The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017

by Laura Furman (Editor)

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017 contains twenty breathtaking stories—by a vibrant mix of established and emerging writers—selected by the series editor from the thousands published in literary magazines over the previous year. The collection includes essays by the three eminent guest jurors on their favorite stories, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and a comprehensive resource list of the many magazines and journals, both large and small, that publish short fiction. 

“Too Good To Be True,” Michelle Huneven
“Something for a Young Woman,” Genevieve Plunkett
“The Buddhist,” Alan Rossi
“Garments,” Tahmima Anam
“Protection,” Paola Peroni
“Night Garden,” Shruti Swamy
“A Cruelty,” Kevin Barry
“Floating Garden,” Mary La Chapelle
“The Trusted Traveler,” Joseph O’Neill
“Blue Dot,” Keith Eisner
“Lion,” Wil Weitzel
“Paddle to Canada,” Heather Monley
“A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness,” Jai Chakrabarti
“The Bride and the Street Party,” Kate Cayley
“Secret Lives of the Detainees,” Amit Majmudar
“Glory,” Lesley Nneka Arimah
“Mercedes Benz,” Martha Cooley
“The Reason Is Because,” Manuel Muñoz
“The Family Whistle,” Gerard Woodward
“Buttony,” Fiona McFarlane

The jurors this year are David Bradley, Elizabeth McCracken, and Brad Watson.
For author interviews, photos, and more, go to www.ohenryprizestories.com

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 5, 2017

About the author

Laura J. Furman (born 1945) is an American author best known for her role as series editor for the O. Henry Awards prize story collection. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, Mirabella, Ploughshares, Southwest Review.

She has written three collections of stories (The Glass House, Watch Time Fly, and Drinking with the Cook), two novels (The Shadow Line and Tuxedo Park), and a memoir (Ordinary Paradise).

She founded American Short Fiction, which was a three-time finalist for the National Magazine Award. She is currently Professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in writing. Most recently, she has announced that she has submitted a collection of short stories to her agent, and the subsequent collection will be her first new work to follow the release of 2001's Drinking with the Cook.

Reviews

[L.A. Starks · Rating 5 out of 5]

A welcome detour into the best short stories of the year gives many excellent examples, and settings, for this somewhat-tricky form. One of my favorites was "Night Garden."

Those who write short stories will find a generous list of submission information for 180 literary reviews at the end of the anthology.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great group of short stories! There were, of course, stories I liked better than others but there were no duds. If you get a chance to read this year's selections don't miss the material by the editors as well as by the authors who write vignettes about their process. Each editor chose the story that touched them most and wrote why. Of the three synopses I agreed with two. 'Too Good to Be True' by Huneven was poignant with its message I read as being humble enough to not jump to conclusions but to allow things to be new or unexpected. Another story I loved was 'Buttony' by Fiona McFarlane. Its tone reminded me of Shirley Jackson's 'Lottery' with its blend of ominous innocence resulting in betrayal or at least sneaking deception.

There are a few other stories I want to mention. 'Night Garden' which touched on heroism, endurance, and resigned stubbornness that leads to physical and mental exhaustion. Gerard Woodward in 'The Family Whistle' writes about delusion and/or mistaken identity (you make the call if you get a chance to read it) and though on the surface the story can seem derivative he presents his themes with such a great tone and puts his own stamp on it that it's well worth traveling over such themes again.

Some of the best parts of this collection are the supplemental essays by the authors and editors.

Thank you to the publisher for providing and advance reading copy.

[Benjamin Bryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting mix of stories. Some are better than others.

[Bonnie Brody · Rating 2 out of 5]

This year's selection of stories is once again edited by Laura Furman with jurors David Bradley, Elizabeth McCracken, and Brad Watson. The book contains an introduction by Ms. Furman which includes synopses and interpretations of the stories; the jurors' essays on their favorites; and each writer commenting on their work. Twenty short stories have been selected for the 2017 O'Henry Prize stories. American and Canadian periodicals submit stories for consideration and then Ms. Furman selects the ones to be included. The three guest jurors are given the selected works, with no identification of author or publication, and asked to pick their favorite and write an essay about it. Basically, this compendium of short stories is chosen by one person.

