The Best American Short Stories 1998

by Garrison Keillor (Editor), Katrina Kenison

Edited by beloved storyteller Garrison Keillor, this year's volume promises to be full of humor, surprises, and, as always, accomplished writing by new and familiar voices. The preeminent short fiction series since 1915, The Best American Short Stories is the only volume that annually offers the finest works chosen by a distinguished best-selling author.

Hermit's story / Rick Bass --
Sun, the moon, the stars / Junot Diaz --
Mrs. Dutta writes a letter / Chitra Divakaruni --
Kansas / Stephen Dobyns --
Tumblers / Nathan Englander --
Piano tuner / Tim Gautreaux --
Uncharted heart / Melissa Hardy --
The 5:22 / George Harrar --
Islands / A. Hemon --
Best girlfriend you never had / Pam Houston --
In the kindergarten / Ha Jin --
Marry the one who gets there first / Heidi Julavits --
Live life king-sized / Hester Kaplan --
Africans / Sheila Kohler --
Interpreter of maladies / Jhumpa Lahiri --
Real estate / Lorrie Moore --
Save the reaper / Alice Munro --
Bunchgrass edge of the world / Annie Proulx --
Robbers of Karnataka / James Spencer --
Good shopkeeper / Samrat Upadhyay --
Rest of her life / Steve Yarbrough

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Literature, Short Story Collection, Collections

315 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 1998

About the author

Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, singer, humorist, voice actor, and radio personality. He created the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) show A Prairie Home Companion (called Garrison Keillor's Radio Show in some international syndication), which he hosted from 1974 to 2016. Keillor created the fictional Minnesota town Lake Wobegon, the setting of many of his books, including Lake Wobegon Days and Leaving Home: A Collection of Lake Wobegon Stories. Other creations include Guy Noir, a detective voiced by Keillor who appeared in A Prairie Home Companion comic skits. Keillor is also the creator of the five-minute daily radio/podcast program The Writer's Almanac, which pairs poems of his choice with a script about important literary, historical, and scientific events that coincided with that date in history.
In November 2017, Minnesota Public Radio cut all business ties with Keillor after an allegation of inappropriate behavior with a freelance writer for A Prairie Home Companion. On April 13, 2018, MPR and Keillor announced a settlement that allows archives of A Prairie Home Companion and The Writer's Almanac to be publicly available again, and soon thereafter, Keillor began publishing new episodes of The Writer's Almanac on his website. He also continues to tour a stage version of A Prairie Home Companion, although these shows are not broadcast by MPR or American Public Media.

Reviews

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most short story anthologies, this was a mixed bag, but several of the 20 stories contained here were exceptionally strong, tipping my rating up to 4 stars. Favorites were works by Poe Ballantine, Akhil Sharma, Emily Carter, Bliss Broyard, Lorrie Moore, Meg Wolitzer, and, especially, Matthew Crain.

I will say that, other than in the case of Akhil Sharma’s story, this batch was disappointingly full of stories centered on (mostly middle-class and suburban) white people. I’m not sure if that’s a function of this edition’s guest editor — the now-disgraced Garrison Keillor — or the series editor Katrina Kenison, or both, but I hope as I continue reading subsequent editions of The Best American Short Stories that there will be much more diversity represented in their pages.

[Avid Series Reader · Rating 1 out of 5]

Best American Short Stories of 1998 is a collection of short stories selected by Garrison Keillor.

Stories read in random order, as part of the 2014 Deal Me In! Short Story Reading Challenge (bibliophilica.wordpress.com/deal-me-i...).

Wayne in Love - by Padgett Powell
I hated this story of a man obsessed with sex who cheats on his wife and girlfriends. He’s crude and harshly critical of the women he treats as sex objects. “He thought about a shower. That might constitute a moving-in gesture-he did not want that.”

