in the lives of well-rounded characters, showcasing Egan's gift to say the unspeakable. That they mostly feature a plot too is just as exciting as a 2-for-1 offer on hand soap at your supermarket of choice.
May 5, 2019
Quanto segue è stato scritto da MoglieRiccia, motivo per cui troverete innalzato il livello delle recensioni. Siccome lo abbiamo letto più o meno in contemporanea, e siccome lei ha scritto una cosa semplicemente perfetta, la faccio mio (dopo aver chiesto il permesso).
____
C’è da dire che quando si vuol bene a qualcuno si è più inclini all’indulgenza.
Questi racconti non sono perfetti (non tutti) e alcuni forse non sono nemmeno belli (altri sì, altri tantissimo).
Detto questo c’è qualcosa che hanno in comune, tutti, i migliori e i meno.
Un filo rosso affilato come un rasoio.
“Dove ti fa male?” chiede a un certo punto un personaggio a un altro, in questi racconti.
“Mi fa male dappertutto, pensò Ellen. Non le faceva male abbastanza” è la risposta contenuta nelle righe seguenti.
Basterebbe questo a scatenare applauso e standing ovation, per quanto mi riguarda. Questo scambio di battute.
Perché dove ci fa male? è LA domanda. Sempre.
E detto così potrebbe sembrare che siano racconti tristi (e lo sono, come la maggior parte dei buoni racconti).
Ma la Egan non ci lascia soli col nostro “male dappertutto” e, nell’ultimo racconto che chiude la raccolta, infila una risposta; come un biglietto lasciato scorrere sotto la porta chiusa con cui ci siamo trincerati nei nostri affanni o nelle nostre domande quotidiane:
“sempre a guardare”, dice Silas, girandosi verso di me (…)
Io annuisco vergognandomi. “Solo che non faccio mai niente”, dico (…)
Silas aggrotta la fronte: “Sì che fai qualcosa. Guardi – dice – ed è questo che ti salverà”.
Che poi, ho pensato, guardare è forse l’azione più potente che ci sia. È ciò che fanno gli scrittori quando scrivono, gli artisti, i lettori. È il gesto di chi rimane affascinato o colpito da qualcuno o da qualcosa di così vero o importante o potente da volerne scoprire il segreto.
Guardare è un’azione.
Non è violenta. Lascia che le cose siano. E, se impari a guardare bene, è l’unica vera azione che ti cambia.
____
C’è da dire che quando si vuol bene a qualcuno si è più inclini all’indulgenza.
Questi racconti non sono perfetti (non tutti) e alcuni forse non sono nemmeno belli (altri sì, altri tantissimo).
Detto questo c’è qualcosa che hanno in comune, tutti, i migliori e i meno.
Un filo rosso affilato come un rasoio.
“Dove ti fa male?” chiede a un certo punto un personaggio a un altro, in questi racconti.
“Mi fa male dappertutto, pensò Ellen. Non le faceva male abbastanza” è la risposta contenuta nelle righe seguenti.
Basterebbe questo a scatenare applauso e standing ovation, per quanto mi riguarda. Questo scambio di battute.
Perché dove ci fa male? è LA domanda. Sempre.
E detto così potrebbe sembrare che siano racconti tristi (e lo sono, come la maggior parte dei buoni racconti).
Ma la Egan non ci lascia soli col nostro “male dappertutto” e, nell’ultimo racconto che chiude la raccolta, infila una risposta; come un biglietto lasciato scorrere sotto la porta chiusa con cui ci siamo trincerati nei nostri affanni o nelle nostre domande quotidiane:
“sempre a guardare”, dice Silas, girandosi verso di me (…)
Io annuisco vergognandomi. “Solo che non faccio mai niente”, dico (…)
Silas aggrotta la fronte: “Sì che fai qualcosa. Guardi – dice – ed è questo che ti salverà”.
Che poi, ho pensato, guardare è forse l’azione più potente che ci sia. È ciò che fanno gli scrittori quando scrivono, gli artisti, i lettori. È il gesto di chi rimane affascinato o colpito da qualcuno o da qualcosa di così vero o importante o potente da volerne scoprire il segreto.