Out of the twenty stories, I really enjoyed only three. In the past, I've enjoyed many more and am not sure why I I didn't like so many of these stories. Michelle Huneven's 'Too Good to be True' deals with a family's experience with their daughter's addiction. They are hopeful that she is in recovery despite having been in and out of rehab several times. Like Huneven's novel 'Blame', addiction "exposes the conspiracy of hope and despair". Alan Rossi's 'The Buddhist' is about a monk in Sri Lanka who is conducting a tutorial via Skype with an American student studying Buddhism. The monk is very ill and, as he conducts this tutorial, his memory flashes back to his Canadian heritage and his family's inability to accept his choice to become a Buddhist monk. "A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness' by Jai Chakrabarti is about two male lovers in India. One is an older man who is wealthy and indulges his younger lover, giving him a house and valuable gifts. The younger man appears to be manipulative and playing with the relationship.

There were other stories that were just 'okay', none of which had me seeking out further works by their authors. I suppose that this not surprising when there is a selection committee of just one person. Either you like the same stories as the editor or you don't. Since this series has the same editor year after year, I don't expect to be enthralled by further editions. I much prefer 'The Best American Short Stories' which has a different editor each year.

[Joan Colby · Rating 2 out of 5]

A mixed bag with several stories of poor quality and others questionable: to wit The Family Whistle by Gerard Woodward which employs a hackneyed plot and Buttony by Fiona McFarlane which bears the aura of Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery. Stories I did like include Something For a Young Woman by Genevieve Plunkett, Garments by Tahmima Anam, The Trusted Traveler by Joseph O’Neill and the best of all Too Good to Be True by Michelle Huneven who reports in her bio notes that she is at heart a novelist, which makes me determined to seek out her novels.

[Patrick Probably DNF · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stephen Vincent Benet wrote that a short story is "something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime." Based on that definition, there are two decent stories in here -- the first and last. The rest are a smorgasbord of traditional structures, exotic locations, and utterly forgettable prose. Next!

[Sapphire Detective · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is yet another anthology, so I will be doing my usual set of listing all the stories and ranking them after a preamble. But with the jurors talking about their favorite stories at the end of the book, I figured I could sort my piece into doing the same; if I like it, perhaps I'll do it for all anthologies going forward--or at least the ones like this.

Sapphire Detective on "The Buddhist" by Alan Rossi

There was much that could be said to stand out in this collection. The heartbreak of drug addiction from the outside in Michelle Huneven's "Too Good to Be True." The simple conversations of companionship across the generations, like in Paola Peroni's "Protection" or Wil Weitzel's "Lion." The snapshot of a family in turmoil of Heather Monley's "Paddle to Canada" and Gerard Woodward's "The Family Whistle." The tension in a microcosm of Shruti Swamy's "Night Garden" or Fiona McFarlane's "Buttony." The dark humor in the injustice of Amit Majmudar's "Secret Lives of the Detainees." Amidst all these fine stories and more, one stood out above all the rest for me.

Alan Rossi's "The Buddhist" is only the third story of the collection, and it's a curious choice that they formatted the anthology as they did. Normally, I would expect that the stories I enjoy more come about towards the halfway mark or even at the end--one last burst of good to close out the volume (and I will freely admit that some of the stories I enjoyed more did come at the end, so that's not entirely untrue). But, in my opinion, they wanted to show the greatness of this collection early on, and I commend them for it.

Truth be told, if I were asked to explain what sticks out to me about this story so much as it does, I couldn't put it into words. There was just something in the realistic portrayal of the two characters, and the honest conversation of belief between the two that captivated me. As much as I enjoyed the rest of the collection, none of the stories pulled me in as much as this one did. The story is roughly twenty or so pages, but it felt like ten with how engrossed I was. And at its surface, it's a simple story--a mere conversation while the main character slowly gets sicker and sicker--but it touched me deeper than I could express in words. I implore you, if no other stories intrigue you, please read this one, and I hope it calls to you the same way it did to me.