Chance – by Edith Pearlman
A story about a Sunday night Torah Study group – which is actually a weekly poker night, narrated by the daughter of the house (never named) who is allowed to watch the game only if she “managed to obey my father’s directions. I did not snicker, did not gasp, did not smile, did not frown, did not incline my head further or change the angle of my shoulders, did not grip the chair any harder”. She reflects upon what she knows of each of the players as she watches their hands, and gossips with her friend Marjorie by telephone each week during the game.

Morphine – by Doran Larson
A woman’s thoughts as she lies dying of cancer, her pain eased by morphine. As a child, she loved to watch her artistic grandfather. She wholeheartedly dedicated herself to art, but later abandoned creating art to pursue a career as an art historian. Her career was quite successful. Her marriage grew somewhat stale as her husband’s career was eclipsed by her own. When cancer struck, she could not accept its reality until she took up art again, and drew her diseased body. Finally, she worries about how her husband will carry on without her.

Mr. Sweetly Indecent – by Bliss Broyard
A daughter is out of college, living independently in the city, working and dating, visiting her parents in the suburbs on the weekends. Her father has always had an apartment in town, for nights when he has to work late. She stops dating a co-worker, meets and spends the night with one of his friends, and walking home the next morning she sees her father kissing a strange woman. Clearly the woman has spent the night with her father (as she has spent the night with the new man). Her father sees that she sees him. They meet for dinner and she confronts him with his unfaithfulness. He protests that it was completely meaningless, and he still loves her mother. She doesn’t hear from the new man, so she calls him and suggests they get together again. He counter-suggests they don’t, just enjoy the memory of their one enjoyable night. She is completely overwhelmed with the alien concept of the men in her life having ‘meaningless’ sex. To her, her father’s mistress means their whole family life is a lie. At her next visit home, she struggles emotionally, briefly considers shattering a precious china platter to signify the end of her family as she knew it.

Welding with Children - by Tim Gautreaux
A man finds himself "stuck" babysitting his hostile, bratty grandchildren. A public humiliation causes him to blame others for his misfortunes, then - unexpectedly - he accepts that true change must come from within. Although you would never expect it from the way the story begins, it has a heartwarming ending.

People Like That Are the Only People Here - by Lorrie Moore
A sobering peek into the nightmare experience of parents whose baby has cancer. Describes their stay in Pediatric Oncology ("Peed-Onk") pre- and post-surgery, and the many other parents and children there.

Flower Children – by Maxine Swann
A family that might once have been described as “counter-culture” lives in a rustic house they built in the woods, raising the children without rules or limits. The parents openly discuss sex and bodily functions; the babysitter holds orgies. The children learn a great deal about nature because they are free to explore anywhere they want to play outside. When they begin to attend school, they already know “forbidden” adult topics their schoolmates just wonder about. The children quickly learn rules at school and welcome them. Their parents split up; the father moves away but visits them and takes them to visit friends. He loves how fun it is to have children. The children have a richer background than schoolmates from all their freedom to explore the woods at will.

Appetites – by Kathryn Chetkovich
Amanda moves into an apartment with two women, Faith and Carla. Faith is beautiful, Carla a talented pianist. The women are happy living together, but must negotiate how to solve a rodent problem. Interactions between roommates, the landlord, and a new tenant downstairs are mildly interesting…but I missed the point of the story.

Elvis Has Left the Building – by Carol Hanshaw
Jean and Alice have a long-standing friendship. Both are single; Jean’s significant other is married and a hypochondriac. Alice is a drama queen who frequently falls madly in love with a new person, and soon after is devastated by their breakup. Jean patiently listens and empathizes through all Alice’s crises, while wondering if she (Jean) has settled for less than the romance she deserves.

Every Night for a Thousand Years – by Chris Adrian
A fascinating story about Walt Whitman befriending and comforting wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

The Half-Skinned Steer – by Annie Proulx
Octogenarian Mero learns his brother died. He decides to drive to the funeral, four days he figures, from Massachusetts to Wyoming. He immediately begins recalling memories of childhood days with his brother Rollo. A strange tale his father's girlfriend told them long ago on the ranch haunts him while he travels.