Guardare è un’azione.
Non è violenta. Lascia che le cose siano. E, se impari a guardare bene, è l’unica vera azione che ti cambia.
June 19, 2013
Yet another 5 stars for Egan. Okay, not every story is brilliant, but damn near. She has a way of getting inside characters and situations that are electrifying with tension. The copy I had, said the stories were vaguely Hitchcockian - which I didn't get at first. But then, as a big Hitch fan, I began to see it. Normal family scenes with a subtle twist became imbued with deep tension. A mother dies of a freak accident to set a story in motion, a woman is lost emotionally and physically as she roams through Europe, another woman tries to regain the wonder in life before she married a rich man - explaining these scenarios, well, they seem just normal, boring even. But with Egan's fine fine craft, I found myself wincing (as I did in Goon Squad), not wanting to read the next few lines, but having to. One scene stands out when a father is caught in a lie by his daughter, and her world changes. When she utters, "He's lying" while her mother and father sit across from her (in the story Puerto Vallarta) - I had to set the book down as the emotional tension was so high.
Fans of beautifully written, intense and compressed stories will love this. Highly recommended (especially for other writers).
Fans of beautifully written, intense and compressed stories will love this. Highly recommended (especially for other writers).
May 29, 2016
Лек, приятен и ненатрапчив сборник с разкази на писателка, с която от известно време исках да се запозная. Чете се за един следобед, лее се гладко, но някакси в края на почти всеки разказ си казвах: "Е, това ли беше?".
Любимата ми миниатюра от книгата е едноименната "Изумруденият град", на която е посветена и корицата. Искам да ѝ обърна специално внимание, защото е прекрасна. Лично аз не отдавам такова значение на кориците, няма никакъв шанс да си купя книга само заради външния ѝ вид, но корицата на "Изумруденият град" просто обикнах. Нежната зелено-жълта гама, подсилена със синкаво-изумрудения неон на надписа, аварийното нюйоркско стълбище и изящното момиче, което прави челна стойка на парапета само, за да смени перспективата си.
Все още не знам дали ще прочета "Жестокото присъствие на времето", за което чувам многобройни разнпосочни мнения, но "Изумруденият град" ми допана, приятно охлаждайки възпалените ми от някои други скорошни книги литературни сетива.
Любимата ми миниатюра от книгата е едноименната "Изумруденият град", на която е посветена и корицата. Искам да ѝ обърна специално внимание, защото е прекрасна. Лично аз не отдавам такова значение на кориците, няма никакъв шанс да си купя книга само заради външния ѝ вид, но корицата на "Изумруденият град" просто обикнах. Нежната зелено-жълта гама, подсилена със синкаво-изумрудения неон на надписа, аварийното нюйоркско стълбище и изящното момиче, което прави челна стойка на парапета само, за да смени перспективата си.
Все още не знам дали ще прочета "Жестокото присъствие на времето", за което чувам многобройни разнпосочни мнения, но "Изумруденият град" ми допана, приятно охлаждайки възпалените ми от някои други скорошни книги литературни сетива.
September 16, 2017
Beautifully written, sophisticated stories usually featuring Americans abroad (China, Spain, Mexico etc.). About half are from an adolescent's viewpoint as they come to realise their parents (or more often than not step parents) are not the flawless characters they once thought, or how they try to fit in with idealised friends. The other half are from the step-parents' PoV, as their marriages break or they move on to new relationships or perspectives. All are rich (or rich-ish) and privileged, offering glimpses into the glamorous worlds of models in exotic locations, or holidays in beach huts on Bora-Bora, which made a change from my usual working class urban fare. They work so well because the characters are believable, and the writing is seamless and accurate. Might well read more now (I've been wondering about 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' for a while).
January 14, 2019
I love the route of cultural & critical ignorance I'm taking through her books, starting at Manhattan Beach, then Look at Me, and this collection of shorts as the third. I love the differences in energy and locations between these three books, and the similarities between the characters (with a few actually being the same people). I love looking at America, Americans abroad, and the fancy people and places of glossy magazine dreams through her Midwestern lenses.
