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All the Days and Nights
In settings that range from small town Illinois to the Upper East Side of Manhattan, these stories are distinguished by Maxwell's inimitable wisdom and kindness, his sense of the small details that make up a life, the nuances of joy and sadness that change its direction. Whether describing the reunion of two brothers who will never agree, the furniture of the apartment that becomes everything to a childless couple, the search for the perfect French meal or the life of a ne'er-do-well uncle, Maxwell's stories capture responses that are recognisable in us all.
432 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 1995
78 people are currently reading
910 people want to read
About the author
William Maxwell
120 books362 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
William Keepers Maxwell Jr. was an American novelist, and fiction editor at the New Yorker. He studied at the University of Illinois and Harvard University. Maxwell wrote six highly acclaimed novels, a number of short stories and essays, children's stories, and a memoir, Ancestors (1972). His award-winning fiction, which is increasingly seen as some of the most important of the 20th Century, has recurring themes of childhood, family, loss and lives changed quietly and irreparably. Much of his work is autobiographical, particularly concerning the loss of his mother when he was 10 years old growing up in the rural Midwest of America and the house where he lived at the time, which he referred to as the "Wunderkammer" or "Chamber of Wonders". He wrote of his loss "It happened too suddenly, with no warning, and we none of us could believe it or bear it... the beautiful, imaginative, protected world of my childhood swept away." Since his death in 2000 several works of biography have appeared, including A William Maxwell Portrait: Memories and Appreciations (W. W. Norton & Co., 2004), My Mentor: A Young Man's Friendship with William Maxwell by Alec Wilkinson (Houghton-Mifflin, 2002), and William Maxwell: A Literary Life by Barbara Burkhardt (University of Illinois Press, 2005). In 2008 the Library of America published the first of two collections of William Maxwell, Early Novels and Stories, Christopher Carduff editor. His collected edition of William Maxwell's fiction, published to mark the writer's centenary, was completed by a second volume, Later Novels and Stories in the fall of 2008.'
William Keepers Maxwell Jr. was an American novelist, and fiction editor at the New Yorker. He studied at the University of Illinois and Harvard University. Maxwell wrote six highly acclaimed novels, a number of short stories and essays, children's stories, and a memoir, Ancestors (1972). His award-winning fiction, which is increasingly seen as some of the most important of the 20th Century, has recurring themes of childhood, family, loss and lives changed quietly and irreparably. Much of his work is autobiographical, particularly concerning the loss of his mother when he was 10 years old growing up in the rural Midwest of America and the house where he lived at the time, which he referred to as the "Wunderkammer" or "Chamber of Wonders". He wrote of his loss "It happened too suddenly, with no warning, and we none of us could believe it or bear it... the beautiful, imaginative, protected world of my childhood swept away." Since his death in 2000 several works of biography have appeared, including A William Maxwell Portrait: Memories and Appreciations (W. W. Norton & Co., 2004), My Mentor: A Young Man's Friendship with William Maxwell by Alec Wilkinson (Houghton-Mifflin, 2002), and William Maxwell: A Literary Life by Barbara Burkhardt (University of Illinois Press, 2005). In 2008 the Library of America published the first of two collections of William Maxwell, Early Novels and Stories, Christopher Carduff editor. His collected edition of William Maxwell's fiction, published to mark the writer's centenary, was completed by a second volume, Later Novels and Stories in the fall of 2008.'
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 48 reviews
July 25, 2017
It is rare for me to give a book of short stories 5 stars for the obvious reasons. Not every story is great, a few miss the mark entirely, and the rest fall somewhere in the middle. But in this case, EVERY SINGLE STORY was a mini masterpiece. A lot of them were about the same family, so there was continuity, and the settings were either in a small Illinois town just after WWI, or New York City in the 40's and 50's. Both induced nostalgia in me for times and places with no familiarity on my part. The last section of stories, which he calls "Improvisations" are 3-4 pages long, and read like fairy tales in which I could totally immerse myself.
I decided to take William Maxwell's advice and did not read these straight through, but one story each day.
"I think it is generally agreed that stories read better one at a time. They need air around them. And they need thinking about".
He was right.
He is right about a lot of things in his writing. So far, I have read one short novel They Came Like Swallows and this one, and he has a firm place at the top of my favorite authors list.
I decided to take William Maxwell's advice and did not read these straight through, but one story each day.
"I think it is generally agreed that stories read better one at a time. They need air around them. And they need thinking about".
He was right.
He is right about a lot of things in his writing. So far, I have read one short novel They Came Like Swallows and this one, and he has a firm place at the top of my favorite authors list.
September 22, 2020
I didn’t actually read this particular volume. But, in this book's order, I reread all its stories (from my Maxwell Library of America volumes) to have a buddy read with Howard.
