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The Little Disturbances of Man
Records one woman's response to the love-hate relationships, inhibitions and selfconcerns of men and women
189 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1959
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3925 people want to read
About the author
Grace Paley
131 books406 followersGrace Paley was an American short story writer, poet, and political activist whose work won a number of awards.
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November 7, 2021
BREVI TRISTI STORIE DI LUNGHE VITE FELICI
Il Manhattan Bridge da Lower East Side.
Grace Paley, che non c’è più dal 22 agosto del 2007, mi ha colpito.
O meglio, mi hanno colpito i suoi racconti: sono fuori dal coro, possiedono un ritmo insolito, si muovono come uccelli sui rami, sono composti da un orecchio perfetto.
Foto di William Roege: Ogden Avenue nel Bronx (1939).
Ottantacinque anni di vita, quaranta anni di attività e solo quarantacinque racconti per un totale di 370 pagine: più qualche poesia, e poco altro.
Tre raccolte nella sua lingua (The Little Disturbances of Man 1959, Enormous Changes at the Last Minute 1974, Later the Same Day 1985).
La prima dovrebbe corrispondere a questa edizione Giunti.
Tutte e tre, invece, sono contenute insieme in un’unica edizione Einaudi.
Tempo dedicato ai figli da crescere, all’attività politica, alla vita di tutti i giorni.
Infatti diceva:
L’arte richiede tempo e la vita è troppo breve. C’è tanto altro da fare oltre a scrivere.
Grace Paley
Figlia di immigrati ucraini, ambienta le sue storie nella comunità ebrea di New York, soprattutto tra le strade del Lower East Side.
Un personaggio ritorna in più racconti: Faith. Paley la fa nascere, e poi la segue per una trentina d’anni, da ragazza ribelle la fa diventare moglie fedele, poi madre sola, che non smette di innamorarsi, di inseguire i suoi ideali, femminista, ecologista, pacifista.
Racconti brevi, di piccole storie che diventano immense, molto dialogate, con una frase, con un pensiero trasportano anni dopo, poche pagine per racchiudere squarci di esistenze, banali solo in apparenza: possiedono la magia unica del quotidiano, l’incessante rumore di gioia che arriva dalla stanza accanto.
Qualche anno dopo, Grace Paley.
Un esempio per tutti, il racconto intitolato Madre lungo una sola pagina: i genitori ascoltano musica in salotto, Mozart – la casa pulsa polvere russa mentre fuori per strada vibra New York brulicante di vita – il padre è un medico, ha visitato pazienti per tutto il giorno, è il suo primo momento di relax – la madre è uscita dal negozio ed è entrata in cucina per preparare la cena. Una volta cantavi così bene, dice il marito alla moglie, canta ancora. Lei non risponde: la stanchezza taglia parole a entrambi. Lui ha l’impressione d’essere appena sceso dalla nave e aver ridata l’esame di anatomia nella nuova lingua, anche se invece sono passati trent’anni. Lei è preoccupata per la figlia adolescente, testarda e piena di idee rivoluzionarie, ormai così americana, torna tardi la sera.
Ci può stare tutto questo in un racconto di una sola pagina? - si chiede Paolo Cognetti - Sì, nelle mani di un’artista.
Negli anni Cinquanta c’era il progetto di far passare un’autostrada urbana attraverso il parco di Washington Square, sventrandola. Per la prima volta nella storia della città si formò un comitato di cittadini per combattere il progetto. Il comitato era formato principalmente da donne. Grace Paley abitava già al Greenwich Village.
Il Manhattan Bridge da Lower East Side.
Grace Paley, che non c’è più dal 22 agosto del 2007, mi ha colpito.
O meglio, mi hanno colpito i suoi racconti: sono fuori dal coro, possiedono un ritmo insolito, si muovono come uccelli sui rami, sono composti da un orecchio perfetto.
Foto di William Roege: Ogden Avenue nel Bronx (1939).
Ottantacinque anni di vita, quaranta anni di attività e solo quarantacinque racconti per un totale di 370 pagine: più qualche poesia, e poco altro.
Tre raccolte nella sua lingua (The Little Disturbances of Man 1959, Enormous Changes at the Last Minute 1974, Later the Same Day 1985).
La prima dovrebbe corrispondere a questa edizione Giunti.
Tutte e tre, invece, sono contenute insieme in un’unica edizione Einaudi.
Tempo dedicato ai figli da crescere, all’attività politica, alla vita di tutti i giorni.
Infatti diceva:
L’arte richiede tempo e la vita è troppo breve. C’è tanto altro da fare oltre a scrivere.
Grace Paley
Figlia di immigrati ucraini, ambienta le sue storie nella comunità ebrea di New York, soprattutto tra le strade del Lower East Side.
Un personaggio ritorna in più racconti: Faith. Paley la fa nascere, e poi la segue per una trentina d’anni, da ragazza ribelle la fa diventare moglie fedele, poi madre sola, che non smette di innamorarsi, di inseguire i suoi ideali, femminista, ecologista, pacifista.
Racconti brevi, di piccole storie che diventano immense, molto dialogate, con una frase, con un pensiero trasportano anni dopo, poche pagine per racchiudere squarci di esistenze, banali solo in apparenza: possiedono la magia unica del quotidiano, l’incessante rumore di gioia che arriva dalla stanza accanto.
Qualche anno dopo, Grace Paley.
Un esempio per tutti, il racconto intitolato Madre lungo una sola pagina: i genitori ascoltano musica in salotto, Mozart – la casa pulsa polvere russa mentre fuori per strada vibra New York brulicante di vita – il padre è un medico, ha visitato pazienti per tutto il giorno, è il suo primo momento di relax – la madre è uscita dal negozio ed è entrata in cucina per preparare la cena. Una volta cantavi così bene, dice il marito alla moglie, canta ancora. Lei non risponde: la stanchezza taglia parole a entrambi. Lui ha l’impressione d’essere appena sceso dalla nave e aver ridata l’esame di anatomia nella nuova lingua, anche se invece sono passati trent’anni. Lei è preoccupata per la figlia adolescente, testarda e piena di idee rivoluzionarie, ormai così americana, torna tardi la sera.
Ci può stare tutto questo in un racconto di una sola pagina? - si chiede Paolo Cognetti - Sì, nelle mani di un’artista.
Negli anni Cinquanta c’era il progetto di far passare un’autostrada urbana attraverso il parco di Washington Square, sventrandola. Per la prima volta nella storia della città si formò un comitato di cittadini per combattere il progetto. Il comitato era formato principalmente da donne. Grace Paley abitava già al Greenwich Village.
April 7, 2021
Çevirmeni Aylin Ülçer yüzü suyu hürmetine almıştım bu kitabı. Kendisi ne çevirdiyse, sevdiğim türde olsun olmasın, ilgimi çeksin çekmesin okuyorum/okuyacağım. Onun yerlileştirmeleri, bulduğu karşılıklar bende hayranlık uyandırıyor.
Bu itkiyle okurken birden kitabın kendisini de sevmeye başladığımı fark ettim. Paley'nin günlük hayatı anlatırken kullandığı zaman zaman acıklı zaman zaman alaycı dili hoşuma gitti.