---

Too Good to Be True - Michelle Huneven: 4.5/5
Something for a Young Woman - Genevieve Plunkett: 3.5/5
The Buddhist - Alan Rossi: 5/5
Garments - Tahmima Anam: 3/5
Protection - Paola Peroni: 4.5/5
Night Garden - Shruti Swamy: 4.5/5
A Cruelty - Kevin Barry: 2.5/5
Floating Garden - Mary LaChapelle: 3/5
The Troubled Traveler - Joseph O'Neill: 2/5
Blue Dot - Keith Eisner: 2/5
Lion - Wil Weitzel: 4.5/5
Paddle to Canada - Heather Monley: 4/5
A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness - Kai Chakrabarti: 2.5/5
The Bride and the Street Party - Kate Cayley: 3/5
Secret Lives of the Detainees - Amit Majmudar: 5/5
Glory - Lesley Nneka Arimah: 3.5/5
Mercedes Benz - Martha Cooley: 3.5/5
The Reason Is Because - Manuel Muñoz: 2.5/5
The Family Whistle - Gerard Woodward: 4.5/5
Buttony - Fiona McFarlane: 4.5/5

Overall rating: 3.6/5 (rounded down)
Favorite Story: "The Buddhist" and "Secret Lives of the Detainees"
Least Favorite Story: "The Troubled Traveler" and "Blue Dot"
Would I own/re-read it?: Own, no... well maybe, unless I can get the stories I'd want elsewhere. I'd certainly like to revisit some of these stories at some point though.
TW: Death, Suicide, Drugs, Minor Gore, Captivity, Poor Living Conditions, Kidnapping, Teen Pregnancy, Car Accidents, Nazis, Domestic Abuse (not all in the same story, and I'm sure I'm missing some things, but these are what stand out to me across the collection).
Does the animal die?: While not the focus of most of the stories, one story, "Night Garden," is explicitly about a dog and a cobra in a standoff against one another. The dog ends up okay. There's also a baby monkey in "Floating Garden" that doesn't end up the best.
Otherwise, it should be mostly okay on this front.

[Tonstant Weader · Rating 5 out of 5]

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017 is a stunning collection of twenty short stories published in the past year in literary magazines in the U.S. and Canada. I noticed that Elizabeth McCracken, one of my favorite writers, was among the jurists, along with David Bradley, and Brad Watson, so I had high hopes and they were met. O. Henry is perhaps the most well-known short story writer of the United States. His The Gift of the Magi has defined the generosity of love for generations. The O. Henry Prize has fostered short stories ever since.

This year’s twenty stories take place all over the world. Some stories are quite long and others are short, though anything but sweet. Buttony is a very short story and seems sweet at the beginning, but only if you’re not paying attention. Nonetheless, the abrupt shift toward the end recalls the O. Henry tradition of a twist. I loved Floating Garden, particularly how the author carefully never named the country, giving the story a universality. Paddle to Canada is gloriously human, how stories have this subtext that changes as circumstances change. The Family Whistle broke my heart and I regretted that she did the right thing. I could go on, so many of these stories were just so wonderful



I enjoyed this collection of short stories in The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017. I think the diversity of voices and experiences is unmatched. There are stories of old age and youth, of wealth and poverty, of the now and the long ago, of privilege and the downside of power, from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. The stories are alive with possibility and passion. The O. Henry Prize is all about promoting the art of the short story and these are short stories from the best of the best.

“Too Good To Be True,” Michelle Huneven
“Something for a Young Woman,” Genevieve Plunkett
“The Buddhist,” Alan Rossi
“Garments,” Tahmima Anam
“Protection,” Paola Peroni
“Night Garden,” Shruti Swamy
“A Cruelty,” Kevin Barry
“Floating Garden,” Mary La Chapelle
“The Trusted Traveler,” Joseph O’Neill
“Blue Dot,” Keith Eisner
“Lion,” Wil Weitzel
“Paddle to Canada,” Heather Monley
“A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness,” Jai Chakrabarti
“The Bride and the Street Party,” Kate Cayley
“Secret Lives of the Detainees,” Amit Majmudar
“Glory,” Lesley Nneka Arimah
“Mercedes Benz,” Martha Cooley
“The Reason Is Because,” Manuel Muñoz
“The Family Whistle,” Gerard Woodward
“Buttony,” Fiona McFarlane

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017 will be released September 5th. I received an e-galley for review from the publisher via Edelweiss

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2017 at Knopf Doubleday, via Penguin Random House
Laura Furman author site
The official site of The O. Henry Prize Stories
O. Henry at American Literature

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpre...