Penance – by Matthew Crain
Dark story of a man running a gardening business who takes on a disabled young man as an employee, with mixed results. A stranger adds violence to the mix, and triggers a tragic ending.

The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue – by Po Ballantine
A dark story of children in the same neighborhood who grow up with vastly different direction and values from their parents, and the grim consequences.

Would You Know It Wasn’t Love? – by Hester Kaplan
A young woman unhappy with her marriage leaves her husband, quits her job, and returns home to her parents. Her ailing father resents the strain his self-centered daughter places upon them (her parents) to satisfy her fickle moods.

Unified Front – by Antonya Nelson
A childless married couple goes to DisneyWorld, where they are surrounded by families. The wife wallows in misery over not having a child of her own.

Body Language – by Diane Schoemperlen
A husband suspects his wife of infidelity, based on her absences, mood swings and body language.

The Happiest Place – by Gordon McAlpine
A security guard at Disneyland is set up, gets the sack, and later is framed for murder.

Glory Goes and Gets Some – by Emily Carter
A woman finds a social networking group for HIV+ adults who want sex.

[Jenneffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This compilation was fantastic. Some of the stories reminded me of good friends, old lovers, people I'd never met, situations I couldn't bear to endure, and of myself. Yet the commonality they share is their seamless connection with humanity. Certain phrases chilled me to the bone, others amused me, because of the direct tone each writer takes with the reader. In each story, the reader forgets she is an innocent bystander, and becomes immersed in the plot or particular character who comes to life.

The nature of the short story begs it to be read while drinking a glass of wine, traveling to destinations unknown, or contemplating the meaning of life in the middle of a field somewhere. These stories require no less, perhaps even more, due to the strength of their collection. Keillor and Garrison do a fantastic job of blind reviewing and publishing these stories for all to enjoy.

[R.A. Goli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really struggled with this book. Was boring, even more so than the usual literary fiction. I really tried but it’s been over 4 months and I really don’t want to pick it up to read. I’m calling it quits. Something I don’t like doing.

[Dawn Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these story collections and this one was no exception. Lots of good well written short stories.

[Jeffrey Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid collection, but lacking in variety: I wanted to see more experimental, fantastic, or surreal elements in some of the stories.

Top 3 stories in no particular order:
---"Body Language" by Diane Schoemperlen. My own body has never meant more to me. This piece has shaken me from my aversion to material, or corporeal interpretations for what matters in life. "He does not know if she still loves him. If not, he does not know when she stopped. He wonders what you do with love when you're done with it--where do you put it, where does it go, how do you make sure it stays there?"
---"Flower Children" by Maxine Swann. I would love to turn this into a short film. It is a poetic juxtaposition of between the innocence of children and the adult events surrounding them. The prose has a stacatto which fades into a sadness. It remains pleasant.
---"Would You Know It Wasn't Love" by Hester Kaplan. I felt the loneliness of fatherhood. "'You didn't just leave because you didn't feel safe. What is this shit about safety? This has always been your problem, Rosie, you never feel you have to stick with anything, you can run home anytime you like. Your mother and I are to blame for that too, I'll admit. You come, we take you in."

[Kathy Kattenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this collection over a long period of time -- not because I didn't like it, but because these are short stories, which make a perfect break from long novels. You might wonder: Why a "Best Short Stories of 1998"? That's over 20 years ago. Well, the answer is simple: I didn't buy the book. It was one of the many, many sight-unseen books waiting for me in dozens of boxes of books for $5 a box that were for sale on Craigslist, oh my god, SO many years ago now. There were so many, they lived in my car (I had a car then) for at least a year, because I had no room for them in the place I lived in at that time. And let me tell you, I discovered SO MANY wonderful writers from those boxes. Not to mention some books I had wanted to read for a long time but hadn't gotten around to acquiring -- like Memoirs of a Geisha, and Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, for just two.