11 Öyküden oluşan eserin tamamında güçlü kadın öykü kişileri öne çıkıyor. Bu "güçlü" sıfatının çok kullanılıp içinin boşaltıldığının farkındayım. O yüzden hemen nasıl "güçlü" olduklarının altını çizeyim:
Tüm baş kişiler kendi seçimlerini yapıyor ve bunların sonuçlarına cesurca göğüs geriyor.
Onlar delice sevdikleri erkeklere canları tak edince "Hadi Güle Güle, Uğurlar Olsun" diyebiliyorlar.
"Hem Genç Hem İhtiyar Bir Kadın" olarak tutkularının peşinden gitseler de olgunlukla dizginleri ellerine alabiliyorlar.
Yeni bir hayat kursalar bile eski eşlerine duydukları sevgi bitmediyse onları sevgiyle kabul edebilecek kadar olgunlar.
Sınıftaki "En Gür Ses"e onlar sahipler ve bu gür ses sadece erkek egemen topluma karşı değil, azınlık olmanın derdiyle de çıkıyor.
"Hayattan Bir Beklenti"leri yok çünkü istediklerini elde edebilecek kudretteler. Eşleri erkekliklerini kanıtlamak için savaşa gitse bile toplumun onlara biçtiği "kadınlık" görevlerinin ötesinde bir varlık gösteriyorlar.
Çocuklarını nasıl yetiştirdikleri hakkında afaki konuşan erkeklerin ağızlarına paylarını bir güzel veriyorlar. O çocuklar ki yeri geliyor annelerinin "karşısında" yeri geliyor "yanlarında" duruyorlar. Her birinin güçlü kişilikleri var.
Bu güzel eserde tek bir öykü var ki kitabın genel çizgisinden sapıyor: "Hepimizi Maymuna Çeviren Zaman"
Başlık her ne kadar yaşlanmaya dair bir işaret verse de öykü "absürt" bir hava içinde akıyor. Baş kişi Eddie'nin ilginç deneylerinin arkasında alaycı bir savaş karşıtlığı seziliyor.
Gerçi tüm öykülerin bir yanı savaşla ilgili. Savaşla dağılan yuvalar ve ekonomik buhran.
Yukarıda az çok anlatmaya çalıştığım halleri daha iyi anlayabilmeniz için bazı alıntılar bırakıyorum. Bu cümleler öyle güzeller ki yerlerinden sökülünce bile etkilerini kaybetmiyorlar:
"Rosie, ah Rosie," dedi bana bir gün. "Gül yüzündeki saatten anladığım kadarıyla, otuzuna gelmiş olmalısın." (s. 17)
Bunu ilk önce annemin yüzünde fark ettim, zamanın çürük elyazısı, yanaklarına bir aşağı bir yukarı kargacık burgacık çiziktirilmiş, alnına ileri geri karalanmıştı ve bu yazıyı bir çocuk bile okuyabilirdi -ihtiyar, ihtiyar, ihtiyar yazıyordu. Ama yüreğimi asıl parçalayan, bu acı gerçeği Vlashkin'in o harika yüz ifadesi üzerine karalanmış görmek oldu. (s. 18)
"Nereye gidiyorsun Peter?" Anna antreden seslendi ona, gürültücü çocukların ve unutulmuş şemsiyelerin yurdundan. (s. 46)
"... O çocukların sesleri pek cılız; hem neden bağırsınlar ki onlar? İngilizceyi, doğuştan sular seller gibi biliyorlar. Melekler gibi altın sarısı saçları var. Oyunda rol almaları o kadar önemli mi sence? Noel... yeryüzünün bütün malı mülkü... hepsinin sahibi onlar zaten." (s. 56)
Zavallı ihtiyar anam, boğazına benden kocaman bir parça düğümlenmiş halde, gözü arkada gitti öbür tarafa. O sırada askerdeydim ama anladığıma göre son sözleri şu olmuş: "Freddy'yi Eleanor Farbstein ile tanıştırın." Kadındaki cürete bakın hele. Beni bir mal gibi vasiyetine eklemiş resmen. Kız kardeşimi asker tıraşlı o reklam yazarına, o gastronomi uzmanına bırakmış. Babamı teyzelerin merhametine terk etmiş. Sıra bana gelince, ki güya onun en kıymetli varlığı, gönlünün buzdolabındaki en iyi et parçasıydım, tutmuş beni de Ellen Farbstein'a bırakmış. (s. 63)
On gün sonra Girard, "Babam nerede?" diye sordu.
"Bana soru sorma ki sana yalan söylemeyeyim." (s. 72)
Benim anlatacak kayda değer bir şeyim yoktu. Hele şimdi, John konuyu böyle gözümün içine içine sokunca, hayatımın yanıp kül olmuş her gününün dumanı utançla tütmeye başlamıştı ve o duman yüzünden güzel geçen sayılı anları bile tam olarak göremiyordum. (s. 75)
Vücudunun bölümleri, ister görünür, ister örtülü olsun, gözü okşuyordu. Çocukluğun ve ihtiyarlığın bütün abartılı kemikleri, genç kızlığın sıcacık ahenginde uykuya dalmıştı. (s. 93)
Gece uyumadan önce farkında olmadan dua ediyorum. Kalktığımda da öyle. Tanrı'ya dua etmiyorum, çocukluğun o birleştirici hatırasına dua ediyorum. Faith, sen ihtiyar dedenin Kadiş duasını okuyuşunu unutabilir misin hiç? Hayır, sonsuza dek kulağında kalacaktır o ses. (s. 112)
Sonra da, Alcatraz hapishanesinde siyah beyaz parmaklıkların ardına hapsedilmiş bir kral gibi ebediyen mezara gömülmüş kalbim, oğlumun kısa, tombul parmaklarının arasından sızan ışıkla çizgi çizgi aydınlandı. (s. 127)
Çeviriye ve düzeltiye diyecek söz yok. Tek bir düşük cümle tek bir yazım hatası bile görmedim. Editör Derya Önder'e de buradan saygılarımı sunuyorum.
Hele baskısı. Ah öyle güzel bir baskısı var ki kitabın. Kapak tasarımı, çizimi, dokusu; sayfaların rengi, dokusu, yazı düzeni; her şeyiyle harika bir baskı. Kapak tasarımı ve çizimini yapan Melis Rozental'ın ellerine sağlık.
Bu itkiyle okurken birden kitabın kendisini de sevmeye başladığımı fark ettim. Paley'nin günlük hayatı anlatırken kullandığı zaman zaman acıklı zaman zaman alaycı dili hoşuma gitti.
11 Öyküden oluşan eserin tamamında güçlü kadın öykü kişileri öne çıkıyor. Bu "güçlü" sıfatının çok kullanılıp içinin boşaltıldığının farkındayım. O yüzden hemen nasıl "güçlü" olduklarının altını çizeyim:
Tüm baş kişiler kendi seçimlerini yapıyor ve bunların sonuçlarına cesurca göğüs geriyor.
Onlar delice sevdikleri erkeklere canları tak edince "Hadi Güle Güle, Uğurlar Olsun" diyebiliyorlar.
"Hem Genç Hem İhtiyar Bir Kadın" olarak tutkularının peşinden gitseler de olgunlukla dizginleri ellerine alabiliyorlar.
