Someone to Watch Over Me

by Richard Bausch

Richard Bausch is a master of the intimate moment, of the ways we seek to make lasting connections to one another and to the world. Few writers evoke the complexities of love as subtly, and few capture the poignancy of the sudden insight or the rhythms of ordinary conversation with such delicacy and humor. To read these twelve stories--of love and loss, of families and strangers, of small moments and enormous epiphanies--is to be reminded again of the power of short fiction to thrill and move us, to make us laugh, or cry. In these profound glimpses into the private fears, joys, and sorrows of people we know, we find revealed a whole range of human experience, told with extraordinary force, clarity, and compassion.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

An acknowledged master of the short story form, Richard Bausch's work has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Esquire, Harper's, The New Yorker, Narrative, Gentleman's Quarterly. Playboy, The Southern Review, New Stories From the South, The Best American Short Stories, O. Henry Prize Stories, and The Pushcart Prize Stories; and they have been widely anthologized, including The Granta Book of the American Short Story and The Vintage Book of the Contemporary American Short Story.

Richard Bausch is the author of eleven novels and eight collections of stories, including the novels Rebel Powers, Violence, Good Evening Mr. & Mrs. America And All The Ships At Sea, In The Night Season, Hello To The Cannibals, Thanksgiving Night, and Peace; and the story collections Spirits, The Fireman's Wife, Rare & Endangered Species, Someone To Watch Over Me, The Stories of Richard Bausch, Wives & Lovers, and most recently released Something Is Out There. His novel The Last Good Time was made into a feature-length film.

He has won two National Magazine Awards, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Lila-Wallace Reader's Digest Fund Writer's Award, the Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, The 2004 PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Short Story and the 2013 John William Corrington Award for Literary Excellence . He has been a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers since 1996. In 1999 he signed on as co-editor, with RV Cassill, of The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction; since Cassill's passing in 2002, Bausch is the sole editor of that prestigious anthology. Richard Bausch teaches Creative Writing at Chapman University in Southern California

Reviews

[Guille · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Algunas historias tienen finales felices, por lo menos durante una temporadita”

Vale, sí, lo reconozco, me pasó inadvertido, bueno, no exactamente, me gustó, me gustó mucho. De hecho, el suyo fue uno de mis preferidos en esa maravillosa antología del cuento norteamericano que compiló Richard Ford allá por los años noventa, pero no me quedé con su nombre, no busqué y leí todo lo que de él pude encontrar publicado. Bien es verdad que no hubiera encontrado nada, no fue hasta la siguiente década que la editorial Tropismos, ya desaparecida, publicó todos sus relatos en tres libros, este incluido. Ya tengo controlados a los otros dos, me haré con ellos.

Bien, ahora a ver si consigo abrirles el apetito a ustedes, y para ello no renunciaré ni a citar a autores como Ford, Carver o Wolff, tal y como hacen los pocos comentarios que de sus libros se pueden leer por aquí, todo vale si sirve para que ustedes presten la atención que se merecen los cuentos de, pónganse en pie, Richard Bausch. No digo que la mención de tales estrellas literarias sea un simple reclamo publicitario, al fin y al cabo son de la misma generación, todos son grandes autores realistas cuyos cuentos retratan a la clase media, gente sencilla que pasa malos momentos con su pareja o deben solventar conflictos con padres o hijos, o, en fin, que les pesa la vida. Pero Bausch no es ni Ford ni Carver ni Wolff, ninguno es como cualquier otro y eso es lo que los hace más grandes.

Bausch, pese a la frialdad que le achacan algunos, muestra una gran comprensión y compasión por unos personajes que nos pueden llegar a parecer ridículos, que de hecho es muy posible que lo sean, pero que luchan de la mejor manera que pueden y saben por hacer algo con sus vidas, por conseguir su porción de la tarta de la felicidad que les han dicho que les corresponde, aunque solo sea simulando que se la comen. No son pocas las notas de humor con las que trata los pequeños o grandes dramas de estas gentes, sin que ello signifique banalizar sus historias, muy duras en algunos casos: padres que no saben cómo lidiar con la pareja casi anciana de su joven hija o con su maltratador, un hombre al que un fortuito golpe de suerte le complica la vida, hijos con padres extravagantes, seres necesitados de alguien que les cuide aunque sean tan patéticos como ellos mismos, parejas que quieren pero no pueden, parejas que pueden pero no quieren… grandes historias que no ocupan más allá de veinte o veinticinco páginas, y que leídas con la moderación que requieren siempre los libros de relatos, saciarán los apetitos que espero haberles creado.

[JimZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this out of my TBR list. A GR friend had written a positive review on it. One should listen to their GR friends. 😊

I went through this collection in two sittings. Pretty easy reading. And enjoyable for the most part. Similar tropes in some of the stories…older man usually a professor marries a young student…men or women on their second marriage…couples who cannot conceive a child.

This collection is a group of short stories—Bausch calls this ‘short fiction’. I’ve never heard of that before. I’ve heard of novellas….

I read the stories out of order. I got to the first story after reading two others. The first one was my favorite. I’d have given it 10 stars if I could have.

- Not Quite Final (apparently not published heretofore)—5 stars

- Riches (published previously in Five Points)—4 stars
• Interesting trope. A man wins 16 million dollars off of a lottery ticket. Does it change his life and those around him? Yep. For the better? Nope. I wouldn’t want to win 16 million dollars. There’s something to be said for an orderly life…and I like my life. Winning the lottery would turn my life into chaos. Who needs chaos? 😉

- Self Knowledge (published previously in Five Points)—3.5 stars
• All of 3 pages. About alcoholism.

- Glass Meadow (published previously in Off the Beaten Path: Stories of Place)—3.5 stars
• Weird story. Parents doing their own thing and not too much caring about their too little sons.