Unlike other writers, say, Shirley Jackson, whose short stories I reread not too long ago, Maxwell is kind to his characters. I think he could write sympathetically about anyone, taking the most difficult person and finding his/her tender side. Sometimes wholly unexpectedly, he grants each of his characters a moment of grace, even if it’s not till the story’s end. He’s very good at endings: I marvel at their generosity and open-heartedness.
I enjoy his moments of gentle humor and his narratorial asides, for example, in a "creative-nonfiction" story when he gives his reasons for imagining what he did. He has a knack for describing feelings and abstract concepts, imbuing physical objects with meaning to use as perfect metaphors.
As I wrote in my review of Billie Dyer And Other Stories (all of its stories are included here): Simply put, there is something about Maxwell's empathetic writing that soothes my soul. In every one of his short stories, I am struck and stopped in my tracks by at least one sentence, even if I’ve already read the story.
Unlike other writers, say, Shirley Jackson, whose short stories I reread not too long ago, Maxwell is kind to his characters. I think he could write sympathetically about anyone, taking the most difficult person and finding his/her tender side. Sometimes wholly unexpectedly, he grants each of his characters a moment of grace, even if it’s not till the story’s end. He’s very good at endings: I marvel at their generosity and open-heartedness.
I enjoy his moments of gentle humor and his narratorial asides, for example, in a "creative-nonfiction" story when he gives his reasons for imagining what he did. He has a knack for describing feelings and abstract concepts, imbuing physical objects with meaning to use as perfect metaphors.
As I wrote in my review of Billie Dyer And Other Stories (all of its stories are included here): Simply put, there is something about Maxwell's empathetic writing that soothes my soul. In every one of his short stories, I am struck and stopped in my tracks by at least one sentence, even if I’ve already read the story.
July 20, 2019
A 50-year compilation of stories from one of my favorite literary discoveries of 2019 - William Maxwell. I am not a big short story reader and rarely finish an entire collection, but 400+ pages and two months of measured reading later, I did finish this one. I love this author, and most of these stories are superb. Tiny vignettes of real lives in New York, Illinois, New Hampshire, France, England. With people who have children and those who don’t, school teachers, doctors, newspaper boys, brothers and sisters, brothers and brothers, scarecrows, the lonely, the downtrodden, the workers, the veterans, the unloved, the sick, the heroes, the adolescents, the dearly departed - almost every facet of humanity you can possibly imagine. Several stories here are connected, but most are standalone. And the prose? Pure excellence. No flash, no trash - just William Maxwell sharing his heart and soul and history on the page. If you haven’t yet read this author, I encourage you to do so.
“Once in a while, some small detail represented an improvement on the past . . . But in general, so far as the way people lived, it was one loss after another, something hideous replacing something beautiful, the decay of manners, the lapse of pleasant customs, as by a blind increase in numbers the human race went about making the earth more and more unfit to live on.” ~ ‘The Gardens Of Mont-Saint-Michel’
“She forgave him now because she did not want to deal with any failure, including his, until she had had her second cup of coffee.” ~ ‘Over By The River’
“Once in a while, some small detail represented an improvement on the past . . . But in general, so far as the way people lived, it was one loss after another, something hideous replacing something beautiful, the decay of manners, the lapse of pleasant customs, as by a blind increase in numbers the human race went about making the earth more and more unfit to live on.” ~ ‘The Gardens Of Mont-Saint-Michel’
“She forgave him now because she did not want to deal with any failure, including his, until she had had her second cup of coffee.” ~ ‘Over By The River’
April 1, 2013
I'm only half way through this book and may not go back to it for a while but wanted to comment on how beautiful the stories are. I'm not normally a short story reader but this was a moment in my life when I needed something that I could be absorbed in and yet not be lengthy. Some of the stories speak to me more than others but all have been good. Settings have varied . . . from rural Illinois to NYC to France, all places important to Maxwell, I presume.
Stories were written over a 40 or 50 year time span. These are not stories that would have appealed to me as a college student but now I find so much wisdom, so much life experience in them. Maxwell was a very thoughtful, sympathetic observer of human nature. I will read more by him eventually.
Stories were written over a 40 or 50 year time span. These are not stories that would have appealed to me as a college student but now I find so much wisdom, so much life experience in them. Maxwell was a very thoughtful, sympathetic observer of human nature. I will read more by him eventually.
March 17, 2013
I have never been much of a reader of Literature. My tastes tend to run toward simpler fare that I can enjoy on a level that doesn’t require a great deal of thought on my part. In short, I typically read to be entertained, not moved. So, when I heard an interview with William Maxwell on NPR in ’95 about his new collection of stories, “All the Days and Nights,” I didn’t take much notice. But as the interview went on and the late Mr. Maxwell read selections from the book, I found myself purchasing the collection in February of 1995.