Yeni bir hayat kursalar bile eski eşlerine duydukları sevgi bitmediyse onları sevgiyle kabul edebilecek kadar olgunlar.
Sınıftaki "En Gür Ses"e onlar sahipler ve bu gür ses sadece erkek egemen topluma karşı değil, azınlık olmanın derdiyle de çıkıyor.
"Hayattan Bir Beklenti"leri yok çünkü istediklerini elde edebilecek kudretteler. Eşleri erkekliklerini kanıtlamak için savaşa gitse bile toplumun onlara biçtiği "kadınlık" görevlerinin ötesinde bir varlık gösteriyorlar.
Çocuklarını nasıl yetiştirdikleri hakkında afaki konuşan erkeklerin ağızlarına paylarını bir güzel veriyorlar. O çocuklar ki yeri geliyor annelerinin "karşısında" yeri geliyor "yanlarında" duruyorlar. Her birinin güçlü kişilikleri var.
Bu güzel eserde tek bir öykü var ki kitabın genel çizgisinden sapıyor: "Hepimizi Maymuna Çeviren Zaman"
Başlık her ne kadar yaşlanmaya dair bir işaret verse de öykü "absürt" bir hava içinde akıyor. Baş kişi Eddie'nin ilginç deneylerinin arkasında alaycı bir savaş karşıtlığı seziliyor.
Gerçi tüm öykülerin bir yanı savaşla ilgili. Savaşla dağılan yuvalar ve ekonomik buhran.
Yukarıda az çok anlatmaya çalıştığım halleri daha iyi anlayabilmeniz için bazı alıntılar bırakıyorum. Bu cümleler öyle güzeller ki yerlerinden sökülünce bile etkilerini kaybetmiyorlar:
"Rosie, ah Rosie," dedi bana bir gün. "Gül yüzündeki saatten anladığım kadarıyla, otuzuna gelmiş olmalısın." (s. 17)
Bunu ilk önce annemin yüzünde fark ettim, zamanın çürük elyazısı, yanaklarına bir aşağı bir yukarı kargacık burgacık çiziktirilmiş, alnına ileri geri karalanmıştı ve bu yazıyı bir çocuk bile okuyabilirdi -ihtiyar, ihtiyar, ihtiyar yazıyordu. Ama yüreğimi asıl parçalayan, bu acı gerçeği Vlashkin'in o harika yüz ifadesi üzerine karalanmış görmek oldu. (s. 18)
"Nereye gidiyorsun Peter?" Anna antreden seslendi ona, gürültücü çocukların ve unutulmuş şemsiyelerin yurdundan. (s. 46)
"... O çocukların sesleri pek cılız; hem neden bağırsınlar ki onlar? İngilizceyi, doğuştan sular seller gibi biliyorlar. Melekler gibi altın sarısı saçları var. Oyunda rol almaları o kadar önemli mi sence? Noel... yeryüzünün bütün malı mülkü... hepsinin sahibi onlar zaten." (s. 56)
Zavallı ihtiyar anam, boğazına benden kocaman bir parça düğümlenmiş halde, gözü arkada gitti öbür tarafa. O sırada askerdeydim ama anladığıma göre son sözleri şu olmuş: "Freddy'yi Eleanor Farbstein ile tanıştırın." Kadındaki cürete bakın hele. Beni bir mal gibi vasiyetine eklemiş resmen. Kız kardeşimi asker tıraşlı o reklam yazarına, o gastronomi uzmanına bırakmış. Babamı teyzelerin merhametine terk etmiş. Sıra bana gelince, ki güya onun en kıymetli varlığı, gönlünün buzdolabındaki en iyi et parçasıydım, tutmuş beni de Ellen Farbstein'a bırakmış. (s. 63)
On gün sonra Girard, "Babam nerede?" diye sordu.
"Bana soru sorma ki sana yalan söylemeyeyim." (s. 72)
Benim anlatacak kayda değer bir şeyim yoktu. Hele şimdi, John konuyu böyle gözümün içine içine sokunca, hayatımın yanıp kül olmuş her gününün dumanı utançla tütmeye başlamıştı ve o duman yüzünden güzel geçen sayılı anları bile tam olarak göremiyordum. (s. 75)
Vücudunun bölümleri, ister görünür, ister örtülü olsun, gözü okşuyordu. Çocukluğun ve ihtiyarlığın bütün abartılı kemikleri, genç kızlığın sıcacık ahenginde uykuya dalmıştı. (s. 93)
Gece uyumadan önce farkında olmadan dua ediyorum. Kalktığımda da öyle. Tanrı'ya dua etmiyorum, çocukluğun o birleştirici hatırasına dua ediyorum. Faith, sen ihtiyar dedenin Kadiş duasını okuyuşunu unutabilir misin hiç? Hayır, sonsuza dek kulağında kalacaktır o ses. (s. 112)
Sonra da, Alcatraz hapishanesinde siyah beyaz parmaklıkların ardına hapsedilmiş bir kral gibi ebediyen mezara gömülmüş kalbim, oğlumun kısa, tombul parmaklarının arasından sızan ışıkla çizgi çizgi aydınlandı. (s. 127)
Çeviriye ve düzeltiye diyecek söz yok. Tek bir düşük cümle tek bir yazım hatası bile görmedim. Editör Derya Önder'e de buradan saygılarımı sunuyorum.
Hele baskısı. Ah öyle güzel bir baskısı var ki kitabın. Kapak tasarımı, çizimi, dokusu; sayfaların rengi, dokusu, yazı düzeni; her şeyiyle harika bir baskı. Kapak tasarımı ve çizimini yapan Melis Rozental'ın ellerine sağlık.
May 9, 2025
4 stars
*original title:The Little Disturbances of Man*
short review for busy readers:
Originally published in 1959, this lively collection of 10 short stories about women's entanglements with relationships and life is as fresh and imaginative as if it were published yesterday. Very little shows its age, although some of the observations are not popular opinions today. A few of the stories are straightforward, others are an absurdist take on the trials of daily life. Not everything has to make sense. Highly entertaining!
in detail:
Here's a break down of each story...
Goodbye and Good Luck 4⭐
The family black sheep aunt tells her version of life to her niece. "Honey, your mom doesn't always have it right..."
A woman, young and old 3⭐
Young girls flirt with older men something terrible. Even better when he's your older sister's boyfriend and you can score points against her. Never mind you're 13 and he's in his 20s. Who's going to be the bride all dressed in white, huh sis???
The Pale Pink Roast 2⭐
A strange story about a dad with more of a preoccupation with his manliness than with the women around him.
The Loudest Voice 5 ⭐
*Best of Collection* A Jewish girl gets a major role in a Christmas play due to her loud and clear speaking voice. Her mother is scandalised!
The Contest 3.5⭐
Paley's first short story about a jilted woman cleverly getting the best of the man who refused to marry her.
An Interest in Life 3⭐
A slightly absurdist look at how men in the 40s and 50s dealt with women with children, mistaking their burdens of responsibility as disinterest in him.
An Irrevocable Diameter 3.5⭐
The bratty daughter of wealthy parents starts an affair with a much older air conditioner salesman to aggravate her parents. The salesman happily joins in the fun.
Two Short Sad Stories from a Long and Happy Life 4⭐
Daily out-takes of the life of a mother painted in absurdist colours. The first was okay, but the 2nd one is a gem. Her two boys, Richard and Tonto, are delightful.