"Spanish Winter" and "Sisters of the Moon" (two of the last three stories) made me cry. Not in a tragic way, but in a comforting way for a forty-something being reminded of all the boring disappointments and opportunities and revelations between my failures of adulthood and the days of staying up late hearing the theme songs from Love Boat, Dallas, and Fantasy Island.
I don't know that I'd have enjoyed this collection as much I did if I hadn't read those other two books first. Betting that a big part of why I love this book is because of attachments & familiarity bred by reading and loving so much of those others. I might have still enjoyed it a ton if it'd been the first Egan I picked up, but I probably would've rolled my eyes and not been as open to loving & identifying with the characters as much.
"Spanish Winter" and "Sisters of the Moon" (two of the last three stories) made me cry. Not in a tragic way, but in a comforting way for a forty-something being reminded of all the boring disappointments and opportunities and revelations between my failures of adulthood and the days of staying up late hearing the theme songs from Love Boat, Dallas, and Fantasy Island.
I don't know that I'd have enjoyed this collection as much I did if I hadn't read those other two books first. Betting that a big part of why I love this book is because of attachments & familiarity bred by reading and loving so much of those others. I might have still enjoyed it a ton if it'd been the first Egan I picked up, but I probably would've rolled my eyes and not been as open to loving & identifying with the characters as much.
June 4, 2016
В Изумрудения град щастието е скъпо: http://knigolandia.info/book-review/i...
Игън умее да гради различни сюжети, но носещи сходни емоции – основно минорни. Това са емоциите на обикновените хора, впримчени в делника, направили своите решения и установили, че до едно са били погрешни. Често в основата на историите са разпадащи се бракове и разкъсани семейства. Нарядко се вмъкват повечко пари, за да отведат повествованието в друга, рядко по-щастлива орбита. Пътешествията са чести, но никога по добър повод. Живот в обичайния смисъл, в който щастието е миг, а в останалото време човек трябва да се справя някак си в очакване и стремеж към следващия.
Издателство "Милениум"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/i...
Игън умее да гради различни сюжети, но носещи сходни емоции – основно минорни. Това са емоциите на обикновените хора, впримчени в делника, направили своите решения и установили, че до едно са били погрешни. Често в основата на историите са разпадащи се бракове и разкъсани семейства. Нарядко се вмъкват повечко пари, за да отведат повествованието в друга, рядко по-щастлива орбита. Пътешествията са чести, но никога по добър повод. Живот в обичайния смисъл, в който щастието е миг, а в останалото време човек трябва да се справя някак си в очакване и стремеж към следващия.
Издателство "Милениум"
http://knigolandia.info/book-review/i...
February 2, 2012
It's a nice surprise when going to a bookstore to purchase a specific book (and they don't have it) and you end up grabbing a nearby book instead - and it turns out to be terrific. Although with Egan it is a pretty safe bet that you're going to get quality product, it was still great to experience a book of well crafted short stories.
"Why China?", the opening story of the collection, was my favorite. I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice to say that it hit all of the right notes in creating memorable characters in a setting with which the reader can identify easily, regardless of whether or not they have been to the Chinese locales depicted.
"Why China?", the opening story of the collection, was my favorite. I don't want to spoil the plot, but suffice to say that it hit all of the right notes in creating memorable characters in a setting with which the reader can identify easily, regardless of whether or not they have been to the Chinese locales depicted.
August 12, 2010
At first I was quite taken by Jennifer Egan, but as I read on I discovered her stories all relied on the same contrived devices, bordering (no, relying) on the formulaic. These are parlor tricks, not authentic portraits of the human condition. In addition, story after story concerned only wealthy, privileged characters, with larger moral issues/themes altogether absent.
Ultimately these stories aren't about anything - hollow, device-laden vignettes that get worse as you go rather than better.
Ultimately these stories aren't about anything - hollow, device-laden vignettes that get worse as you go rather than better.
January 11, 2020
Not a big fan of short stories, but my love for a visit from the goon squad led me to this
That being said-
I really enjoyed it, the stories didn’t feel incomplete like many do in short stories. They were all interesting and full of heart. Lovely book, you killed it again J Egan ♥️
That being said-
I really enjoyed it, the stories didn’t feel incomplete like many do in short stories. They were all interesting and full of heart. Lovely book, you killed it again J Egan ♥️
February 7, 2017
Първа среща с Дженифър Игън :) Не знам как успях да се опазя от "Жестокото присъствие на времето" толкова дълго време – книгата стабилно отлежава в библиотеката ми, откакто е излязла на български.