I attempted to read it several times that year, but failed for various reasons. Perhaps it was the motion of the light rail train on the ride home after a hard day’s work that distracted me into sleep. Or maybe I was just too shallow at 33 to appreciate Maxwell’s justly praised gifts. In any event, the book sat on my bookcase in plain sight for many years after that. I didn’t give it away or resell it because I knew there would, eventually, be a day when I would pick it up again and not put it down.
I’m pleased to report that, 18 years later after discovering it, I have finished “All the Days and Nights,” and am very happy for the experience. It took me darn near two years to get through it because I spend most of my free time writing, not reading. So I would pause from what I was creating, read a story or a portion thereof, and get back to my own work – none of which will ever be described as influenced by William Maxwell.
Maxwell was one of those writers I’ll never be, one who could find the poetry in ordinary life, but express it in vivid, accessible terms. As I read this anthology, I found myself highlighting passages that may have required an older soul to appreciate. “There is no longer an older generation. You have become it, while your mind was mostly on other things.” Or: “If you turn the imagination loose like a hunting dog, it will often return with the bird in its mouth.”
Maxwell’s prose carries equal doses of reward and regret for his characters. From the poorest servants to the wealthiest barons, all are easy to visualize as their stories unfold. (His words flow wonderfully when read aloud, by the way.) As with any anthology, all of its tales are not necessarily for every taste; there were a few I could have skipped, but I’m glad I plowed through them.
I won’t critique every story in this volume, but one in particular resonated with me: “The Gardens of Mont-St.-Michel.” This story follows a man on a family vacation in 1966 who returns to Pontorson, a town in France that had enchanted him when he was there in 1948. As the story progresses, and the man discovers how much the town has changed over 18 years, and he becomes disillusioned with the place and his present-day experience there, I found myself thinking of my own recent visits to Wildwood, a Jersey Shore town where I spent many happy summers. It’s still a fun place (just ask our 13-year-old son), but none of the landmarks of my youth are present on its boardwalk anymore, and the city itself is barely recognizable from when I was a regular visitor. Still, this is life, and I frequently have to deal with that the same way Maxwell’s gentleman in Pontorson must deal with his own loss.
I promise, not every story in the collection is a downer. I direct you to one of Maxwell's Improvisations, "The man who had no friends and didn't want any," about, well, a man had no friends and ends up with more than he could have imagined.
So, am I less shallow than I was when I bought “All the Days and Night” in ’95? I doubt it. But I do feel a certain sense of accomplishment not just for finishing the book, but for sincerely enjoying it.
I attempted to read it several times that year, but failed for various reasons. Perhaps it was the motion of the light rail train on the ride home after a hard day’s work that distracted me into sleep. Or maybe I was just too shallow at 33 to appreciate Maxwell’s justly praised gifts. In any event, the book sat on my bookcase in plain sight for many years after that. I didn’t give it away or resell it because I knew there would, eventually, be a day when I would pick it up again and not put it down.
I’m pleased to report that, 18 years later after discovering it, I have finished “All the Days and Nights,” and am very happy for the experience. It took me darn near two years to get through it because I spend most of my free time writing, not reading. So I would pause from what I was creating, read a story or a portion thereof, and get back to my own work – none of which will ever be described as influenced by William Maxwell.
Maxwell was one of those writers I’ll never be, one who could find the poetry in ordinary life, but express it in vivid, accessible terms. As I read this anthology, I found myself highlighting passages that may have required an older soul to appreciate. “There is no longer an older generation. You have become it, while your mind was mostly on other things.” Or: “If you turn the imagination loose like a hunting dog, it will often return with the bird in its mouth.”
Maxwell’s prose carries equal doses of reward and regret for his characters. From the poorest servants to the wealthiest barons, all are easy to visualize as their stories unfold. (His words flow wonderfully when read aloud, by the way.) As with any anthology, all of its tales are not necessarily for every taste; there were a few I could have skipped, but I’m glad I plowed through them.
I won’t critique every story in this volume, but one in particular resonated with me: “The Gardens of Mont-St.-Michel.” This story follows a man on a family vacation in 1966 who returns to Pontorson, a town in France that had enchanted him when he was there in 1948. As the story progresses, and the man discovers how much the town has changed over 18 years, and he becomes disillusioned with the place and his present-day experience there, I found myself thinking of my own recent visits to Wildwood, a Jersey Shore town where I spent many happy summers. It’s still a fun place (just ask our 13-year-old son), but none of the landmarks of my youth are present on its boardwalk anymore, and the city itself is barely recognizable from when I was a regular visitor. Still, this is life, and I frequently have to deal with that the same way Maxwell’s gentleman in Pontorson must deal with his own loss.