In Time Which Made Monkeys of Us All 4⭐
Another absurdist/bizarre tale of a young inventor in a Jewish part of NYC who becomes the hero of the neighbourhood with his inventions.
The Floating Truth 5⭐
Wonderfully absurdist story about a young woman landing her first real job through an agent who works out of his broken down car. Funny, imaginative and making fun of those "I want something decorative for my front office...oh, can she type?" kinds of employment ops for women in that time period.
Collectively: 3.7 rounded up to 4
*original title:The Little Disturbances of Man*
short review for busy readers:
Originally published in 1959, this lively collection of 10 short stories about women's entanglements with relationships and life is as fresh and imaginative as if it were published yesterday. Very little shows its age, although some of the observations are not popular opinions today. A few of the stories are straightforward, others are an absurdist take on the trials of daily life. Not everything has to make sense. Highly entertaining!
in detail:
Here's a break down of each story...
Goodbye and Good Luck 4⭐
The family black sheep aunt tells her version of life to her niece. "Honey, your mom doesn't always have it right..."
A woman, young and old 3⭐
Young girls flirt with older men something terrible. Even better when he's your older sister's boyfriend and you can score points against her. Never mind you're 13 and he's in his 20s. Who's going to be the bride all dressed in white, huh sis???
The Pale Pink Roast 2⭐
A strange story about a dad with more of a preoccupation with his manliness than with the women around him.
The Loudest Voice 5 ⭐
*Best of Collection* A Jewish girl gets a major role in a Christmas play due to her loud and clear speaking voice. Her mother is scandalised!
The Contest 3.5⭐
Paley's first short story about a jilted woman cleverly getting the best of the man who refused to marry her.
An Interest in Life 3⭐
A slightly absurdist look at how men in the 40s and 50s dealt with women with children, mistaking their burdens of responsibility as disinterest in him.
An Irrevocable Diameter 3.5⭐
The bratty daughter of wealthy parents starts an affair with a much older air conditioner salesman to aggravate her parents. The salesman happily joins in the fun.
Two Short Sad Stories from a Long and Happy Life 4⭐
Daily out-takes of the life of a mother painted in absurdist colours. The first was okay, but the 2nd one is a gem. Her two boys, Richard and Tonto, are delightful.
In Time Which Made Monkeys of Us All 4⭐
Another absurdist/bizarre tale of a young inventor in a Jewish part of NYC who becomes the hero of the neighbourhood with his inventions.
The Floating Truth 5⭐
Wonderfully absurdist story about a young woman landing her first real job through an agent who works out of his broken down car. Funny, imaginative and making fun of those "I want something decorative for my front office...oh, can she type?" kinds of employment ops for women in that time period.
Collectively: 3.7 rounded up to 4
May 21, 2018
More than half a century after it was published, Grace Paley’s debut, The Little Disturbances Of Man, remains fierce, funny and startingly fresh.
The author had yet to discover fully her political activism – that would come a decade or so later, as chronicled in the appropriately-named Enormous Changes At The Last Minute (1974) – but this first book provides great insights into urban women and men dealing with sex, relationships and raising kids.
These stories pulse and throb with the ordinary struggles and satisfactions of daily life. In the opening tale, the much-anthologized "Goodbye And Good Luck," a middle-aged woman recounts her decades-long affair with a glamorous married actor from a Yiddish Theatre group, which alienated her from her sister (she’s telling the story to her sister’s daughter). “The Loudest Voice” is a hilarious look at a fearless young Jewish girl who takes part in her school's Christmas pageant, much to the chagrin of her immigrant father.
The characters – young or old, male or female – seize hold of their lives and try to make do when disappointments hit them. They’re survivors.
One of the strongest stories is "An Interest In Life," about Virginia, whose husband, feeling trapped, has abandoned her and their many children to run off to the navy… or is it the army? She doesn’t know and can’t collect welfare without that information. Soon she begins accepting visits from the married son of her gossipy neighbour.
Not all the stories are of the same quality. I was disappointed by a couple at the end that feel like failed experiments.
But Paley's distinct voice is already developed: frank and wise, cobbled together from the colourful cadences of immigrants in Lower East Side apartments, streets and stairwells.
Paley is a true original, and this is essential reading for anyone interested in short stories, Jewish-American fiction and fiercely feminist urban life in the 40s and 50s.
The author had yet to discover fully her political activism – that would come a decade or so later, as chronicled in the appropriately-named Enormous Changes At The Last Minute (1974) – but this first book provides great insights into urban women and men dealing with sex, relationships and raising kids.
These stories pulse and throb with the ordinary struggles and satisfactions of daily life. In the opening tale, the much-anthologized "Goodbye And Good Luck," a middle-aged woman recounts her decades-long affair with a glamorous married actor from a Yiddish Theatre group, which alienated her from her sister (she’s telling the story to her sister’s daughter). “The Loudest Voice” is a hilarious look at a fearless young Jewish girl who takes part in her school's Christmas pageant, much to the chagrin of her immigrant father.
The characters – young or old, male or female – seize hold of their lives and try to make do when disappointments hit them. They’re survivors.
One of the strongest stories is "An Interest In Life," about Virginia, whose husband, feeling trapped, has abandoned her and their many children to run off to the navy… or is it the army? She doesn’t know and can’t collect welfare without that information. Soon she begins accepting visits from the married son of her gossipy neighbour.
Not all the stories are of the same quality. I was disappointed by a couple at the end that feel like failed experiments.
But Paley's distinct voice is already developed: frank and wise, cobbled together from the colourful cadences of immigrants in Lower East Side apartments, streets and stairwells.
Paley is a true original, and this is essential reading for anyone interested in short stories, Jewish-American fiction and fiercely feminist urban life in the 40s and 50s.
September 7, 2020
“Benim anlatacak kayda değer bir şeyim yoktu. Hele şimdi, John konuyu böyle gözümün içine içine sokunca, hayatımın yanıp kül olmuş her gününün dumanı utançla tütmeye başlamıştı ve o duman yüzünden güzel geçen sayılı anları bile tam olarak göremiyordum.”
.
.
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Önden uyarayım Amerikan öykülerinden hoşlanmıyorsanız es geçin. 1940-1950’li dönemlerdeki Amerikalı yahudi kadın karakterlerinin gündelik hayatlarının sıradan dertleri gibi görünen yaşam ve seçimlerinin savaşını anlatan; güçlü kadın karakterini insanın gözüne sokma gereği duymadan işleyen öykülerden oluşuyor. Özellikle de ilk öykü olan “Hadi Güle Güle, Uğurlar Olsun” bunu en çok hissettiğiniz ve benim en sevdiğim öykü oldu. İsmi gibi rahat vermeyen ama bir yandan da güldüren öyküler okumak istiyorsanız, bir göz atın.
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Önden uyarayım Amerikan öykülerinden hoşlanmıyorsanız es geçin. 1940-1950’li dönemlerdeki Amerikalı yahudi kadın karakterlerinin gündelik hayatlarının sıradan dertleri gibi görünen yaşam ve seçimlerinin savaşını anlatan; güçlü kadın karakterini insanın gözüne sokma gereği duymadan işleyen öykülerden oluşuyor. Özellikle de ilk öykü olan “Hadi Güle Güle, Uğurlar Olsun” bunu en çok hissettiğiniz ve benim en sevdiğim öykü oldu. İsmi gibi rahat vermeyen ama bir yandan da güldüren öyküler okumak istiyorsanız, bir göz atın.