As for this collection, almost all the stories were well worth reading. A few were extraordinary, and a couple were stunning. What's the difference between extraordinary and stunning? Well, when you think "What a fantastic story," that's extraordinary. When you sit, unable to move or even breathe after reading the last line, that's stunning.

[Sylvie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book up from the library a couple of weeks ago when I had a few extra minutes before work... so glad I did! I really enjoyed the stories in here and can see why Garrison Keilor made the choices he did. They are stories about love and loss, relationships, regrets, bittersweet moments.

There was at least one story I had to stop reading mid-way through, it was too painful to read. Not that it was a bad story at all, it was just too heatbreaking.

This book made me remember why I love short stories: they're a slice of life, a brief peek into a window of someone's life (true or fictional), and if told well, leave you wishing for more.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Among my top two favorite collections from this series (the other being the Amy Tan collection). This one's a keeper.

[Alicia Zuto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these anthologies but sometimes the guest editor seems to have just chosen the work to get it over with, but not in this case. Kenison shows that she was very passionate in picking the work, and although she chose from a wide variety of nameless to her authors, there was a unity amongst the stories. Even the stories I didn’t favor, I could completely understand why Katrina Kenison chose them and there were plenty that I loved so much. This made me want to look into her other work, which I plan to do. The introduction was really good, especially in terms of knowing what people generally like to read, which was beneficial for a writer. This was thanks to Garrison Keillor. They made an amazing team. I really enjoyed the first story and I think it is my favorite from book. “Appetites.” By Kathryn Chetkovich. Like many of the stories in this edition, the author was able to stay true to her narrator, but also describe the characters interloping with the narrator with such vivid detail. It made me want to get out my pen and write. it’s always a good sign.

[Sophie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I usually like short stories very much. This collection was not the best. I own about 10 years worth of these collections with a goal to read them in between other books I am reading.
Tea at The House by Meg Wolitzer was especially disturbing. The best part of the book was the section of Authors notes. It was very interesting to learn where their ideas came from and some of their struggles to get the stories written. If only the stories really conveyed the ideas and feelings they intended.
I am hopeful the other collections I have will contain some much better selections.

[Benjamin Barr,]

This was an interesting read with short stories by some known and some unknown authors. I especially enjoyed Garrison Keillor's introduction and his relating that if the story didn't keep his interest it didn't get to the next round. While I'm sure there was good material that was left out, it was good to think about the literary format of the short story as opposed to a novella or novel. Every thing is so condensed, yet there is generally enough room to play with characters, plot, and development as well as theme.

[Daniel Clausen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each time I pick up an edition of this series I'm never disappointed. In this edition, I would say about a little over 1/2 of the stories didn't really connect with me. That may sound bad, but I think that even with the stories that didn't connect at an emotional level, I could gain something from analyzing the craftsmanship. As for the stories that did connect, well, I could enjoy those stories on both a personal and professional level. There are about 5 stories in the collection that I intend to read again before moving on to another book.

[Sidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book cause i found it on my aunts shelf and had nothing else to read. Sometimes I don’t love short stories cause the endings feel abrupt or don’t makes sense, and I don’t have anyone to talk about it with. If I were in an English class I’d probably be able to understand the subtext more but reading on my own is a little difficult. That said I enjoyed most of these stories and it was nice to read one before bed each night.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope I'm honest with my ratings. 3 stars means I liked it, but only because there were a couple of aggravating stories. I forget the name of it, but the one involving childhood cancer...yikes. I get the lady is inconvenienced by it, but holy cow, lady, can you have a colder heart?

[Sylvia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some very good stories that I will remember for a long time. Some stories were not good and I don’t understand why they were included. I liked the comments at the end that I wish I’d read after each story.

[Rachel Castaneda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry I didn’t connect with any of these stories. I found them boring and lacking a good story arc

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

You may be wondering why I finally got around to reading a collection of stories from 1998. The easy answer is that I gave birth to my first son in 1998. But that doesn't explain why I didn't read it in, say, 1999 or 2004 or within a slightly more acceptable time frame.

