Harmony of the World: Stories

by Charles Baxter

From the winner of the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story and “one of our most gifted writers” ( Chicago Tribune )—these ten stories show make everyday experiences seem utterly unprecedented, even as Baxter reminds us, gently and with a sly comic twist, that everything they feel is only the collateral damage of being human.

Whether he is writing about the players in a rickety bisexual love triangle or a woman visiting her husband in a nursing home, probing the psychic mainspring of a grimly obsessive weight lifter or sifting through the layers of resentment, need, and pity in a friendship that has gone on a few decades too long, Baxter enchants us with the elegant balance of his prose and the unexpectedness of his insights. Harmony of the World is a masterpiece of lucidity and compassion.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Charles Baxter was born in Minneapolis and graduated from Macalester College, in Saint Paul. After completing graduate work in English at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he taught for several years at Wayne State University in Detroit. In 1989, he moved to the Department of English at the University of Michigan--Ann Arbor and its MFA program. He now teaches at the University of Minnesota.

Baxter is the author of 4 novels, 4 collections of short stories, 3 collections of poems, a collection of essays on fiction and is the editor of other works. His works of fiction include Believers , The Feast of Love (nominated for the National Book Award), Saul and Patsy , and Through the Safety Net . He lives in Minneapolis.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Baxter has long been one of my favorite writers, but I hadn’t read anything of his for many years. This collection of stories features his incisive wit and his keen eye for depicting the peculiar quirks of emotionally stunted Midwestern men. He leans into creating ambiguous, odd, sometimes quite bittersweet moments between characters, and I find his approach to be altogether refreshing and satisfying.

[Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up based on the title story, which I read in 100 Years of The Best American Short Stories . That story is the highlight, and there are few more good ones about love triangles and obsessive weightlifting, but another good chunk of them are duds. I found that Baxter repeated the same types of characters and themes over and over, but he seems to know them well. He loves characters who seem to have potential and turn out to be abject failures. These make for interesting stories. For the most part.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harmony of the World is another wonderful collection of short stories by Charles Baxter. Baxter is a fine writer but his short stories are particularly masterly: well-crafted, beautifully nuanced and satisfyingly complete (unlike the other popular type of short story-which I also can enjoy when they are well-done- in which the story simply stops at some point but which does not provide a feeling of resolution or insight).

I enjoy not only reading but rereading Baxter, savoring the prose and gaining new insights into both life and the craft of writing.

[Jemppu · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the reading updates.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I tend to love everything from Charles Baxter but this rather somber set of stories didn't resonate. The characters are potentially too human (read: damaged) and selfish to make for pleasant reading. These are stories about people who are coming to terms with how unexceptional they are and how disappointing a life with unreasonable expectations can be. "Xavier Speaking" is about two college friends now in their 30s who try (somewhat) to maintain a relationship; Arthur was "a man who refused to do certain things;" he was angry (for some reason). He marries a religious woman and our narrator feels sure they won't last, and indeed Arthur and his wife have a crazy separation involving a strange drifter and a fire. The narrator "loves" his friend but is worried about his bad luck rubbing off - these are two men who are completely different with very little connecting them other than the fact that they went to college together - it isn't even clear if they like each other. The other stories share these themes of loneliness and judgment and disappointment.

A blurb on the front uses the words "wry" and "funny" to describe these stories, but I didn't find those terms to be applicable.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story involving a pianist/music critic who agrees to be the accompanist to a soprano, who he determines can't sing the chosen songs in the correct key or pitch. He still agrees to work with her, and they soon become lovers, but it all in ends in failure.

[A L]

What a sharp collection.

[Alicia Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This paperback has been sitting on my shelf for years. I can't believe it's taking me this long to "discover" it, because I think Charles Baxter now might be one of my favorite short fiction writers.

[Faith Rens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Weird.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several of these stories weave music into theme and setting. The title story has a great ending, a faux-suicide, that is quite original and surprising. “The Model” has a great scene where a woman puts various perfumes and other scents on her lover before sending him to his boyfriend, it’s an original touch that saves the story. “Weights” also has a surprising ending, but what I really liked was the way all of the characterizations were handled, and how the minor characters had so much impact. The other stories were so-so, although all had nice touches.

[Abby Peck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Baxter, I find myself frequently looking for new short stories which prefer over novels or ones I have somehow overlooked ...

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

These early Baxter stories are incisive portrayals of failure, heartbreak, and memory.

[Laura Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collection of short stories by Baxter. Very interesting – must read more Baxter.

[Jess Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best part of this book was without a doubt 17 year-old Kenny's notes in the margins! Those get 5 stars.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book missed the mark for me. Each different story brought a melancholy, somber mood and kind of leaves the reader hanging. The last story was the most sad. Not my favorite writer.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful, thought-provoking, funny, sad - with that uniquely A2 sensibility that imbues all his works. Recommended!

[Sohail · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a rating for the collection of short stories of the same name, but only for the eponymous short story. 3 stars.