Acquainted With the Night and Other Stories

by Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Lynne Sharon Schwartz is a master of tone, deft at creating realistic settings and characters. In Acquainted with the Night, she unleashes sixteen wickedly smart, wholly believable short stories. In the title story, for instance, a man’s nocturnal battle against a floating globule in his eye forces him to question his very state of being. In “Mrs. Saunders Writes to the World,” an anonymous old woman attempts to force people to know her first name by writing “FRANNY” in big red letters all over her neighborhood. In another, a girl must to deal with the increasingly juvenile actions of her divorced mother. By turns darkly humorous, moving, and witty, Acquainted with the Night demonstrates Schwartz’s genius for detail.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

226 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Lynne Sharon Schwartz (b. 1939) is a celebrated author of novels, poems, short fiction, and criticism. Schwartz began her career with a series of short stories before publishing her first novel, the National Book Award–nominated Rough Strife (1980). She went on to publish works of memoir, poetry, and translation. Her other novels have included the award-nominated Leaving Brooklyn (1989) and Disturbances in the Field (1983). Her short fiction has appeared in theBest American Short Stories annual anthology series several times. In addition, her reviews and criticism have appeared in numerous magazines and newspapers. Schwartz lives in New York City, and is currently a faculty member of the Bennington Writing Seminars.

Reviews

[Diandranafisah · Rating 3 out of 5]

the age of analysis: reading this chapter shows me that after years of going to therapy, it will go to waste at an instant. this chapter shows, when the important thing and the usual thing in your life became a mess, those theraphy session wont helped you because from the start your mind is already a huge mess. paul’s parents should have handled their separation better considering both of them works as psychoanalysis and physiotherapist. they should’ve be more considerate toward their approach, especially knowing paul is a trouble mind kid. overall good chapter and the way the writer wrote and portrays paul’s mind and rage was great.

the middle classes: it was a short chapter but i liked it. i feel like this chaper shows that you could spend years with someone and ends up back being a stranger because from the start there are differences that stopped you from being to close to the other person.

sound is second sight: hmn dont know about this one, it was an ok chapter for me. this chapter shows how loneliness affects you.

mrs. saunders writes to the world: i liked this chapter very much. sometimes you missed the person you used to be, being called franny and mrs anderson surely have a different meaning. idk this chapter give me the vibes “i wanna be forever young.”

the wrath-hearing tree: hm its alright.

lazy to review the rest, some of the chapter was kind of boring ngl.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are sixteen short stores; some good, some not so great, but overall I did enjoy reading this book. I saw another reviewer say that the author's novels are much better, so I will definitely be checking them out.

These stories are all about middle class people, families, couples, children, singles. Some are dark, some are fun. Here's two I really enjoyed.

AGE OF ANALYSIS....Paul is a problem child and seeks therapeutic help his entire life. He jumps into fits of frenzy that he just can't control. He is a talented piano player and his parents decide he should get his own piano. Then something happens within the family unit and the piano is a much sought after object between father and son.

MRS. SAUNDERS WRITES TO THE WORLD...A lonely senior lady feels that nobody really knows her...or even her first name! This bothers her so much that she decides to take matters into her own hands after a stop at the local hardware store.

The stories are down-to-earth and real. The characters may remind you of someone you know -- or even yourself.

[Treasure Island Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories will teach you what good short story writing is all about. Schwartz is a master at bringing you into a life, staying a short while, and leaving you with a satisfying ending.

[Glenn Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thought provoking, the little details, struggles of domesticity. Little evils around every corner.

[Oriyah N · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pleasant enough read. The author had a decent, though unremarkable writing style, with 2 or 3 excellent lines to be found within. Most of the stories, though interesting in premise, left me wondering why. I felt they served no purpose. The exceptions were a story on race relations and one other which I now don't have the memory to identify, and thus it couldn't have made too deep an imprint.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

She's so much better at novels.

[Nutty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read about half of the stories and they all had one thing in common: they started out interesting but eneded poorly.