Innovative fiction: Stories for the seventies

by Jerome Klinkowitz (Editor)

Twenty-three stories representing the full range of the new short story, from the more familiar to the most experimental- from the schizophrenic vision of Vonnegut to Brautigan's politics of imagination.

Genres: Anthologies

224 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

Reviews

[Lisa]

What a weird little collection. The W.S. Merwin story is my favorite. The preface says the stories are arranged to move from the familiar to the unfamiliar, and they were pretty out there by the end of the book.

I bought this at a garage sale for fifty cents, and I sort of wish I could go back and talk to the person who sold it to me (but only if he remembers reading it and has thoughts about the stories).

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got about halfway through before finally putting it down. Basically I realized there was no need to continue torturing myself (even though it's really difficult for me to stop reading a book, even one I dislike). I just need more substance out of my literature, whereas this is mostly form and style. Vonnegut's always good and I liked "Jewbird" and "Pecan Tree," but the Brautigan was beyond me and I gave up for good after the first LeRoi Jones story.

A legitimate, objective criticism is that this collection has no female authors. I guess women writers from the 70s weren't innovative enough for Mr. Klinkowitz . . .?

But in the end my main reason for quitting is just a matter of personal taste. If you're into really weird/abstract/absurdist stuff you will probably dig this.

@pointblaek