I promise, not every story in the collection is a downer. I direct you to one of Maxwell's Improvisations, "The man who had no friends and didn't want any," about, well, a man had no friends and ends up with more than he could have imagined.
So, am I less shallow than I was when I bought “All the Days and Night” in ’95? I doubt it. But I do feel a certain sense of accomplishment not just for finishing the book, but for sincerely enjoying it.
November 21, 2020
I didn’t know what to expect from William Maxwell. I hadn’t heard of him until a novel of his was featured on the ‘Backlisted’ podcast, which is all the recommendation I need. And as I’m having a short story month, this collected short stories was the obvious choice.
The first story ‘Over by the river’ drew me in immediately, and the rest of the collection - well they aren’t exactly gripping page turners, but they are rather beautiful in a pleasantly uneventful way, and perfect bedtime reading.
Most are set in the mid-century midwest, with a few forays to New York and Europe. The same families and locations recur, and the same themes: family stuff, small town stuff, regret, change, time passing. Maxwell’s characters are unrelentingly ordinary, and drawn with affection and sympathy (he does kids brilliantly). Nearly all the stories involve people quietly being kind to each other - parents trying to do their best for their children, men trying to be good husbands - it sounds icky but it’s done with great restraint, and the feeling of immense tenderness is what stayed with me. Thankfully there’s always an undercurrent of sadness too - things not said, opportunities to do better missed - and some gentle humour and wry asides, which saves it from being a schmaltz-fest. And right now, I like reading about people wanting to be decent. Or at least realising they had failed to be.
So a bunch of uneventful stories about people trying to be good, against an unremarkable small-town backdrop. It doesn’t sound like much, I know. But Maxwell does unremarkable so beautifully. Most of the stories are very domestic, and he loves doing interiors, and their light and quirks and uniqueness. There are no vast landscapes or teeming cityscapes, but there’s all the home furnishings you could ever want. He is a fanatical observer of furniture and china. I may not know what this character or his wife looked like, but I know everything about their tables, chairs, haberdashery, ornaments, tableware and pictures. There is one story - my favourite actually - called The Swedish Thistles - which refers to the motif on some curtains. Says it all.
Over a collection this size it all became a bit soporific though, I have to confess. Some of the family stories just had too many people in so I glossed over those (my bad). There are some awkward moments with black characters. And the stories are very male-centred, mainly focusing on sons and husbands and fathers; Maxwell is concerned with ‘What is a good man’ kind of stuff - and comes down on the side of being kind, responsible and thoughtful, so yay, but not of great personal interest to this reader.
A soothing comfort read for winter nights and stormy times though, which was very much appreciated. Four stars for the quality of writing, even if I did end up skimming a bit.
The first story ‘Over by the river’ drew me in immediately, and the rest of the collection - well they aren’t exactly gripping page turners, but they are rather beautiful in a pleasantly uneventful way, and perfect bedtime reading.
Most are set in the mid-century midwest, with a few forays to New York and Europe. The same families and locations recur, and the same themes: family stuff, small town stuff, regret, change, time passing. Maxwell’s characters are unrelentingly ordinary, and drawn with affection and sympathy (he does kids brilliantly). Nearly all the stories involve people quietly being kind to each other - parents trying to do their best for their children, men trying to be good husbands - it sounds icky but it’s done with great restraint, and the feeling of immense tenderness is what stayed with me. Thankfully there’s always an undercurrent of sadness too - things not said, opportunities to do better missed - and some gentle humour and wry asides, which saves it from being a schmaltz-fest. And right now, I like reading about people wanting to be decent. Or at least realising they had failed to be.
So a bunch of uneventful stories about people trying to be good, against an unremarkable small-town backdrop. It doesn’t sound like much, I know. But Maxwell does unremarkable so beautifully. Most of the stories are very domestic, and he loves doing interiors, and their light and quirks and uniqueness. There are no vast landscapes or teeming cityscapes, but there’s all the home furnishings you could ever want. He is a fanatical observer of furniture and china. I may not know what this character or his wife looked like, but I know everything about their tables, chairs, haberdashery, ornaments, tableware and pictures. There is one story - my favourite actually - called The Swedish Thistles - which refers to the motif on some curtains. Says it all.
Over a collection this size it all became a bit soporific though, I have to confess. Some of the family stories just had too many people in so I glossed over those (my bad). There are some awkward moments with black characters. And the stories are very male-centred, mainly focusing on sons and husbands and fathers; Maxwell is concerned with ‘What is a good man’ kind of stuff - and comes down on the side of being kind, responsible and thoughtful, so yay, but not of great personal interest to this reader.