Truly, I like short stories. I can finish one (sometimes) before I drift off to sleep. I can knock out a short story waiting to pick up a child from football practice when the coach just doesn't stop talking to them after practice is over. I can finish one waiting for the doctor.

But...reading a whole collection at once is exhausting. I may be the only one who feels this way, but I wear myself out with so many climaxes in such a short amount of time. I had been dreading tackling this, but I'm glad I'm over it. Can't wait to get started on my next novel.

Some of my favorites included the entries from John Updike, Poe Ballantine, Akhil Sharma and Lorrie Moore.

[Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the weaker BASS collections, but redeemed somewhat in its final third by a trio of excellent stories by Lorrie Moore, Meg Wolitzer, and Antonya Nelson. My favorites of the set, in rough order of preference:
* Lorrie Moore: "People Like That Are the Only People Here"
* Antonya Nelson: "Unified Front"
* Kathryn Chetkovich: "Appetites"
* Meg Wolitzer: "Tea at the House"

And some honorable mentions:
* John Updike: "My Father on the Verge of Disgrace"
* Akhil Sharma: "Cosmopolitan"
* Tim Gautreaux: "Welding with Children"
* Hester Kaplan: "Would You Know It Wasn't Love"
* Bliss Broyard: "Mr. Sweetly Indecent"

[SmarterLilac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really, really like this one, even if Keillor threw a few odd ducks in with the swans. My favorites in here are 'Appetites,' 'United Front,' and 'People Like That Are The Only People Here.' Because of the number of hopeful stories Keillor included, ('Glory Goes and Gets Some') I've always gotten the impression that he was trying to say, 'Jesus, lighten up, readers,' which amuses me. When you think about it, the tone of the majority of the short fiction pieces in the other collections is pretty dark. This one represents a nice change of pace.

[Tamra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorites:
The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue - Poe Ballantine
Body Language - Diane Schoemperlen
Cosmopolitan - Akhil Sharma
Every Night for a Thousand Years - Chris Adrian
Morphine - Doran Larson
Mr. Sweetly Indecent - Bliss Broyard
My Father on the Verge of Disgrace - John Updike
Penance - Matthew Crain
Unified Front - Antonya Nelson
Welding With Children - Tim Gautreaux
Would You Know It Wasn't Love - Hester Kaplan
Appetites - Kathryn Chetkovich

[Dusty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Keillor announces in his introduction that he believes the best fiction is that which underlines the truths in our everyday lives. This, apparently, is the criteria he used to select stories for inclusion here, and while it yields some winners (the stories by Lorrie Moore & Annie Proulx are excellent), I found eventually that I was a little tired & bored of "everyday" stories. Meh.

[Cathy]

Garrison Keillor Editor

The Blue Devils of Blue River Avenue Poe Ballantine
Body Language Diane Schoemperlen
Glory goes and gets some Emily Carter
Mr. Sweetly Indecent Bliss Broyard
People like that are the only people here Lorrie Moore
Tea at the house Meg Wolitzer
Wayne in love Padgett Powell

[Chi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic choice for anyone who enjoys reading short stories. Another good thing is that this edition of 1998 was reviewed my Garrison Keillor - one of the writers I respect the most. Besides, all the stories have notes from their authors so that the readers can look them up to see how the plots were made and how the writers found their inspiration to create great works.

[ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the problem was that I expected too much from Garrison Keillor (what with him being one of my favourite literary personalities) and I liked the stories in general. But only one really stuck out to me (John Updike's "My Father on the Verge of Disgrace".

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although much of the writing was beautiful, it was, in the tradition of short stories, relentlessly depressing. Still, interesting to see which stories and authors came out of this pile of blind submissions.

[Kaydence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like short stories and I especially liked this collection. It has some great material and some ok material, but overall it's a good read.

[Mikal · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the books I have been reading in when the spare moment appears. Interesting stories.

[Rob]

Nice and interesting collection of stories from Keillor.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Garrison Keillor is not the best editor, but there are a handful of good stories in this one. Not the worst.