[Sharon Bakar · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up.

Very much enjoyed this collection of stories. The format is similar to The Best American Short Stories series - 20 stories gleaned from literary publications in 2017, and fascinating notes at the back about this the stories were written.

Particular favourites: Kevin Barry's A Cruelty (an autistic boy has his routine of taking a train journey to a neighbouring town broken by a bully); Tahmima Anam's story Garments, about women factory workers attempting to take control of their lives; The Buddhist by Alan Rossi which highlights the impossibility of moving beyond attachment and the need for connection; and my very favourite Blue Dots by Keith Kisner with drugged-up housemates discussing visions with a Pentecostal preacher who knocks on the door - the story culminates in such a gorgeous transcendental image.

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the 2016 edition, this is a standout anthology of short stories, in English, from around the world. Unlike the 2016 edition, there is no incredible superstar story here (like 'Irises'), but all the stories are 'Good' -- at worst. Many of the stories in this volume possess an understated quality that sits and marinates, while a few bring action or tension more to the fore.

So far, the O. Henry Prize series is better than the Best American short story series I had been into, both in terms of quality of selections and inclusion of selections from a wider geo-cultural zone. Additionally, this series features excellent bonus content, including short essays by jurors on their favourite selections, and short explanations by the authors of the stories on their inspiration and/or methodology.

4.5 Stars (4.2 average plus points for bonus material and design)











Story-by-Story Breakdown, Thoughts and Ratings
*Although major spoilers are hidden, don't read any of the text below if you want to be totally surprised, as I was*



1. 'Too good to be true' -- Huneven

- An 18 year old female drug addict (Gayle), from an upper-middle-class family and neighbourhood, is helped by a former alcoholic woman (Harriet) who also acts as the family's Nanny and dog-walker. Gayle fell very, very low, prostituting herself for drugs and living in the street, and her family is dealing with all the emotions and frustrations of loving a daughter yet struggling to believe her after so many lies and betrayals.

- Tragic and Rough: Gayle, who had given blowjobs for pills, disappears one last time, after months of rehab and apparent success -- but not to her old life -- she falls into the Arroyo/canyon just behind her house, as foreshadowed, and dies of exposure. She is found by accident much later by Harriet, out walking the dog.

Great quote on the ordinary life of Harriet vs the street life of Gayle, pg 10:

"The jock salesman at the Porsche dealership was always good for a dime bag. I'd do him in a new Boxster on the 210 at a hundred miles an hour." Today, Sunday, they are driving to the Armoury for the big speaker meeting there. The rain is steady. Harriet says, "Sounds like a real hard way to make a living." Gayle drags a finger through the fog of her breath on the window. "It's just a life," she says. "You work at a lousy job to get what you want, then sit around till you have to go to work again." "More like you do unspeakable things to get something that lets you forget what you just did." "Yeah," says Gayle. "Only it won't stay forgotten."

4.5 Stars Great story




2. 'Something for a young woman' -- Plunkett

- A melancholy tale about a woman who never quite got over a teenage crush on her boss, an older shop owner, and the moments that defined them and hung on the edge of possibility

3.7 Stars




3. 'The Buddhist' -- Rossi

- A Canadian Buddhist, studying deeply in Sri Lanka, counsels an attractive American Defence Attorney over Skype. His life choices and reality are severely-challenged as he deals with a debilitating, vomit-inducing sickness; realizes he has an undeniable sexual attraction to the woman he shouldn't have as a devout Buddhist (and her attraction to him), even while counselling her to let go of her emotions and desires; and as he reflects on his transformation from happy, friendly, likeable guy to cold, distant Buddhist his parents disowned. As the story progresses, we see many holes in The Buddhist's choices, and perhaps Buddhism itself. It seems his choices have led to sad, destructive waste. The tension and strain -- mental, emotional, and physical -- are all palpable and expertly-conveyed by the author.