December 30, 2016
I had never read Grace Paley before and certainly didn't expect such a weird, wonderful writer. Her stories are disturbing, surprising without being gimmicky and very funny. Some of her sentences are so perfect, they made me gasp.
This collection of stories was going to launch my new plan - to keep a book of short stories on my bedside table and read a couple a week or whenever I'm too tired to dip into my current novel. But my plan didn't work - I read all of these irresistible stories in a couple of days.
This collection of stories was going to launch my new plan - to keep a book of short stories on my bedside table and read a couple a week or whenever I'm too tired to dip into my current novel. But my plan didn't work - I read all of these irresistible stories in a couple of days.
May 18, 2017
The cover of this edition has a line from Philip Roth: "spendidly comic and unladylike". My sense of humor seems at variance with many, but I did find many amusing lines. The unladylike is spot on. There is no real sex in these, but the situations are obvious. I was shocked. Not because of so much sexual activity which involved pre-marital sex, free-sex, and outright adultery, but because this little volume was first published in 1956 in the United States. This was a time when a girl was sent off to her "aunt" for an extended stay and the pregnancy never referred to. Sex outside of marriage simply did not happen. Oh. Well, if there were unwanted pregnancies, then maybe people were having sex and authors like Paley could write about it. But definitely unladylike.
My favorite story was the first, Goodbye and Good Luck, where a young girl gets a job as a ticket seller at a Jewish theater and then is wooed off her feet by an older actor. The Pale Pink Roast was another I enjoyed, wherein a woman is abandoned by her husband but, with pluck and charm, manages to supplement her welfare check due to the weekly attentions from the married son of a neighbor. In The Loudest Voice, Jewish schoolchildren are cast as the stars in the Christmas play.
I admit there were a couple of stories that wandered far from quirky and all the way to bizarre. These failed to interest me. Paley writes in a breezy manner that corresponds to her stories. She gets the voice right for the characters that inhabit her stories. Thoroughly enjoyable, but due to a couple of misses, I'm giving this just 4 stars.
My favorite story was the first, Goodbye and Good Luck, where a young girl gets a job as a ticket seller at a Jewish theater and then is wooed off her feet by an older actor. The Pale Pink Roast was another I enjoyed, wherein a woman is abandoned by her husband but, with pluck and charm, manages to supplement her welfare check due to the weekly attentions from the married son of a neighbor. In The Loudest Voice, Jewish schoolchildren are cast as the stars in the Christmas play.
I admit there were a couple of stories that wandered far from quirky and all the way to bizarre. These failed to interest me. Paley writes in a breezy manner that corresponds to her stories. She gets the voice right for the characters that inhabit her stories. Thoroughly enjoyable, but due to a couple of misses, I'm giving this just 4 stars.
June 29, 2024
początkowym, tytułowym zbiorem byłam zachwycona, a potem było coraz ciężej;
jak dla mnie nie powinno się czytać tych zbiorów na raz w jednym tomie, są zbyt różne, a opowiadań jest zwyczajnie zbyt wiele, przez co ogólnie jakościowo wydaje się to też gorsze niż pewnie jest w rzeczywistości;
kocham to, jak pisała Paley, kocham jej humor, komentarz świata, poruszanie tematów tak aktualnych nawet dzisiaj i gnojenie facetów (hehe), ale jednak czasami wpadała też w pułapki epoki i środowiska niestety, krzywiłam się niekomfortowo momentami i nie zawsze byłam w stanie przypisać to celowej kreacji postaci i jakiemuś przesłaniu (jak w przypadku np opowiadań, w których były relacje mężczyzn z nastolatkami)
jak dla mnie nie powinno się czytać tych zbiorów na raz w jednym tomie, są zbyt różne, a opowiadań jest zwyczajnie zbyt wiele, przez co ogólnie jakościowo wydaje się to też gorsze niż pewnie jest w rzeczywistości;
kocham to, jak pisała Paley, kocham jej humor, komentarz świata, poruszanie tematów tak aktualnych nawet dzisiaj i gnojenie facetów (hehe), ale jednak czasami wpadała też w pułapki epoki i środowiska niestety, krzywiłam się niekomfortowo momentami i nie zawsze byłam w stanie przypisać to celowej kreacji postaci i jakiemuś przesłaniu (jak w przypadku np opowiadań, w których były relacje mężczyzn z nastolatkami)
November 13, 2018
İlginç konuları ve renkli karakterleriyle keyifle okuduğum bir kitap oldu. Öyküler sıradışı ve eğlenceli. Anlatım dili mizah içeriyor ve zekice kurgulanmış öyküler var. Yazarın kendi hayatı ve politik duruşu da yer bulmuş öykülerde.
February 1, 2014
This book of short stories was published in 1959 – a lifetime ago and it is still very fun to read. I love the NYC and Jewish settings.
I will steal some quotes from other GR reviews that say just what I would want to say about this book:
All I can add is that this is, for me, an easy five star read.
I read this collection of short stories as a part of Grace Paley’s book The Collected Stories . I am delighted to get Paley’s three short story collections all in one hard cover binding.
I will steal some quotes from other GR reviews that say just what I would want to say about this book:
Half way through the first paragraph—“Only a person like your mama stands on one foot, she don’t notice how big her behind is getting and sings in the canary’s ear for thirty years. Who’s listening?”—I realized I was in the company of some very special literature. In less than seven lines, Paley had declared herself, her work, deserving of my full attention and respect.
…
This book outlines the sexually charged life we lead as human beings and how that can be complicated by communication, distance, closeness, and much more. Gorgeous little volume from a beautiful writer.
…
I found that the language in each story relatable and hilarious almost the entire book. The curse words are so expertly placed, you would swear Paley has made poetry of profanity.
…
Written in New York in 1959, this collection of stories involves real love, real life, and the real city of New York. This collection can serve as a Bible for women in relationships. It gives a variety of situations; some that you would never think you could experience in a lifetime but are certainly possible.
…
The book never flinches away from difficulty or sexuality, and although the sarcastic/cheeky narrative voice is not generally my favorite sort, something (perhaps the not-too-sensitive, uneducated nature of the characters) saves it from being grating and ultra-ironic.
…
Some pretty terrific stories with quite awe-inducing sentences. Paley's descriptions and the weaving of her characters' stories in such short bursts are robust; sometimes sad, other times comedic.
…
There is a frankness and wit here, as well as the palpable love you want in any short story, that just breaks you in half. In Paley's case the love is entwined with sex-- one turns into the other and back again. That may sound sort of precious, but she is hilarious and fun. I hate when people refer to her as "saucy" or "brazen," as if Philip Roth or Saul Bellow weren't saucy or brazen, but you can't deny that she is.
…
I love Grace Paley's voice--the idiosyncratic, strong, quirky, voices of her mostly women characters. She almost writes in a NYC dialect of her own making. These short stories are almost like plays--carried mostly by dialogue or monologue. I love the fact that Paley was a peace activist in the 60's.