A soothing comfort read for winter nights and stormy times though, which was very much appreciated. Four stars for the quality of writing, even if I did end up skimming a bit.
November 20, 2017
William Maxwell is a master storyteller and master stylist. He often tells the same domestic story from different points of view and every story is original. OVER BY THE RIVER, THE TROJAN WOMEN, A FINAL REPORT, THE FRONT AND BACK PARTS OF THE HOUSE and BILLIE DYER should not be missed. Whether writing about New York City, a Midwestern small town or the American experience in World War I France, Maxwell tells believable and compelling stories, although in some of them, little happens.
January 2, 2010
The first story in this collection, "Over the River" is a must-read. Much of the story takes place at night, which is fascinating, what happens in public spaces and domestic spheres while most of the world is sleeping. Maxwell seems to have no restrictions, no strict rules, about point of view, and this narrative freedom is refreshing and worth examining.
November 11, 2019
William Maxwell is shaping up to becoming one of my all-time favorite authors. Despite not getting a 5 star rating out of me (YET), I feel like I am loving his books more the more I read them. His short stories are no exception. They feel like the stories of John Cheever (which is HIGH praise as "The Stories of John Cheever" might be my all-time favorite short story collection). While I didn't love ALL of these stories the way I, for the most part, did with Cheever, Maxwell has that same charm towards his characters. The ONLY reason this collection doesn't get a 5 star rating is that there were some stories near the beginning that you can tell were from the early parts of his career. They weren't all that good, but I would much rather sit through a couple of mediocre stories to see how an author develops their style and be rewarded with AMAZING stories afterward rather than have the author not develop at all and be bland throughout their entire career. Yeahhh, this was awesome. Need I say more?
I am giving this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
I am giving this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars.
July 2, 2019
William Maxwell's stories sometimes are not stories; they're little novels in the mode of Alice Munro, packing decades into paragraphs. His subjects are a small town in Illinois and scenes from lives led in New York, where he was a magazine editor. Some of the tales in this collection are gems of gentle irony that end in a flash; others dwindle like the day's last light. There are strivers, old maids, flops, busybodies, and family secrets throughout.
Maxwell's style is clear, beautifully paced, and subtly evocative of certain times and certain places: where the old railroad bridge still stands, out of service; where the doll house used to be in the attic before the estate sale; the peculiarities of a chopped-up apartment in Murray Hill; the shadowy, boozy atmosphere of a New York bar where an older brother once again is leaning too hard on a younger brother, embarrassing him in front of his girlfriend.
There's no rush in a Maxwell story. He doesn't write with electricity in his pen like Flannery O'Connor. He's a middle-class writer. Terrible poverty isn't his milieu. He's a mid-western American from the last century, the elms haven't all died yet, and cars only pass by now and then.
So if you like short stories, here are some lovely ones, a good escape from the anxious, cranky country in which Americans live in 2019.
Maxwell's style is clear, beautifully paced, and subtly evocative of certain times and certain places: where the old railroad bridge still stands, out of service; where the doll house used to be in the attic before the estate sale; the peculiarities of a chopped-up apartment in Murray Hill; the shadowy, boozy atmosphere of a New York bar where an older brother once again is leaning too hard on a younger brother, embarrassing him in front of his girlfriend.
There's no rush in a Maxwell story. He doesn't write with electricity in his pen like Flannery O'Connor. He's a middle-class writer. Terrible poverty isn't his milieu. He's a mid-western American from the last century, the elms haven't all died yet, and cars only pass by now and then.
So if you like short stories, here are some lovely ones, a good escape from the anxious, cranky country in which Americans live in 2019.
February 16, 2025
How did I live without William Maxwell’s writing in my life. It’s fantastic, not a letter out of place.
Actually I’ll tell you how. When I was younger, I would have been too cynical and too angry to have liked Maxwell’s style. These stories spanning 50 years of writing are wise and funny, sad and wistful, brutal and tender blows to the heart. He writes tragically gorgeous paragraphs about grief, age and death in a way a younger, less experienced, less wrinkly me just would not have appreciated.
But if you have lost loved ones or ever been in love or are finding yourself softening in these recent years, as I physically and emotionally am, then you will find something to hold here. And you will likely be held as well. #2025books
Actually I’ll tell you how. When I was younger, I would have been too cynical and too angry to have liked Maxwell’s style. These stories spanning 50 years of writing are wise and funny, sad and wistful, brutal and tender blows to the heart. He writes tragically gorgeous paragraphs about grief, age and death in a way a younger, less experienced, less wrinkly me just would not have appreciated.