4.6 Stars Great




4. 'Garments' -- Anam

- A look at Jesmin, and two other sweatshop garment factory girls in Bangladesh. All three live in terrible poverty and patriarchal domination, while working long hours for little pay. All three also marry the same man, as a relative way out. Their man, Dulal, cannot become erect with Mala, the oldest wife, or Jesmin, but maybe Ruby, the youngest. It ends with Jesmin reflecting on being shamed and ostracized from her former village for sleeping with a married man (or just loving him), and deciding that now, at least, she will have her bodily freedom and Dulal will love Ruby. Understated, moving.

4.5 Stars




5. 'Protection' -- Peroni

- Protection is an illusion. In this story, those who could protect us die. An unsettled woman returns home to Rome to be with her dying grandmother, who she has a special relationship with. Understated, sad, bittersweet.

4.4 Stars




6. 'Night garden' -- Swami

- A small dog engages in a life-or-death stare down with a cobra, while its owner watches, enraptured. Short, sweet.

4.2 Stars




7. 'A cruelty' -- Barry

- Filled with Irish-English vocabulary that takes some deciphering, such as "plimsoll" and "bamp".
- Sweet, then disturbing.
- Starts slow, finishes quickly. A mentally-handicapped and OCD or possibly Autistic man follows his daily routines, until accosted by a creepy, predatory man.

4.1 Stars




8. 'Floating garden' -- LaChapelle

- A Burmese boy and his mother are kidnapped to be human-trafficked. He ends up in Oakland. Written by a white woman, loses some impact, good but not great.

3.4 Stars




9. 'The trusted traveller' -- O'Neill

- About Nova Scotia, yay! About Americans who bought prime Nova Scotia land, boo!
- It's Southwest Nova, full of ticks -- which are mentioned a few times in the story
- A retired teacher and his wife cannot escape a former student who annually invites himself over for supper.
- chuckle-worthy, cute, nice descriptions of NS coast
- I feel bad for the student, Jack Bail -- poor guy

3.7 Stars




10. 'Blue dot' -- Eisner

- It's a freakin' 60s (?) Acid Trip, in Detroit.
- Interesting characters. Took 25 years to write. Religion, young love, social dynamics, memory, storytelling and fable all explored.

4.3 Stars



11. 'Lion' -- Weitzel

- A young African man relays the story of an African boy and his lion to a dying Jewish professor. Memory, truth, inspiration. Short.

4.1 Stars




12. 'Paddle to Canada' -- Monley

- Children remember an incident from their childhood, involving paddling on a lake
- Memory, divorce, truth vs fiction, trying to grasp the past.
- 2-3 years of edits produced this 5 page story

4.2 Stars




13. 'A small sacrifice for an enormous happiness' -- Chakrabarti

- Two gay men in India, where they are not accepted (in the 1970s too), have a secret relationship. One is older and wealthier, the other is younger and handsome. The younger lives with a wife as cover, the older wants a baby, and their relationship falls apart.
- LGBTQ, relationships, love
- The story underwent many edits, and the author emphasizes revision

4.2 Stars




14. 'The bride and the street party' -- Cayley

- A young mother raising four kids in a rapidly-gentrifying neighbourhood of Toronto.
- There is tension between the old neighbourhood occupants and the new crowd
- She, despite being new, doesn't quite fit in with the new crowd -- too young, too many kids, and a troubled son
- She can't fix everything, maybe even not her own son
- The story is Canadian. The author wrote the first paragraph, then wrote the rest a year later.

4 Stars




15. 'Secret lives of the detainees' -- Majmudar

- An interesting, stylistic imagining of three different Guantanamo Bay detainees, such as: Nadeem Nadeem, an actor mistaken for a terrorist; and Ansar Al-Banna, who is in the process of passing kidney stones more painful than any torture.
- Very clever.

4.5 Stars




16. 'Glory' -- Arimah

- An unlucky, perhaps-cursed Nigerian woman meets a lucky, perhaps-blessed Nigerian man.
- Great story

4.5 Stars




17. 'Mercedes Benz' -- Cooley

- An older woman is on sabbatical in Italy with her Italian lover. They buy an old stone house in a near-abandoned village and witness an accident on a dangerous section of highway (Autostrada) that is brought up over and over again. The woman also fantasizes about owning a luxury car, like a Mercedes Benz (Janis Joplin reference).