All I can add is that this is, for me, an easy five star read.
I read this collection of short stories as a part of Grace Paley’s book The Collected Stories . I am delighted to get Paley’s three short story collections all in one hard cover binding.
July 25, 2017
Meia dúzia de contos um bocado chochos. São mais, mas já não os li, pois não estou para me contrariar com leituras que não me aquecem nem me arrefecem...
October 18, 2020
İnsana hiç rahat vermeyen yaşamlar, bazen komik bazen trajik, okura çok keyif veren öyküler.
Yahudi Amerikalı deneyimi dediğimiz şey de bu değil mi? Hayatın kıyısında duran bireylerin, Amerikan toplumu ve yaşam ile olan mücadelesi. Grace Paley’nin, Philip Roth ve Eudora Welty’i hatırlatan bir kalemi var. Diğer öykülerini de mutlaka okuyacağım.
Yahudi Amerikalı deneyimi dediğimiz şey de bu değil mi? Hayatın kıyısında duran bireylerin, Amerikan toplumu ve yaşam ile olan mücadelesi. Grace Paley’nin, Philip Roth ve Eudora Welty’i hatırlatan bir kalemi var. Diğer öykülerini de mutlaka okuyacağım.
January 5, 2016
"Under the narrow sky of God's great wisdom, she wore a strawberry-blonde wig."
I first read this collection in October of 2015. On that first time through, I stopped and re-read "The Loudest Voice," the story from which I drew that quote about the wig, at least four times, once aloud to a group of friends who may or may not have shared my enthusiasm for it. It's hard to tell sometimes.
I received The Collected Stories of Grace Paley for Christmas, and I decided to open 2016 by reading The Little Disturbances of Man again before moving on to her other collections. There's something in these stories that I haven't seen elsewhere. She demonstrates the kind of warmth and grace to be found in the most potent complaint.
Her central concern seems to be the predicament of women in our world, but all of life seems to find a place in that theme, and so we end up with these rich, multi-faceted little narratives full of humor and tragedy and telling detail.
But Paley's voice is the main thing for me. She seems to listen with her whole heart, and leaves all the emotional tones of the lives of her characters intact and resonant. I don't quite know how she does it yet. I plan to keep coming back to these stories to find out.
I first read this collection in October of 2015. On that first time through, I stopped and re-read "The Loudest Voice," the story from which I drew that quote about the wig, at least four times, once aloud to a group of friends who may or may not have shared my enthusiasm for it. It's hard to tell sometimes.
I received The Collected Stories of Grace Paley for Christmas, and I decided to open 2016 by reading The Little Disturbances of Man again before moving on to her other collections. There's something in these stories that I haven't seen elsewhere. She demonstrates the kind of warmth and grace to be found in the most potent complaint.
Her central concern seems to be the predicament of women in our world, but all of life seems to find a place in that theme, and so we end up with these rich, multi-faceted little narratives full of humor and tragedy and telling detail.
But Paley's voice is the main thing for me. She seems to listen with her whole heart, and leaves all the emotional tones of the lives of her characters intact and resonant. I don't quite know how she does it yet. I plan to keep coming back to these stories to find out.
May 19, 2025
1950's Jewish Bronx Quirkiness
A review of the Plume Book hardcover (1973) of the Doubleday hardcover original (1959) which collected stories from 1956-1959.
[A 3.6 average out of 5 for the 10 stories, rounded up to a GR 4]
This discovery of an author previously unknown to me was thanks to GR friend Berengaria's enthusiastic review. I was lucky enough to source a copy in the Toronto Public Library, which remarkably still had a 1973 edition in good condition in circulation. GR says this is a paperback, but my copy was actually a hardcover.
These are often quirky stories, many of which involve male abandonment and/or plucky children, the females usually coming off the winners in the end. Some get a bit too outlandish or absurd for my taste, but overall this was a delightful collection and the discovery of a rather unique voice who had a knack for some odd turns of phrase and similes as you can read from the above examples.
Walk up tenements in the Bronx, NYC 1950s. Image sourced from Growing Up in the Bronx.
The following are individual story synopses and ratings, mostly not spoilerish.
1. Goodbye and Good Luck **** A wayward aunt tells her life story to her niece, esp about becoming the mistress of a married actor at the Yiddish Theatre in NYC. A life with no regrets!
2. A Woman, Young and Old **** A young girl flirts with her older sister's? (but she calls her Aunty Lizzy) soldier boyfriend and even suggests marriage with him. There is a gut punch reveal when we learn her age. A consummation is fortunately averted thanks to a Wassermann test. Yes, I had to look it up 😳.
3. The Pale Pink Roast **** A wastrel husband returns home to a wife and child he abandoned. He helps the wife with various chores at her new apartment and then events take their natural course. A gut-punch reveal comes along and he moves on down the road after she has enjoyed what she felt was owed to her.
4. The Loudest Voice ***** The charmer of the collection. A young Jewish girl is asked to be the narrator of the school Christmas play due to her voice being the loudest in the class. Her mother is taken aback, but her father takes it all in stride.
5. The Contest **** A jilted girlfriend ensnares her faithless lover into a get rich scheme involving a newspaper contest.
6. An Interest in Life **** A husband abandons his wife and four children and joins the army. The son of a downstairs neighbour lends a comforting ear.
7. An Irrevocable Diameter ** Doesn’t read as being quite believable, another young girl / older man story, but with a shocking outcome. The final line is at least realistic.
8. Two Short Sad Stories from a Long and Happy Life ***
a) The Used-Boy Raisers Quirky story of a woman with two husbands nicknamed Livid and Pallid, also her two sons Richard and Tonto (Anthony). Yet another abandonment story, except husband #1 comes back occasionally.
b) A Subject of Childhood Carries on with the mother fighting with husband #2 I think. Then carrying on with the sons Richard and Tonto. Getting a bit tiresome now with the nicknames and the fighting.
9. In Time Which Made a Monkey of us All ** The longest story in the collection but it overstayed its welcome. Some kids in the Bronx set up a “laboratory” to create inventions from which only a cockroach killer and a massive stink bomb seem to be produced.
10. The Floating Truth **** Unrealistic but fun, a recent graduate with no real references consults an employment counsellor who fakes their resume for them and manages to get them an office job. The counsellor runs his business out of his car.
A review of the Plume Book hardcover (1973) of the Doubleday hardcover original (1959) which collected stories from 1956-1959.
Anna had read that cannibals, tasting man, saw him thereafter as the great pig, the pale pink roast.
...
Then easy and impervious, in full control, he cartwheeled eastward into the source of night.
...
I myself, although I lost God a long time ago, have never lost faith.
...
Then through the short fat fingers of my son, interred forever, like a black and white barred king in Alcatraz, my heart lit up in stripes.
...
They swilled Coke like a regiment which has captured all the enemy pinball machines without registering a single tilt. - excerpts from various stories in The Little Disturbances of Man.
[A 3.6 average out of 5 for the 10 stories, rounded up to a GR 4]
This discovery of an author previously unknown to me was thanks to GR friend Berengaria's enthusiastic review. I was lucky enough to source a copy in the Toronto Public Library, which remarkably still had a 1973 edition in good condition in circulation. GR says this is a paperback, but my copy was actually a hardcover.