Обикновено, когато чета сборници, си набелязвам няколко любими разказа, заради които напълно забравям останалите. "Изумруденият град" ме спечели с нещо ново – не излъчих фаворити, но за сметка на това във всяка една от историите имаше конкретен момент, в повечето случаи съвсем деликатен, ненатрапчив и дори незначителен спрямо сюжета, който успяваше да ме трогне внезапно и силно. Тези дребни лични находки успяха да събудят любопитството ми към Игън като разказвач. Надявам се да я заваря в още по-добра форма, когато най-сетне се наканя на прословутия ѝ роман.
Обикновено, когато чета сборници, си набелязвам няколко любими разказа, заради които напълно забравям останалите. "Изумруденият град" ме спечели с нещо ново – не излъчих фаворити, но за сметка на това във всяка една от историите имаше конкретен момент, в повечето случаи съвсем деликатен, ненатрапчив и дори незначителен спрямо сюжета, който успяваше да ме трогне внезапно и силно. Тези дребни лични находки успяха да събудят любопитството ми към Игън като разказвач. Надявам се да я заваря в още по-добра форма, когато най-сетне се наканя на прословутия ѝ роман.
March 29, 2016
This blew me away. Egan is a powerful yet delicate writer. I can't say enough about how beautiful this book is! READ IT!! And be moved by how fragile and damaged humans are but how sublime it can be as well. Stories of the human experience captured so perfectly is something I love. It connects us all and we can breathe easier.
October 20, 2018
Brilliant - each one a little beauty! Well crafted, depth and character in each one. Loved it!
February 28, 2018
In the past few months I've read Egan's new novel Manhattan Beach, her famous novel/ interconnected short story collection Visit from the Goon Squad, and this story collection, Emerald City. Reading so much of a writer's body of work at one time, I started to notice funny things. For instance that Egan often describes people, particularly women, as smelling "bready," or once "oatmealy." Coincidental sightings and encounters between people who haven't seen each other in long stretches of time are also a recurring theme. Then there's also the fact that a sort of shocking number of Egan's stories are about rich people on vacation. "Why China?," "Puerto Vallarta," "The Watch Trick," "Letter to Josephine," and to some extent "One Piece," "Spanish Winter," and "The Stylist," all have a component of (monied) leisure travel. In fact, looking back at the table of contents, the only story that I don't remember having an explicit connection to vacationing is "Sacred Heart," "Sisters of the Moon" and the title story, which is in itself sort of about people who live in New York but relate to the city as tourists. The protagonists are people who, I felt while reading, will never really be able to live in the city.
Retroactively, this gives the collection a nice through-line, a thematic focus on ideas about travel, leisure and relaxation (or not), and money. It is also connected by these people of a certain fluid class. Not all rich, but almost all with access to real money, power, or prestige. I was willing to stay with Egan through the collection because her observations and details are unexpected, and the world of each story feels just distinct enough for it to stand out. Yet at the same time, I felt a little disappointed. Egan inserts characters with some misgivings about their wealth and the society it allows them to exist in, but they don't feel convincing. No one seems actually worried, stressed, anxious about this wealth. And in the end that makes the whole collection feel a bit stale. Like the stakes were too low.
Stories I enjoyed most:
Why China
Sacred Heart
Emerald City
Sisters of the Moon
Retroactively, this gives the collection a nice through-line, a thematic focus on ideas about travel, leisure and relaxation (or not), and money. It is also connected by these people of a certain fluid class. Not all rich, but almost all with access to real money, power, or prestige. I was willing to stay with Egan through the collection because her observations and details are unexpected, and the world of each story feels just distinct enough for it to stand out. Yet at the same time, I felt a little disappointed. Egan inserts characters with some misgivings about their wealth and the society it allows them to exist in, but they don't feel convincing. No one seems actually worried, stressed, anxious about this wealth. And in the end that makes the whole collection feel a bit stale. Like the stakes were too low.