But if you have lost loved ones or ever been in love or are finding yourself softening in these recent years, as I physically and emotionally am, then you will find something to hold here. And you will likely be held as well. #2025books
January 20, 2022
Having only read one of his short stories some time ago I was looking forward to getting my hands in more of his work, which, for some reason, proved difficult. These stories seem to be somewhat autobiographical and beautifully written. I'd be interested in learning more about his life.
September 22, 2019
***4.5 stars***
March 17, 2024
Some stories didn't land, many are serviceable, but the best of them -- they fill my whole heart.
November 4, 2011
PRE-READ:
I bought this a couple of years ago because I had never heard of William Maxwell and because my mother's family are the Mad and Mighty Maxwells.
These collected stories range over the period from 1939 to 1992, so it will be interesting to note any consistencies or changes in whatever areas - style, themes, locations etc.
70 pages into it and so far so good.
POST-READ:
The Autobiographical Stories : Their nostalgia and the raking over remnants of the Past was often intriguing as is the putting together the pieces of a giant jigsaw. But knowing full well that you actually have too few pieces on hand to be anywhere near successful, you are constantly shadowed by the depression of being doomed to failure.
These were a tough read for me as I face the loss of the older generation with their knowledge, so precious, yet so disregarded and undervalued.
Do I run out and madly record what no one will treasure ?
I look at the countless lives unrecorded, lost, lost, lost.
Why not join the precious and unknown?
Why fear it ?
Why torture yourself with ragged tales stuck together to give you just incoherence ?
My Mum vanishes into dementia.
I refuse to grasp at straws.
The tales set in Europe are wonderful evocations of the perils of being a tourist, returning to places of treasured memory only to find them sacrilegiously altered, or the unknown ironies one blindly endures by misreading what is before one's eyes.Beautifully done.
The Set of 21 Improvisations Maxwell related to his wife in bed may have induced a coma. I hope not. They were like fairytales or fables.
Would have to revisit to do them any justice.
It was a great pleasure to discover this fine American voice.
I don't know whether I could bear anymore, but that is a judgement on myself and not William Maxwell.
Definitely not!
January 21, 2014
I was introduced to William Maxwell by an advert for his novel 'Time Will Darken It' in John William's novel 'Stoner'. That novel didn't disappoint and neither did this collection of short stories. Whilst nothing much happens in the stories apart from normal life, Maxwell's descriptive powers, both of place and settings and of people and their thoughts, are evocative and thought-provoking. Several of the stories feature the same characters and, told in the first person, appear to be almost autobiographical. This view was confirmed for me in one of the stories in particular when the narrator relates the reaction of people in the town to a novel he had written, describing in summary 'Time Will Darken It'. I was not so keen on the 21 'improvisations' at the end of the book, which were really short (4-6 pages or so) almost fairy tales and, whilst some were quite good, didn't really compare that well to his more formal writing. Overall, a good read and recommended for lovers of 'Stoner' and American classic literary fiction generally.
March 30, 2021
Maxwell was born in the first decade of the 20th century, grew up in a small Illinois hamlet, and ultimately made his way to New York, where he was an editor at literary publications for decades.
These stories were written over various decades of his life, and explore themes of childhood experiences, small town families, the nature of memory, the nature of success and failure, among others. A few are set in urban NY, but most are explorations of his small-town Illinois roots. I enjoyed many of these, although I liked his memoir/novella So Long, See You Tomorrow better. This edition also includes several brief modern-day fables collected at the end of the book.
January 24, 2009
Collected stories spanning more than 40 years by the former fiction editor of the New Yorker. Maxwell grew up in a small town in Illinois and returns there in many of his pieces. Much of his fiction is quasi memoir (perhaps more than quasi). According to the back cover, his primary aim was "a Flaubertian one: to evoke the texture of human experience" which is a fair description of the stories in this book, which take place in Illinois, Europe, and New York City. The exception are the 21 improvisations at the end which are more like modern fairytales and are very enjoyable.
April 27, 2010
William Maxwell's collection of short stories is special. The stories have a quality of simplicity while simultaneously containing profound truths about life and relationships. Each story touches on aspects of the 1950s and 1960s in the United States which stirred memories of growing up in that era. One of my favorite is the sound of the newspaper thumping as it hit the front porch when the delivery boy rode by, tossing the paper with practiced expertise. That is just one of many sensory experiences these stories stirred. Absolutely lovely!
January 9, 2008
These are really exquisite stories. Narrative events and characters reappear serially across the collection in slightly different guises. Readers familiar with Maxwell's fiction will recognise similar settings, events, characters; much of this work is autobiographical. These are not remarkable for their formal inventiveness, but for their close observation of detail, their patience, their depth of psychological characterisation.
