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The Age of Perpetual Light: Stories
""A storyteller of the first order."--Joshua Ferris. "Josh Weil is a spectacular talent."--Lauren Groff. Following his debut Dayton Literary Peace Prize-winning novel, The Great Glass Sea, Sue Kaufman Prize winner and National Book Foundation "5 Under 35" author Josh Weil brings together stories selected from a decade of work in one stellar new collection that explores themes of progress, the pursuit of knowledge, and humankind's eternal attempt to decrease the darkness in the world. Beginning at the dawn of the past century, in the early days of electrification, and moving into an imagined future in which the world is lit day and night, each tale in The Age of Perpetual Light follows deeply-felt characters through different eras in American history; from a Jewish dry goods peddler who falls in love with an Amish woman while showing her the wonders of an Edison Lamp, to a 1940 farmers' uprising against the unfair practices of a power company, a Serbian immigrant teenage boy in 1990's Vermont desperate to catch a glimpse of an experimental satellite, to a back-to-the-land couple forced to grapple with their daughter's autism during winter's longest night. As he did with the rough-living figures in his soulful and "devastatingly memorable" (Binnie Kirshenbaum) The New Valley, in The Age of Perpetual Light Weil explores through his unforgettable characters our most complex and fraught desires. Brilliantly hewn and piercingly observant, these are tales that speak to the all-too-human desire for advancement and the struggle of wounded hearts to find a salve, no matter what the cost. This is a breathtaking book from one of our brightest literary lights"--
421 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 12, 2017
49 people are currently reading
1373 people want to read
About the author
Josh Weil
9 books124 followersJosh Weil is the author of the novels The North of the World (forthcoming 2026) and The Great Glass Sea, the novella collection The New Valley, and the story collection The Age of Perpetual Light.
Published internationally, his books have been New York Times Editor's Choices and selected for the Powell's Indiespensible program. They have been awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Sue Kaufman Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, the California Book Award, the Library of Virginia's Literary Award, the GrubStreet National Book Prize, the New Writers Award from the GLCA, and a “5 Under 35” Award from the National Book Foundation. Weil's short fiction has garnered a Pushcart Prize and appeared in Granta, Esquire, Tin House and One Story, among others. He has written non-fiction for The New York Times, Time.com, Poets & Writers and The Sun. A recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, the Merrill House, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, he has been the Tickner Writer-in-Residence at Gilman School, the Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bowling Green State University, the Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, and the Distinguished Lecturer at The Sozopol Writing Seminars. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, The New School, Brooklyn College, Sierra Nevada College, and Bennington College, as well as at numberous conferences, including the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and Bread Loaf.
He lives with his family in the Sierra Nevada of Northern California
Published internationally, his books have been New York Times Editor's Choices and selected for the Powell's Indiespensible program. They have been awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Sue Kaufman Prize from The American Academy of Arts and Letters, the California Book Award, the Library of Virginia's Literary Award, the GrubStreet National Book Prize, the New Writers Award from the GLCA, and a “5 Under 35” Award from the National Book Foundation. Weil's short fiction has garnered a Pushcart Prize and appeared in Granta, Esquire, Tin House and One Story, among others. He has written non-fiction for The New York Times, Time.com, Poets & Writers and The Sun. A recipient of fellowships from the Fulbright Foundation, the MacDowell Colony, the Merrill House, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, he has been the Tickner Writer-in-Residence at Gilman School, the Distinguished Visiting Writer at Bowling Green State University, the Grisham Writer-in-Residence at the University of Mississippi, and the Distinguished Lecturer at The Sozopol Writing Seminars. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, The New School, Brooklyn College, Sierra Nevada College, and Bennington College, as well as at numberous conferences, including the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and Bread Loaf.
He lives with his family in the Sierra Nevada of Northern California
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
October 5, 2017
This is a collection of diverse stories, connected by recurring images of light reflecting on various times. Every story has light and also the shadows of sadness. I was taken by the lovely writing even though not necessarily taken by every story . That I attribute to my desire for more of the story which is why short stories don’t always work for me. Having said that, some of these definitely were moving and thought provoking. The collection opens and closes with with two stories about the same character at different times in his life. I found in the first story , “No Flies, No Folly “ of a Jewish peddler who falls in love with a married Amish woman that I was highlighting so many passages . From that first story:
"I was once, too, a lighter of lamps. Street lamps, in the city of Providence. I was once a seller of lemons in Baltimore. I was a greenhorn seeing from the deck of a ship for the first time the lights of New York. I was a begged, I was a deserter. Once upon a time I was absconded from the army of the tsar. Yes, and hidden a hay cart, too. Once upon , I was a soldier. The small sound you cannot hear in the dark is my spit landing. The other one you cannot hear is my sigh. I was a Russian, a Jew. A brother. A son. I will tell you something: there was a time when I was not even me."
"The Points of Roughness" , gave me pause in the light and sadness of a husband and wife and their autistic daughter, Orly short for Oralee, Hebrew for 'my light."
"Nine years ago we'd strung them up, three thousand tiny bulbs glittering above us and our guests watched us exchange vows. Now, each Yule season , we light them again. Each solstice night we step back in, spread out our sheepskins beneath a galaxy of our own stars."