Nice quote on something I talk and think about a lot, pg 229:

Overall, too, the designs of costly cars were more refined than those of normal ones. Of course the refinements didn't change a basic fact: all cars, fancy ones included, were aggressive, in appearance as well as function. So much metal and chrome, the side mirrors and antennae and dashboard icons, all of it a form of weaponry... Not worth thinking about, really -- the basic craziness of sitting in a metal box hurtling along with a bunch of other metal boxes, all of them weaving from one lane to another. And a good percentage of the drivers were sleepy or texting or drunk or drugged. Luxury sedans, though, could announce their efficiency and power without overdoing it. They offered their owners an illusion of safety, neatly packaged as exclusivity. You're different, their murmuring engines seemed to say to their drivers. Exempt from the usual dangers.

It's good...

3.7 Stars




18. 'The reason is because' -- Munoz

- The writing style is disjointed at first, but it does get better. Nela, a Mexican-American teen mother struggles with her reality, and the jealousy of her horrible, cheating boyfriend. the story really picks up at and after the Carnival. We learn that the main character is confused, just like the mentally-handicapped woman who keeps trying to phone a radio station in her building (who is looked after by her mother).
- Javi, Nela's friend Luz's cousin, is an interesting character, and his interaction with Nela is a highlight of the story (starts on pg 255). He is a pudgy, innocent, immature-looking boy, who seems to Nela to have no place in the world of her boyfriend, where things go on in back seats that he can't understand. He may be a placeholder for the author himself...
- Motherhood is explored (being a teen mom, being the mother of a teen mom, being the mother of a woman with a severe mental handicap), judgment, being a teen.

4.1 Stars




19. 'The family whistle' -- Woodward

- In post-WWII Germany, a woman is confronted by a man claiming to be her husband, back from the war at last -- but her husband already came back years ago -- or did he?
- The story is based on true events the author learned of in a short conversation, where family members were ID'd by specific whistle tunes. Awkward, then tense and dramatic.

4.4 Stars




20. 'Buttony' -- McFarlane
- Weird. A class of little kids play a hide-the-button game, while the teacher and students virtually-worship one of the boys, Joseph. Brad Watson, one of the jurors, breaks the story down well, noting the "innocent and cultish" nature of the tale, and how the teacher takes an "almost sensual pleasure in manipulating the children's emotional sensations..." It is very interesting, though I find it a bit too much in places.
- Starts dreamily, and ends like a transition to a horror story
- An Australian tale

4.3 Stars

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorites: "Too Good To Be True," Michelle Huneven; "The Buddhist," Alan Rossi; "Garments," Tahmima Anam (even better the second time around). David Bradley's comments on the Huneven story is the most David Bradley David Bradley has ever been.

[Maanasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a particularly excellent collection. I do this thing where I give each story points out of 10 and there were several this year that scored above an 8! If you have time for only a few stories, I recommend skipping straight to:

Garments - The premise is a stroke of genius (sweatshop employees in Bangladesh working on Spanx) and the story sparkles even though the prose was too functional for my taste.

Floating Garden - The subject matter here is heartbreaking - human trafficking but the writer somehow manages to infuse hope into the story. Gorgeous imagery and disorienting in a good way.

The Trusted Traveler - Absolutely hilarious but thoughtful at the same time. Such a great way to think about how time works on our minds as we age.

Paddle to Canada - It’s amazing what the writer is able to pack into this tiny tale - an excellent examination of the stories we tell ourselves about our families, how they evolve and how much we need them.

Secret Lives of Detainees - Tackles a weighty subject matter without being ham fisted about it or relying on any tropes - the innovative structure brought such freshness and lightness to an otherwise horrifying subject matter.

Mercedes-Benz - I was most prepared to hate this story based upon Laura Furman’s brief intro, but it was easily one of my favorites! Stunning prose! Knew exactly when to push forward and pull back. The themes reminded of Kundera for some reason.

Buttony - A strange little tale that’s almost fully innocent but you can never quite get rid of the feeling of a lurking Lord of the Flies vibe around the edges. Excellent atmosphere building!