February 19, 2013
nice, mannered short stories trying to capture "how people are" (my quotes, not his) , maxwell was fiction EDITOR at new yorker for FORTY YEARS , gah. many stories take place in small, small town in rural illinois, where to the protag (maxwell really) returns and....wonders.
December 8, 2023
One word of caution- if you are like me and you enjoy reading one story at a time than this book will take some time to get through. This contains "most of what was in the three previous volumes of his short fiction and eight [previously unpublished] stories". On a personal note, I feel like I was cheated two books on my yearly reading list as I only count one here and not three.
But I am not complaining as it was a joy to discover this author and get a sense of his writing over many decades. The stories, especially in the second half of the collection, take on an autobiographical bent as we get vivid and complex composites of people that he grew up with. His parents, his uncles/aunts, his brother, the housekeepers, his neighbors, continue to pop up in story after story with various biographical details/plot changing, but some new and important aspect of them being flushed out time and again. The choice to focus many of the longer stories in the same locations/time reminded me a lot of Alice Munro's writing. Through revisiting the same places/same types of people, you get a familiarity and even nostalgia that I think is incredibly effective. Maxwell, thankfully, keeps the perspective fresh (sometimes in the form of talking furniture, or from animals that can communicate, or in fairy tale settings that subtly shift from daytime to dreams).
The collection contains 23 short stories, and then a set of 21 "improvisations" the term he uses for a type of story that resembles fairy tales/fables more than a traditional short story. These improvisations take an often magical or dreamy premise (a kingdom that only allowed straight lines in their design; a woman who has a perfectly good life but can't help but complain every moment of the day, a couple who travel to a foreign country to find a mystical bird). Besides being a wonderful counterpoint to the more biographical/slice of life storytelling of the main short stories, these short improvisations were often the most novel, surprising and endearing parts of this book.
I would strongly suggest the improvisations "The Mask" (maybe the most inventive, compassionate, and poignant of the improvisations) and "A Mean and Spiteful Toad” (a clever and gentle way of narrating a young kid's personal development). As for the stories, I especially liked "The Gardens of Mont-Saint-Michel" (an especially funny and relatable look at clueless American tourists in Paris who are hopelessly chasing a lovely memory of theirs) and "What he Was Like" (a story that greatly builds on all the previous Lincoln/family stories in this collection).
But I am not complaining as it was a joy to discover this author and get a sense of his writing over many decades. The stories, especially in the second half of the collection, take on an autobiographical bent as we get vivid and complex composites of people that he grew up with. His parents, his uncles/aunts, his brother, the housekeepers, his neighbors, continue to pop up in story after story with various biographical details/plot changing, but some new and important aspect of them being flushed out time and again. The choice to focus many of the longer stories in the same locations/time reminded me a lot of Alice Munro's writing. Through revisiting the same places/same types of people, you get a familiarity and even nostalgia that I think is incredibly effective. Maxwell, thankfully, keeps the perspective fresh (sometimes in the form of talking furniture, or from animals that can communicate, or in fairy tale settings that subtly shift from daytime to dreams).
The collection contains 23 short stories, and then a set of 21 "improvisations" the term he uses for a type of story that resembles fairy tales/fables more than a traditional short story. These improvisations take an often magical or dreamy premise (a kingdom that only allowed straight lines in their design; a woman who has a perfectly good life but can't help but complain every moment of the day, a couple who travel to a foreign country to find a mystical bird). Besides being a wonderful counterpoint to the more biographical/slice of life storytelling of the main short stories, these short improvisations were often the most novel, surprising and endearing parts of this book.
I would strongly suggest the improvisations "The Mask" (maybe the most inventive, compassionate, and poignant of the improvisations) and "A Mean and Spiteful Toad” (a clever and gentle way of narrating a young kid's personal development). As for the stories, I especially liked "The Gardens of Mont-Saint-Michel" (an especially funny and relatable look at clueless American tourists in Paris who are hopelessly chasing a lovely memory of theirs) and "What he Was Like" (a story that greatly builds on all the previous Lincoln/family stories in this collection).
July 5, 2019
William Maxwell's fiction resonates with me, a middle-aged American with a strong sense of the ineluctable passage of time. This volume has 21 polished stories and 21 unpolished "tales" that Maxwell wrote for his family (a good skill to have!). The fact that he included the tales tells me that he doesn't take himself too seriously -- the tales include such good ones as "The Man Who Had No Friends and Didn't Want Any" and "The Kingdom Where Straightforward, Logical Thinking Was Admired Over Every Other Kind."
Like his novel *So Long, See You Tomorrow,* many of his stories are about memory, what value memory has in itself, and how it shapes a person. The short story "Love," my favorite in the book, is about a memory, and it will probably break your heart.