These are often quirky stories, many of which involve male abandonment and/or plucky children, the females usually coming off the winners in the end. Some get a bit too outlandish or absurd for my taste, but overall this was a delightful collection and the discovery of a rather unique voice who had a knack for some odd turns of phrase and similes as you can read from the above examples.
Walk up tenements in the Bronx, NYC 1950s. Image sourced from Growing Up in the Bronx.
The following are individual story synopses and ratings, mostly not spoilerish.
1. Goodbye and Good Luck **** A wayward aunt tells her life story to her niece, esp about becoming the mistress of a married actor at the Yiddish Theatre in NYC. A life with no regrets!
2. A Woman, Young and Old **** A young girl flirts with her older sister's? (but she calls her Aunty Lizzy) soldier boyfriend and even suggests marriage with him. There is a gut punch reveal when we learn her age. A consummation is fortunately averted thanks to a Wassermann test. Yes, I had to look it up 😳.
3. The Pale Pink Roast **** A wastrel husband returns home to a wife and child he abandoned. He helps the wife with various chores at her new apartment and then events take their natural course. A gut-punch reveal comes along and he moves on down the road after she has enjoyed what she felt was owed to her.
4. The Loudest Voice ***** The charmer of the collection. A young Jewish girl is asked to be the narrator of the school Christmas play due to her voice being the loudest in the class. Her mother is taken aback, but her father takes it all in stride.
5. The Contest **** A jilted girlfriend ensnares her faithless lover into a get rich scheme involving a newspaper contest.
6. An Interest in Life **** A husband abandons his wife and four children and joins the army. The son of a downstairs neighbour lends a comforting ear.
7. An Irrevocable Diameter ** Doesn’t read as being quite believable, another young girl / older man story, but with a shocking outcome. The final line is at least realistic.
8. Two Short Sad Stories from a Long and Happy Life ***
a) The Used-Boy Raisers Quirky story of a woman with two husbands nicknamed Livid and Pallid, also her two sons Richard and Tonto (Anthony). Yet another abandonment story, except husband #1 comes back occasionally.
b) A Subject of Childhood Carries on with the mother fighting with husband #2 I think. Then carrying on with the sons Richard and Tonto. Getting a bit tiresome now with the nicknames and the fighting.
9. In Time Which Made a Monkey of us All ** The longest story in the collection but it overstayed its welcome. Some kids in the Bronx set up a “laboratory” to create inventions from which only a cockroach killer and a massive stink bomb seem to be produced.
10. The Floating Truth **** Unrealistic but fun, a recent graduate with no real references consults an employment counsellor who fakes their resume for them and manages to get them an office job. The counsellor runs his business out of his car.
November 21, 2020
Questo che ho letto è la prima raccolta di racconti della Paley, quella del 1959, "The Little Disturbances of Man". In realtà l'omonimo volume di Einaudi del 2002 che contiene tutte e tre le raccolte ( "The Collected Stories" vincitore nel 1994 del National Book Award) è quasi introvabile. Mi riservo di leggere anche le altre due raccolte "Grandi cambiamenti all'ultimo minuto" (1974) e "Più tardi nel pomeriggio" (1985), perché questi piccoli scorci di quotidianità hanno una grande vivacità espressiva. Sono raccontini brevi di vite in apparenza tristi, dove si intravede quell'umorismo yiddish infarcito di ottimismo americano. Storie di mamme alle prese con bimbi piccoli, mariti inesistenti o amanti focosi. Sembra che le madri di Woody Allen, quelle di Philip Roth o tutti gli stereotipi di madri ebraiche e non siano passate da qui.
September 17, 2010
Earlier this month I came across Grace Paley’s The Little Disturbances of Man on the clearance rack at Half Price Books. At two bucks, I knew this was a book to buy—I’d heard Paley’s name mentioned perhaps a dozen times in and around the Bennington campus—but that was all I knew of Paley. I began reading The Little Disturbances of Man oblivious to anything and everything about the author or her work.
Upon opening the book, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was a short story collection I was to embark on. Then, I was quite impressed with the first line of the opening story, “Goodbye and Good Luck”: “I was popular in certain circles, says Aunt Rose.”
Half way through the first paragraph—“Only a person like your mama stands on one foot, she don’t notice how big her behind is getting and sings in the canary’s ear for thirty years. Who’s listening?”—I realized I was in the company of some very special literature. In less than seven lines, Paley had declared herself, her work, deserving of my full attention and respect. I wanted to immerse myself into these stories, assuming they would live up to my sudden and grand expectations.
They did. Cozied up in my favorite wingback, sipping at hot tea with milk, in the quietest room of our home, I devoured The Little Disturbances of Man.
The experience was, for me, like answering the door to a big box of long stem roses in March, when my birthday has long since past and my anniversary is still months away. Like ordering spaghetti bolognaise to discover the most delicious flavors tucked in that most common dish.
Paley’s talent for prose and her gift with language—evidenced, so markedly, in a small print, I didn’t initially observe, on the book’s cover, “Stories of Women and Men at Love”—were what first had me rubbing my palms together. Then, it was her genius with dialogue, so natural, so pointedly accurate, so shrewd, that had me grinning. But it was Paley’s characters that had me smitten: the delicious Aunt Rose; the cunning child temptress, Josephine; the so-likeable and so-tragic Freddy; the sad, strong, complicated, beautiful, abandoned Virginia; the wise and comical Charles C. Charley and his savvy, silly Cindy. Her clever, pleasantly understated plots and her instinct for poking at the obscurities, the intricacies, innate to the relationships of men and women—that was, for me, the sweet cream-cheese frosting on Paley’s cake.
Reading Paley’s The Little Disturbances of Man was, for me, a most delectable experience.
Upon opening the book, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it was a short story collection I was to embark on. Then, I was quite impressed with the first line of the opening story, “Goodbye and Good Luck”: “I was popular in certain circles, says Aunt Rose.”
Half way through the first paragraph—“Only a person like your mama stands on one foot, she don’t notice how big her behind is getting and sings in the canary’s ear for thirty years. Who’s listening?”—I realized I was in the company of some very special literature. In less than seven lines, Paley had declared herself, her work, deserving of my full attention and respect. I wanted to immerse myself into these stories, assuming they would live up to my sudden and grand expectations.
They did. Cozied up in my favorite wingback, sipping at hot tea with milk, in the quietest room of our home, I devoured The Little Disturbances of Man.
The experience was, for me, like answering the door to a big box of long stem roses in March, when my birthday has long since past and my anniversary is still months away. Like ordering spaghetti bolognaise to discover the most delicious flavors tucked in that most common dish.
Paley’s talent for prose and her gift with language—evidenced, so markedly, in a small print, I didn’t initially observe, on the book’s cover, “Stories of Women and Men at Love”—were what first had me rubbing my palms together. Then, it was her genius with dialogue, so natural, so pointedly accurate, so shrewd, that had me grinning. But it was Paley’s characters that had me smitten: the delicious Aunt Rose; the cunning child temptress, Josephine; the so-likeable and so-tragic Freddy; the sad, strong, complicated, beautiful, abandoned Virginia; the wise and comical Charles C. Charley and his savvy, silly Cindy. Her clever, pleasantly understated plots and her instinct for poking at the obscurities, the intricacies, innate to the relationships of men and women—that was, for me, the sweet cream-cheese frosting on Paley’s cake.
