Winesburg, Indiana: A Fork River Anthology

Break Away Books

by Zachary Tyler Vickers, William O'Rourke, Valerie Sayers (Contributor)

In the mythical town of Winesburg, Indiana, there lives a cleaning lady who can conjure up the ghost of Billy Sunday, a lascivious holy man with an unusual fetish and a burgeoning flock, a park custodian who collects the scat left by aliens, and a night janitor learning to live with life s mysteries, including the zombies in the cafeteria. Winesburg, Indiana, is a town full of stories of plans made and destroyed, of births and unexpected deaths, of remembered pasts and unexplored presents told to the reader by as interesting a cast of characters as one is likely to find in small town America. Brought to life by a lively group of Indiana writers, Winesburg, Indiana, is a place to discover something of what it means to be alive in our hyperactive century from stories that are deeply human, sometimes melancholy, and often damned funny."

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

232 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2015

Reviews

[Giulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A weird and whacky collection of super-short stories intertwined with each other and revolving around the town of Winesburg, Indiana. Perfect random download to pass the time during a 6-hour tattoo session.

[Elmwoodblues · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am doing this backwards, not having read 'Winesburg, Ohio' yet, but I'll get to it. I have read and listened to some of the 'Welcome to Nightvale' works, and that comparison came to mind right away...with a positive nod toward 'Winesburg'.

Not as consistently trippy as 'Nightvale', but there are odd tales here, as well as the sad story, the normal-on-the-outside story, the subversively funny story. Like residents in a small town, there are overlaps, and certain 'fixed' places are seen in different lights by different characters, as would be expected in reality. Indeed, the overall effect can be one of a slight imbalance, like walking down a main street and overhearing the inner dialogue of neighbors who share the same time and place but have different stories to tell about it.

[James Figy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when a group of writers creates restless, damaged characters à la Sherwood Anderson's classic story collection and populates a surreal Hoosier town? Winesburg, Indiana, that's what. Many of the stories in this anthology possessed a true Indiana spirit and fit within the peculiar Martonian reality.
The stories that really took off seemed to realize the theme, as if it were the town square, and spread out into the far corners, exposing new sides to the characters and the place. Some of my favorites were "Limberlost," "Constance H. Wootin," "Mari, Waiting," and "Occupy Winesburg." Many are told as firsthand accounts, including the excellent "Frances Parker," which I read three times. By listening to the characters tell their tales, you, the reader, become the George Willard of this Winesburg.
There were a few duds, mainly "Clyde," which seemed to be a big joke comprised of small inside jokes about the book's editors and little quips about Anderson's bio, and "Dark Stars," which used a phony African American dialect that any white creative writer should have long ago exorcised from his or her toolbox. (Maybe I'm wrong about the author's intent, but the voice was at least not authentic to Indiana, even if it wasn't attempting to do what it seems.) These two coming so near the end of the book shifted my rating quite a bit. However, Winesburg, Indiana, is a book you will not regret reading and a place, though you can't find it on a map, that you will certainly want to visit.

[Gretchen Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as part of the Goodreads First Reads Giveaway. The Winesburg Indiana: Fork River Anthology is an interesting group of stories about people that live in a fictional Winesburg, Indiana. This book will definitely get you out of the reading slump that you are in. I am really glad I got the opportunity to read this book. It is funny and full of quirk. There are so many different characters in this book that you get to meet. You hear the stories and thoughts of each individuals experience in Winesburg. The characters range from a failing musician, a college professor stuck in a town that is not her dream, and to a cat lady that collects cat pictures instead of cats. Every character's story includes their own idiosyncrasy. This is a great original piece of work that is not something a reader comes by every day. There are some great stories out there but they can become predictable and mundane. This book is unpredictable. The writing style is shaped around each character to bring the most of their story. It was really enjoyable and well written. No matter what genre of book you like these stories will capture your attention and take you on a fun ride through Winesburg, Indiana.

[Neil Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winesburg, Indiana is an anthology of stories set in a fictional town near Fort Wayne. The stories are short and each involves a quirky character from Winesburg. The stories are often an odd mix of upbeat sadness coalescing into the organism we call life. Not all stories are sad, some are written for writers who may enjoy clever penmanship. Some stories are funny to downright bizarre. For instance, I really should reread the Velveta Cheese Man again. With very competent writing at Winesburg, Indiana's center, this was an easy read that made me laugh and cry

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty solid anthology of stories from Martone and people writing, to greater and lesser degrees, under the sign of Martone. One odd effect of having all these stories one after the other was that the more language-y ones, which I think might stand out more on their own, were kind of wearying here, when you read one after another, whereas the more plotted stories were kind of awesome, because, I don't know, reading them, I had a sense of their completeness. So a story like "Manchild Morrison" or "Howard Garfield, Balladeer" really worked for me. I also really enjoyed "Randy Steeple."

I liked the first three pages of "Inspector 4."

[Margot · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of stories, set in the mythical town of Winesburg, Indiana, is brilliant! It is incredibly creative and brings to life characters created by forty of Indiana's best small and major press writers. Thank you Michael Martone and Bryan Furuness for this "break away" collection. Martone writes many of the stories along with authors including Barbara Bean, Greg Schwipps, Susan Neville, Valerie Sayers - I can't name them all - who people Winesburg, Indiana, with unforgettable characters.

[Jennifer Goins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just got done reading this book called Winesburg ,Indiana: A Fork River Anthology by Michael Martone I won this book from Goodreads Frist Read .I would have to give this a 4 star rating it started out real slow and it kinda was strange you couldn't make out what the story was about. Thank you to Goodreads Frist Read and to the author Michael Martone for this book.

[Jay C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really impressed with this one. It even flirted with being a five star rating for me, but too many of the little stories were just too weird or "out there" for me. I hope to write on my blog more in depth about this book in the near future.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a native Hoosier I was quite excited to read this book and was not disappointed. Intriguing plots and characters by a wide variety of authors. Winesville, Indiana, is a fictional place, home to wild and eccentric residents. You will discover both humor and sadness.