Maxwell worked as the fiction editor at the New Yorker for decades, so he didn't need to publish books or stories to make a living or to construct an identity -- he already had that. The 21 short stories show the craft of a man who really knew what he was doing and who had the time to work on each story until it was finished.
Like his novel *So Long, See You Tomorrow,* many of his stories are about memory, what value memory has in itself, and how it shapes a person. The short story "Love," my favorite in the book, is about a memory, and it will probably break your heart.
Maxwell worked as the fiction editor at the New Yorker for decades, so he didn't need to publish books or stories to make a living or to construct an identity -- he already had that. The 21 short stories show the craft of a man who really knew what he was doing and who had the time to work on each story until it was finished.
June 6, 2024
Most of these I have read before this combination publication. Some of them I liked to a 4 star but not the majority. So for most of them this was a reread after decades.
I find him dated. That probably doesn't sound fair- but he did dwell in much of the trivial and mundane. And those things have greatly changed. As has a "usual" stay at home mom and living with "help" as much here was nearly normal. And yet, I STILL think his voice for those times was also outlier. Like that couple trying to find only the restaurant their neighbor's recommended.
People haven't changed all that much. But the ones who voice the most screeching now get far more attention and kiss up reaction. So most of these are so mild as to be under the wire and just seem silly to me. So I put him with other "frosting without the cake" authors. As opposed to a W. Somerset Maugham where there is tons of cake under the frosting of his short stories.
Yet, I do absolutely think his advice to read only one a day is spot on. All together doesn't work.
I find him dated. That probably doesn't sound fair- but he did dwell in much of the trivial and mundane. And those things have greatly changed. As has a "usual" stay at home mom and living with "help" as much here was nearly normal. And yet, I STILL think his voice for those times was also outlier. Like that couple trying to find only the restaurant their neighbor's recommended.
People haven't changed all that much. But the ones who voice the most screeching now get far more attention and kiss up reaction. So most of these are so mild as to be under the wire and just seem silly to me. So I put him with other "frosting without the cake" authors. As opposed to a W. Somerset Maugham where there is tons of cake under the frosting of his short stories.
Yet, I do absolutely think his advice to read only one a day is spot on. All together doesn't work.
November 24, 2024
"I think it is generally agreed that stories read better one at a time. They need air around them. And they need thinking about"
So I took the author's advice and paused every so often to read something else.
And that greatly improved the experience. Although he writes exceedingly well, the subject matter can become repetitive if not downright claustrophobic. Smalltown family relationships. Interpersonal misunderstandings. Multigenerational interpersonal misunderstandings. And he draws you in.
"All forms of deception are entertaining to contemplate don't you find? Particularly self-deception which is what life is largely made up of."
"My brother didn't mind that I tried to kill him. He always liked it when I showed signs of life."
“She forgave him now because she did not want to deal with any failure, including his, until she had had her second cup of coffee.”
So I took the author's advice and paused every so often to read something else.
And that greatly improved the experience. Although he writes exceedingly well, the subject matter can become repetitive if not downright claustrophobic. Smalltown family relationships. Interpersonal misunderstandings. Multigenerational interpersonal misunderstandings. And he draws you in.
"All forms of deception are entertaining to contemplate don't you find? Particularly self-deception which is what life is largely made up of."
"My brother didn't mind that I tried to kill him. He always liked it when I showed signs of life."
“She forgave him now because she did not want to deal with any failure, including his, until she had had her second cup of coffee.”
March 25, 2025
Reading a collection of short stories will inevitably lead one to favouritise some over the others. The ones that captivated me the most were Young Francis Whitehead, The Value of Money and The Thistles in Sweden, while the final set of twenty one improvisations was sadly deceptive. Most stories have no plot, no moral, or feeling of any passage of time. They capture a moment in time and narrate it with descriptive tweezers and high calibre language, making the sole use of words more appealing than any sort of verbal action that we might have initially gone looking for. I judged this book because of Bettman's cover picture of Children Playing in Snow in Central Park, and finished it with satisfaction and yearning for more of Maxwell's writing.
July 9, 2019
William Maxwell was a longtime editor of the New Yorker, so far be it for me to poke holes in his forgotten greatness. And he was a fantastic writer, full of feeling and empathy for Americans between the coasts and those enduring tragedy. They Came Like Swallows stands the test of time and packs the baroque wallop of James Agee's A Death In the Family. But these stories are parched to the bone, repetitive in subject and tone, and, well, painfully dated. They feel dull and dead. This collection is a relic in a trunk, filmed with dust and no longer breathing.
September 20, 2020
A nice story collection with beautiful, clear writing. I like it
September 9, 2021
Perfect evocations of a past time and place, written sympathetically and with an abiding optimism
November 1, 2021
A collection of short stories that are masterfully written in great style. Wonderful book.
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