Nickel Fictions: 50 Exceedingly Brief Stories

by Bob Thurber

Thurber is a celebrated master of very short stories. Nobody works better in a small space. This collection is packed with rewarding reads, and a number of prizewinning gems worth studying for their voice, their tickle and their ache; there's a healthy mix of emotional precision, subtle insight and ambiguous dark humor. What you discover in these hard-hitting, unapologetic prose pieces is how challenging it is to craft and refine impactful small fictions. 50 short, concise stories from Bob Thurber, award winning writer, acclaimed master of the short form, and the author of " A Dysfunctional Novel." Fine examples of powerful prose in a small space. Many of these "small fictions" were written during his 20 year apprenticeship, and later published. A number of the selections have been utilized as teaching tools in schools and colleges. If you enjoy small 'bite-size' stories, or are a fan of micro-fiction and flash fiction, you'll appreciate these sharply written, miniature creations from a "masterful wordsmith."

Genres: Short Stories, Flash Fiction, Fiction

85 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 11, 2011

About the author

An American author renown for his "exceedingly brief" short fiction, Bob Thurber's work has received a long list of awards, appeared in hundreds of publications, including Esquire, and been anthologized over 70 times.

Reviews

[Linda Getman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Compelling Bites

You know when you get a box of assorted chocolates with no guide so that every choice is a surprise and you cannot stop sampling because of the anticipation of what might be in the next piece? This book is that unmarked box.

[Rochelle Jewel Shapiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

great as a condensed Ray Carver

These stories will stay with you long after you put the book down. The endings must be gifts from a muse. The heroism of everyday people trying to get through their actual and their dream lives.

[Tom Spokane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rapid Fire Dramas

Bob Thurber’s short fictions are snapshots of impromptu lives, and bare-wire emotions expressed in abridged narratives. Many twists and open endings to stories stir the imagination and allow the reader license to concoct their own endings, their own continuation, or settle into Thurber’s intense drama packed into
postage-stamp scenes. I highly recommend Nickel Fictions: 50 Exceedingly Brief Stories if you are searching for fresh stories delivered rapid fire.

[Jeanne T. Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bites of feeling

This book...or more accurately its stories...is the kind of experience that is hard to come by. Like a sounds only briefly perceived and then lost or a scent only caught for an instant, feelings are stirred deeply hunting of much deeper understanding and awareness, not readily defined. A really memorable reading experience.
I

[Paul Triller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raw. Like reading the script to the dreams of Tom Waits.
Amazing use of a few but terse, but fully-loaded sentences

[Kenny Chaffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm often very skeptical of single author collections, but these deliver. Much variety and a bit of a dark tone. The are stories of the underdogs, survivors, the downtrodden. Just maybe (or maybe not) slightly darker than Raymond Carver and slightly shorter for the most part. Don't look for cheery inspirational tales here, but nitty-gritty street-wise flash and micro fictions. Great Stuff....

I particularly enjoyed:
the opening story - Lord Have Mercy
Duck Walk
Deathbed Notes of an old Queer Priest.
Grays
Wishes
Shuteye
The Cricket War (which I swear I've read somewhere else, but can't remember where)
Rooms for Rent, Men Only.
and the last - Quarter of Midnight

Great Stuff! Definitely worth the time!

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Exceedingly Short Stories" is definitely not a misnomer. One of the stories is just 25 words long, although most are about a page and a half in length. A collection like this is the perfect exercise for a reader like me, who tends to let words wash over them rather than keening in on the smaller details. I set myself up a challenge of reading just a few stories a day, making sure that I spent the time to properly digest the content.

I can't say there's a lot of sunshine on these pages, but there were many times where I completely identified with the eomtions at play. This is a very worthy collection of shorts, and one that I benefitted from as a reader.

[Paul Mena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating collection of very short stories, the majority of which are only long enough to leave a reader breathless, excitedly waiting for more. I read all of them in the space of a weekend, and then went back to read my favorites again.

[Mystee Pulcine · Rating 5 out of 5]

as with most anthologies, some are better than others, but overall I really enjoyed this read. I had a hard time stopping.

[Christine M Skynar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast and Good

Better than I had hoped. Very enjoyable. I wonder why my review needs to be almost as long as an average story in this book?

[Anonyma'am · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's been a while since I read this, but I remember a general feeling of dissatisfaction. Too many of the stories just ended with no resolution. Now, that isn't always bad, but these felt like the author just stopped writing and went on to something else. Others I just didn't "get". Maybe they were too deep for me to read just before bed so I tried some during the day. Nope. I just don't get 'em. I might flip through Amazon's See Inside preview on a couple of books, but at this time I don't see myself buying any more from this author which makes me sad because I really like short stories - just not these.

[Wayne E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murky

I accidentally gave this book three stars, not intending to give a review. Knowing that 3 stars was too high and some desperate fool could read it and sink a little further, I changed it to two.

[Randolph Rossi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief Stories are Quick to Read But Have Very Little Character Development

This book was a quick read and some of the stories made you think about how the result of the story. Interesting but not very fulfilling.

[Amber DuBois · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's a good thing these stories are short, because you can get one or two in before you fall asleep.

[Linda Rozanski · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dark, disturbing, depressing and often meaningless, at least to my mind.

[Jan Moens · Rating 4 out of 5]

7,5/10

[Patrick Njuguna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just ok

Every single story was as short as it was tragic. A couple of alternate endings would have done some good.