Reading Paley’s The Little Disturbances of Man was, for me, a most delectable experience.
February 5, 2019
2.5’tan 3 yıldız
Nedense sevemedim. Hikayeler bir türlü bana geçemedi. Kötü diyemeyeceğim ama bende pek yer edememiş, aklımda kalmayacak öyküler diyebilirim kısaca.
Nedense sevemedim. Hikayeler bir türlü bana geçemedi. Kötü diyemeyeceğim ama bende pek yer edememiş, aklımda kalmayacak öyküler diyebilirim kısaca.
April 9, 2019
Yavaş yavaş, sindirerek okunan keyifli öyküler...
January 30, 2009
So good we named our daughter after her.
August 19, 2023
I forget who mentioned Paley in the same sentence as Garielle Lutz, and I can totally see the association. Paley is more domestic, but her prose, non-sequiturs and black humor are just as enjoyable.
July 27, 2008
Less political than her second collection and maybe therefore not as charged or textured? Here's a self-critical comment cleverly embedded in the collection's last story:
"'What's the matter with you? Don't put yourself on a platter. What are you -- a roast duck, everything removable with a lousy piece of flatware? Be secret. Turn over on your side. Let them guess if you're stuffed. That's how I got where I am.' The organization of his ideas was all wrong; I was drawn to the memory of myself -- a mere stripling of a girl -- the day I learned that the shortest distance between two points is a great circle. 'Anyway, you ought to think in shorter sentences,' he suggested, although I hadn't said a word. Old Richard-the-Liver-Headed, he saw right through to the heart of the matter, my syntax."
That's about as accurate as possible a review of the dominant formal dealio herein.
"'What's the matter with you? Don't put yourself on a platter. What are you -- a roast duck, everything removable with a lousy piece of flatware? Be secret. Turn over on your side. Let them guess if you're stuffed. That's how I got where I am.' The organization of his ideas was all wrong; I was drawn to the memory of myself -- a mere stripling of a girl -- the day I learned that the shortest distance between two points is a great circle. 'Anyway, you ought to think in shorter sentences,' he suggested, although I hadn't said a word. Old Richard-the-Liver-Headed, he saw right through to the heart of the matter, my syntax."
That's about as accurate as possible a review of the dominant formal dealio herein.
December 26, 2009
i'd read and loved paley's story "wants" in an anthology somewhere and so i figured i'd try this collection of hers a try. unfortunately, this collection is her first, 12+ years before "wants," and the stories are much longer and "normaler" than that brilliant little jewel. it's impressive how she changes voices so completely and convincingly from one story to the next, but in the end only one of these stories (the first, "goodbye and good luck") actually had any emotional effect on me, and none of them are particularly imaginative. she writes good sentences but my overall reaction was: eh... so what? maybe her later collections are better, but i can't say i feel like looking into them right now.
July 31, 2011
Beautiful short stories that may be some of the most notable of Paleys. She is a seamstress with characters that walk off of the page and transform into our brothers, sisters, grandparents, mothers, and fathers. This book outlines the sexually charged life we lead as human beings and how that can be complicated by communication, distance, closeness, and much more. Gorgeous little volume from a beautiful writer. This book will warm you in more ways than I can describe... After reading this, pick up more Paley. She is like that fun old lady that is your aunt - a little too cute at times and always sneaking up with a funny, inappropriate innuendo. Real, fun, short, sweet, this book is a fine dessert that could be the light follow up any hefty literary meal.
October 14, 2013
Grace Paley's first and best collection of stories, this includes some of the finest stories written by an American in the past 50 years: although it is hard to choose, I would say my favorites are "The Loudest Voice" and "In Time Which Made a Monkey of Us All." Paley rarely wrote again at this level, as her admirable commitments to political activism and teaching necessarily distracted her from her writing. I ran into Paley at the MLA conference a couple of years ago before she passed away and we exchanged glances and smiles--a diminutive woman with a warm and slightly sad expression.
February 5, 2017
2.5' tan ☆☆☆
Kitabı çok sevemedim maalesef. Sonlarında bitirmek için cebelleştim. Yazarın diline bir süre sonra alıştım fakat okuma heyecanım öyküler ilerledikçe azaldı. Özellikle birkaç öyküde ' Ne anlamalıydım?' diye düşündüm. Anlam yükleyemedim, hoşlanmadım. Sevdiğim 1-2 öykü ve bazı kısımlar oldu fakat etki bırakmadılar üzerimde...
Kitabı çok sevemedim maalesef. Sonlarında bitirmek için cebelleştim. Yazarın diline bir süre sonra alıştım fakat okuma heyecanım öyküler ilerledikçe azaldı. Özellikle birkaç öyküde ' Ne anlamalıydım?' diye düşündüm. Anlam yükleyemedim, hoşlanmadım. Sevdiğim 1-2 öykü ve bazı kısımlar oldu fakat etki bırakmadılar üzerimde...
April 27, 2021
Grace Paley'in üslubu ve anlatılarıyla Ölü Dilde Bir Hayalperest isimli kitabıyla tanıştım. Sanırım en beğendiğim kitabı o oldu. Buradaki hikayeleri okurken en çok kitabın başlangıç öyküsü olan "Hadi Güle Güle, Uğurlar Olsun" ve "Hayattan Beklenti"yi beğendim. Bazı öykülerini neden bilemiyorum çok yadırgadım. Belki çok aşina olmadığım bir yaşantıları dile getiren anlatılardı belki ruh halim odaklanma sorunu yaşayan, dağınık ve çeşitli işlerle meşgul zihnim öykülerin bazılarının hakkını vermeye yetmedi. Yine de bu karamsar karantinalı yalnızlık dolu günlerde bahçede çiçek açmış bir ağacın altında güneşin sıcaklığıyla ısına ısına o öyküleri okumakta hiç fena bir okuma deneyimi değildi. Velhasılkelam bu yazarla tanışmak güzel. Kitap kapağı oldukça isabetli. Çünkü sadece hayatın insanla bir derdi yok. İnsanın da kendiyle derdi çok. Kafamız, zihnimiz ne kadar çok yorabiliyor bazen kendimizden bile sıkılmamıza yetecek kadar kendimizle meşgul olmamıza sebep olabiliyor öyle değil mi?
February 26, 2018
Grace Paley (1922-2007) ha scritto solo racconti - pochi, tra l'altro. Questa è la sua prima e più nota raccolta, del 1959: apprezzabile tuttora, lo fu particolarmente all'epoca, per lo stile singolare e innovativo - con Saul Bellow e Philip Roth tra i principali estimatori.
(Grace Paley fu inoltre una pacifista... molto "battagliera", soprattutto ai tempi del Vietnam.)
(Grace Paley fu inoltre una pacifista... molto "battagliera", soprattutto ai tempi del Vietnam.)
May 2, 2024
Kısa hikayeler..
Ama maalesef bana hitap edenler arasında değiller..
İhtimal okuyacağım bir yazar olmayacaktır bir daha..
Ama maalesef bana hitap edenler arasında değiller..
İhtimal okuyacağım bir yazar olmayacaktır bir daha..
November 26, 2021
Amazing stuff.
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