[Gila Gila · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally love this series, but found this last collection puzzling. There were perhaps 3 or 4 stories with 'sticking power', pieces so fully realized they're bound to pop up in one's memory long after being read. I particularly loved Blue Dot by Keith Eisner, the best short story depicting a hippies-period acid trip gone wrong since Michael Cunningham's White Angel (taken from A Home at the End of the World, I may love the story as a stand-alone better than the novel). And Glory, by Lesley Nneka Arimah, is an absolute wonder. But I digress. All too easily. Because this was a perfectly fine but strangely lackluster year for the O'Henry stories - with such a wide playing field, I can't fathom how these were the contenders, much less the winners. A great deal of theme repetition, a lingering sense of stories chosen to represent a particular culture or country instead of the author's singular voice. Diversity is crucial, yes; but Glory, for example, is so exquisitely crafted that no whisper-thin smoke of suspicion could ever slip in as to whether the story was chosen for it's Nigerian author and her bitter, damaged, entertaining protagonist. Too many other stories didn't quite meet that test for me - though I'll leave my specifics with the positive, it's hard enough for a short story writer to get any recognition. All in all, the 2017 O'Henry is not a bad collection of stories, it just lacks - shimmer.

[Liz Shine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because I am spending my summer working on a collection of short stories. I read somewhere that a good way to start targeting markets for short stories is to pick up this anthology and the Pushcart anthology and copy all the publications in the contributor list.
I did that, but I also wanted to read all the stories here and in the Pushcart book to see what seems to be admired in short fiction now, to enjoy some short reads, and to just see what kind of range I might find.
For sure some stories I liked best, but there wasn't a single story that I didn't appreciate. Some stories were really well written stories but left me with a sense that they were really well written stories. When reading them I never lost sense of the writer's hand at work trying to make meaning. I enjoyed most the stories, the moments within stories, where I lost track of the writer all together and just felt something for the characters and their situations. I do love clever stories, but to really get me a story has to be more than clever. This is a terrifying discovery for me at the moment because it is shining some light on some of my own weak points.

Top three stories IMO: To Good To Be True, Blue Dot, Paddle to Canada.

I enjoyed reading the section at the back from the both the readers who picked their favorites form the collection and the writers commenting on their work.

[Barbara Mahoney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy short stories and the O'Henry Prize stories are always favorites of mine to read. I look forward to the new book coming out each year. I enjoyed this collection, as I have enjoyed the others. My personal preference is to read 1 story each morning with a cup of coffee and 1 before bedtime. It doesn't take long and it is a nice way to start and end the day!

I love the thought that goes into selecting the diverse selection of stories. I also enjoy the additional information that the editor includes in the book. This is not just a book of short stories alone.

The editor selects the 20 best stories from the large number of stories submitted. There is an interesting introduction to the book highlighting something noteworthy about each of the stories. At the end of the book, there is an interesting essay from each story author providing information regarding how he/she came to write the story. It also includes information about the author's other works and accomplishments. In addition, three distinguished writers evaluate the whole collection and select their favorite stories and each write an essay about their favorite.

Favorite stories of mine from this collection were: "Too Good To Be True", "A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness", "The Reason is Because" and "The Family Whistle."

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short stories are an art form different from novels, and I've read that they can be more difficult to write. I find that they can be more difficult to read too because they don't have lengthy descriptions with everything spelled out for the reader in tedious detail. Everything comes at the reader quickly, making it necessary to go back and look for clues that were missed the first time around. Everything the reader needs to know might not be there at all, making it necessary to make vague conclusions. This can make for a challenging read.
The O.Henry annual prize collections are one of my favorites. This 2017 collection has enough variety to accommodate reading tastes. The 2016 collection is also very good.
I especially like that there is a section with a brief message from each author, providing their motivation or inspiration for the story. There is an essay by each judge that tells about their favorite story.
Stories don't get the attention they deserve but they should be part of all of those newspaper book columns and other sources that tell us what we should be reading. Libraries and book stores display the same books that we see everywhere, but you have to search to find short stories. It's worth the effort.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more of a 3.5, because I could appreciate how well-written most of these stories were (... and get past the ones that seemed to be trying to be as pretentious as possible lolol). That said, none of them really wowed me or moved anything in me other than "oh... that's really sad". Secret Lives of the Detainees is possibly the only exception, not because it made me happy but because it made me curious to read more -- and not because the story was incomplete, which was the case for the other stories that made me want to read more, but because the subject matter was genuinely interesting.