- Par (published previously in the Atlantic Monthly)—4 stars

- Someone to Watch Over Me (published previously in Esquire)—4 stars
• An older professor marries a younger woman. She has a childish meltdown at an expensive restaurant at their 1-year anniversary. He apparently married her for her youth and looks, and she knows it. He is more interested in his friends in academia than her at times. She knows she is not intelligent as they are.

- Valor (Previously published in Pushcart Prizes Stories, 1998 AND Story)—3 stars

- The Voices from the Other Room (published previously in Idaho Review)—4 stars
• Interesting structure to the story. Two people talking back and forth. Single sentence paragraphs…sorta like Josipovici’s way of writing. At times you don’t know whether it’s Person A or Person B doing the talking.

- Fatalities (published previously in Playboy)—4 stars
• Good last sentence: And even so, some part of his mind kept insisting on its own motion, and Kaufman felt again how it had been, in that life so far away – how it was to go through his days in the confidence, the perfectly reasonable and thoughtless expectation, of happiness.

- Two Altercations (published previously in Ploughshares)—3 stars

- 1951 (published previously in New Stories from the South, the Best of 1999 AND Five Points, previously titled ‘Missy’)—4 stars
• 4 stars in part because it was short. Very dark. Strong writing. A 7-year-old girl has power over her father, a widower, regarding which women he marries.

- Nobody in Hollywood (published previously in Best American Short Stories, 1997; The New Yorker)—4 stars.
• At the end of the story, I said “out loud” pretty good”. Which is a bit scary because there was nobody else in the room. I guess I am talking to myself. ☹

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never thought myself a fan of the short story genre - until I encountered Richard Bausch, twin brother of my former English teacher Robert Bausch. I brought this book to the beach, thinking it would be a good choice for intermittent reading between trips to the pool, dining out, etc. Well I ended up finishing it in just a few sittings, it was that good! I especially loved the hilarious laugh-out-loud final story “Nobody in Hollywood”. He certainly knows how to get inside the human psyche, both male and female. Other favorites were “The Voices from the Other Room” and “Two Altercations.” Some of the stories were based on such unusual circumstances that one wonders how the author could have even thought them up.

[Chris Blocker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Often in short stories, it seems that plot is sacrificed for the sake of coming across as more "literary." Sometimes it is done well, and I can applaud the author; afterward, however, I remember nothing of the story (oh, that was the story where Sally woke up in the morning, put on her make-up and... uh...)

Bausch shatters this idea of the story-less story while remaining intelligent and relevant. Here are several stories that entertain the reader but do not compromise character development or theme.

Personal favorites in this collection include "Fatality," "Valor," "Two Altercations," and "Par."

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book of stories, adult and properly engaging. Highly recommended.

[Brian Dahmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Little delights, like a can of Pringles, but without the guilt. Leads you to treasure your family, the scrap of time we have called life.

[J. Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I'm not a short story fan or short story aficionado, but I did not quite enjoy this book as much as most readers/critics. I found the stories very limited - yes, they are only tiny windows into a moment in time, and in that regard, I must not like short stories generally, since they feel so incomplete to me - but I also did not think I could get into any of the characters (again, another issue with the short story form itself for me?).

No one seemed likeable or relatable in any of the stories, and in some instances I thought everyone was dislikeable even!

Some of the stories were so terse I felt they were cop outs and that I could have written a tiny sliver of a tale just as well (it's like how I feel about certain pieces of modern art that looks like swaths of paint).

I might try one of Bausch's novels one day to see if I'm really being too harsh here, but not sure I'd get into that too soon.

[Mary Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't praise Bausch enough for this collection. His writing is so clear, it looks effortless, and he infuses so much empathy into his characters. Every story I read in this collection becomes my favorite, until I begin the next one.

[Leota · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of these stories are really wonderful - dark, funny and touching - and others fall a little flat for me. but overall, i enjoyed this collection and am interested to read other things that the wrote.

[Suzanne Lagasa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Richard Bausch's stories so much, but they are so, incredibly, deeply, utterly sad. I have to ration him out otherwise I can get seriously depressed. Moving, sad and still quite beautiful, truthful.

[Frederick Bingham · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of mildly amusing short stories. The most memorable one is a story about two neurotic adulterous lovers told from the perspective of someone listening in on their conversation from an adjacent room.

[Maritess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, ok, I didn't read all the stories, just the one, "Someone to Watch Over Me."

The greatest short story I ever read, about a lunch, and it was genius.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good short stories. I don't usually like when stories end without an ending per se but these stories do not require endings. Gets me thinking!! Liking it so far

[Nicole]

This a good book to read if you just want to read short stories or you want a break from that long novel. It was funny and heart warming.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far my favorite short story author--vivid memorable characters--insightful especially about male-female relationships.

[Autumn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful collection. I enjoyed all of the stories.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give it 3.5 stars if i could. Excellent prose. Very good short story collection

[Chai1965 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Miles Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

More 3.5 stars than 3 stars. The stories are uneven and the characters can be drily overwritten. Several of the stories, “Fatality” and “Two Altercations” are absolutely fantastic tho.

[Jack Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the stories are good, all of them. A couple of gems too. Characters who you react to whether they’re admirable or odious. The book had been on my shelves for years. Thanks coronavirus.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm so glad I finally found a short story collection I actually enjoyed. I often find collections to be interspersed with too many stories of what I would call experimental fiction: I rarely enjoy these kinds of stories. The only one in this collection that I found not much to my liking was "The Voices From the Other Room," which was as if a person was listening through the walls to an affair going on in another room. I enjoyed all the other stories, especially "Fatality" and "Riches" and "Two Altercations."

[Nalani]

Read: Letter to the Lady of the House