Stories I enjoyed most:
Why China
Sacred Heart
Emerald City
Sisters of the Moon
September 4, 2021
Egan can write a short story! The variety of the stories is what really impressed me. Definitely adding her to my list of “read more stuff from this author”. The first story was my favorite, I think.
Every story is set in a different place with different groups of people, and doesn’t waste words. Idk if there’s a “theme” to the stories, but I didn’t mind. While I still prefer darker writing, there’s for sure some haunting elements in the stories. I listened to this book on audible while working in my garden; the length of the stories make this a great book to listen to over 4-5 sittings.
Every story is set in a different place with different groups of people, and doesn’t waste words. Idk if there’s a “theme” to the stories, but I didn’t mind. While I still prefer darker writing, there’s for sure some haunting elements in the stories. I listened to this book on audible while working in my garden; the length of the stories make this a great book to listen to over 4-5 sittings.
August 21, 2021
This is now one of my top 3 short story collections of all time. Up there with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Asimov collections..but more consistently written, insightful, and memorable. A month later I could look at the titles of the stories and remember the character and the feel of their world. I like everything by this author.
February 17, 2022
This collection of short stories is probably like a 3.5, but because I like the author, I decided to round up. Most of the stories were perfectly fine, and there were a couple I loved. They were very short, so it didn’t get too deep into any specific character or plot, but together they were quick and enjoyable to read.
January 29, 2024
Nice stories, mostly from the early nineties - 30 years ago, amazing. Nothing terribly profound but the works are thoughtful and a little unsettling which is how I like fiction, I guess.
November 16, 2023
3.75/5
Probably last book of the year, have been reading this one for two months now. Not gonna lie, lowkey enjoyed the escapes every story provided. Every story, characters trying to escape from where they are. Will return to it in a better mindset.
Probably last book of the year, have been reading this one for two months now. Not gonna lie, lowkey enjoyed the escapes every story provided. Every story, characters trying to escape from where they are. Will return to it in a better mindset.
February 25, 2010
I only write a few reviews on goodreads, but Jennifer Egan always inspires a few words from me. These stories are phenomenal. They have a specific point of view, while at the same time being generous and thoughtful about characters who may not share that point of view--meaning, they star a lot of upper-middle-class women or girls who are experiencing existential terror in struggling marriages and distance-making travel experiences, but you don't need to be an upper-middle-class woman or girl to empathize. Because Egan's ability to describe psychology is so acute and dead-on, as a reader you feel the characters' emotions, often agree with their actions, and recognize what you share with them. I know these stories were written early in Egan's career, before her writing grew more ambiguous and symbolic. I like wrestling with her later work, but these stories are just a sheer joy to read.
February 5, 2013
I've read three novels by Egan, beginning with her debut Look at Me, and most recently, A Visit from the Good Squad, which I absolutely loved. This short story collection underwhelmed me a bit, as many of the stories felt like treading water, revisiting the same themes and the same characters over and over again. It earns three stars thanks to a few of the stories which thematically and stylistically seem like precursors to Goon Squad, so they won me over. It's a slim volume at 146 pages and if you liked her novels, you might want to pick this up.
October 17, 2019
I absolutely loved this one. I know some people really disagree with me, which is completely fine obviously, saying that Egan's stories are all the same etc. However, I like the sameness in this short story collection: it combines them and creates a narrative.
My favourite stories were "Sacred Heart", "One Piece" and "Letter to Josephine".
The score is technically 4,5/5.
My favourite stories were "Sacred Heart", "One Piece" and "Letter to Josephine".
The score is technically 4,5/5.
October 13, 2016
Очаквам значително по-качествено писане от авторка, наградена с Пулицър. За мен Дженифър Игън няма какво да каже. Или поне на мен не ми казва нито нещо ново, нито нещо по тема, която ме вълнува. Разминахме се с нея... Стилово книгата е ненатоварваща и се чете леко, затова 2 звезди, вместо 1.
December 4, 2015
Boring stories about vapid, rich people.
June 7, 2016
I enjoy this author so much! She knows how to make you care about her characters in less than 10 pages... :)
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