There's also just like... a LOT more implied and explicit emotional and sexual abuse than I expected to find in here, and that's just not subject matter that jibes with me right now.

[Boris Glebov · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection was a pleasure to read. Every story is solid, better than just competent, written efficiently and clearly. Maybe have of them lean pretty heavily into the sort of down-trodden slice-of-life Americana, which are well-done but also well-tread. However, there are quite a few stories exploring not just a more diverse subject matter, but even story structure and writing style. Majumdar's "Secret Lives of the Detainees" is a certain standout, for me, each vignette so sharp and poignant, and the pieces combining to a potent total. My two other favorites were "Paddle to Canada" and "Buttony" - wonderfully human portraits, stories not founded on conflict.

Very glad I picked up a copy of this book, and will likely sample other editions of the series as well.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

As usual a solid collection, with a few really awesome standouts: Protection, A Small Sacrifice for an Enormous Happiness, and Too Good to Be True. However, I felt there were a few “duds” in this batch of O Henry winners (if stories that achieve this level of acclaim could ever be called “duds,” I know.) But In what i often feel is a near-perfect collection, this year’s featured a handful of stories that felt a little gimmicky or inauthentic. It was too easy to see through the scenery to the back stage in a lot of these. Anyway...this is still a great collection to reas especially for writers.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this series better than Best American Short Stories, but not as much as the Pushcart Prize. My favorites were Too Good to Be True by Michelle Huneven, The Buddhist by Alan Rossi, The Trusted Traveler by Joseph O'Neill, and Paddle to Canada by Heather Monley.

[Ace Boggess · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with most such anthologies, there were some included stories I connected with and others that I didn't. The ones I did, though, were so brilliant that I couldn't stop thinking about them. "The Buddhist" and "Secret Lives of the Detainees" were two that I still can't get out of my head. On whole, this is always a good anthology series to read.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection was a good lesson, in that, should I ever try to publish, not to take rejections personally because not all editors/agents have good taste in writing.

Additionally, the Publisher's Note speaks to the surprise endings in O. Henry's writings. Not a single story in this collection did this any justice.

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are definitely several five-star stories in this collection. I hadn't read short stories in while, so I was a little put off when some didn't exactly "end" or "wrap things up" but by the last story I felt privileged to be invited into such intimate moments, foreign places, and unique viewpoints. This is an excellent collection.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read a bunch of these in a class taught by one of the editorial assistants, and really enjoyed deep-diving on short stories. It did mean that when I got to the whole anthology, I'd already read many of the standouts. Haven't read the O. Henry series in a while and appreciate the contrast to the Best American series (which I haven't followed as closely in the last few years, too.)

[Nithya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a good choice

Makes for weary reading. I anticipated a lot from this collection but some of the stories especially those at the beginning are so boring that you need to gather all your will to finish the book.

[Jim Manis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diversity has entered the short story arena in a big way, reflecting the North American demographic in a way that has not been seen before, I think. I wonder what O. Henry would think? (He did invent the Cisco Kid.)

[Diane B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I forgot how wonderful these collections were!
The introduction provides an overview of the selections so you can hop around and read those of interest to you.
Diverse voices and intriguing tales don't always end with an O. Henry twist.
Nice small bites with a long lasting finish!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable variety of subject matter, from life in India to a post WWII German story with an unexpected twist called "The Whistle". I really enjoyed these short readings, one can sit down and be brought into anothers' world and back again within the time it takes to listen to a CD or less even.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a mix of short stories. Some were excellent. Others, meh.

Favorites:
"Too Good to Be True" - Michelle Huneven
"The Buddhist" - Alan Rossi
"Garmets" - Tahmima Anam
"Secret Lives of Detainees" - Amit Majmudar
"The Reason is Because" - Manuel Muñoz

[Corey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite Stories:
Too Good to Be True by Michelle Huneven
Night Garden by Shruti Swamy
A Cruelty by Kevin Barry
Lion by Wil Weitzel
Secret Lives of the Detainees by Amit Majmudar
Buttony by Fiona McFarlane