"Now, most days, I keep to myself, spend from dark to dark in silence, working alone on land my wife and I once worked side by side. ....Maybe in the morning I'll wake beside her before our daughter starts calling for her mother. .....maybe for a few moments then we'll talk of something other than Orly before I start the hours of my own sounds amid the silence that has become my life ."
I’m glad to have discovered Weil and will try his longer fiction. Definitely recommended for avid readers of short stories. If you are not a frequent reader of short stories like me, I still recommend it for the beautiful writing.
I received an advanced copy of this book from Grove Press through Edelweiss.
September 25, 2017
This is an absolutely stunning collection of short stories; brilliant, enlightening, poignant, and very very sad. The eight stories in this collection are all a wonder to read but some stories did not quite work for me. Maybe if the brilliant stories hadn't been so fantastic I would have been more lenient; as it stands, this a near perfect collection - but not quite enough for 5 stars for me.
Josh Weil tells stories set in transitory moments - where something, often some invention, changes everything about a person's life, for better or for worse. Be it the advent of electric light in a rural community in the middle of nowhere in the US or the invention of satelite mirrors that end night as we know it in exchange for never-ending light (and productivity).
There were two stories that particularly moved me and that once again showed me what a brilliant medium the short story can be:
"Long Bright Line" - about a woman who always feels observed and at the side line finding her calling and her destiny in her brilliant art. Weil manages to paint such vivid pictures of the art she creates that I felt a profound sadness at the fact that it doesn't exist. Juxtaposed with the advent of air travel and the way women were left out, her story was an absolute wonder.
"The Point of Roughness" - about a husband whose relationship with his wife is forever changed when their adopted daughter turns out differently than he hoped. It is a story about love and loss and about unhealthy obsession and about how some people are unable to deal with change. This story made me reel with emotions and unable to look away. It is beyond stunning and one of the best pieces of writing I have read in my life.
The stories all had a profound effect on me. I adore the way Josh Weil makes his characters come alive in the few pages we get to spend with them and how every single one of them felt unique and real, even if exaggerated in their current situations. His language is vivid and unique and full to the brim with feeling and beauty and metaphor. I am beyond impressed with this book.
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I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
Josh Weil tells stories set in transitory moments - where something, often some invention, changes everything about a person's life, for better or for worse. Be it the advent of electric light in a rural community in the middle of nowhere in the US or the invention of satelite mirrors that end night as we know it in exchange for never-ending light (and productivity).
There were two stories that particularly moved me and that once again showed me what a brilliant medium the short story can be:
"Long Bright Line" - about a woman who always feels observed and at the side line finding her calling and her destiny in her brilliant art. Weil manages to paint such vivid pictures of the art she creates that I felt a profound sadness at the fact that it doesn't exist. Juxtaposed with the advent of air travel and the way women were left out, her story was an absolute wonder.
"The Point of Roughness" - about a husband whose relationship with his wife is forever changed when their adopted daughter turns out differently than he hoped. It is a story about love and loss and about unhealthy obsession and about how some people are unable to deal with change. This story made me reel with emotions and unable to look away. It is beyond stunning and one of the best pieces of writing I have read in my life.
The stories all had a profound effect on me. I adore the way Josh Weil makes his characters come alive in the few pages we get to spend with them and how every single one of them felt unique and real, even if exaggerated in their current situations. His language is vivid and unique and full to the brim with feeling and beauty and metaphor. I am beyond impressed with this book.
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I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Grove Atlantic in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that!
December 1, 2017
Josh Weil’s eight meaty almost-novella length stories in this powerful collection are stories of obsession. The early ones are historical and concern new technologies. There’s coming of the electric light in “No Flies, No Folly”, where a Jewish peddler in the early 1900s inspires the passion of an Amish housewife with a phosphorescent bottle he keeps around his neck, and inspires a craving in her for electricity, for illumination. “Long Bright Line,” follows a young girl’s rapture with early air flight, an obsession which takes her all the way to old age and an art project meant to be seen only from space, as the first humans walked on the moon, but also to the earthbound tug of love. The longing that marks the human being as a dreamer is a thread that runs through the book--but is not a universally bright aspect of our natures.
Mirrors occur in three of these stories--once in the flight-obsessed woman's art work, to be seen from the sky, and in two, space mirrors of the type described in Weil’s exceptional, futuristic novel, The Great Glass Sea--designed to pierce the darkness and harness the darkened hours for human productivity. These stories consider the attraction, the obsession of humans for light, but also the distorted world that creates. In “Angle of Reflection” a group of boys hang out at night inside a cement factory dreaming childish dreams of catching trains and killing their fathers, but one boy, a Serbian refugee usually seen as a dark figure against the stars, dreams of the space mirror to be launched over Canada. The boy-narrator fills in what he can’t possibly understand about the Serbian boy, as they all do, and ends in a dangerous incident that changes all their lives.
The most interesting tales are the ones that involve the darkness rather than the light, like “The Point of Roughness,” where a man living in the far north considers the disruption the adoption of a special needs child had dealt his one great love. My favorite story of the collection is “The First Bad Thing,” a noir tale of a mysterious young woman on the run who comes into the life of a man hiding something, working in a solar-coating garage in a time when the constant light of the nighttime illumination produced by endless rafts of space mirrors--the end point of all that electrification, all that demand for light--has driven the animals crazy and eliminated night. What she wants is to see the night for the first time.
Short story collections fall somewhere on a scale between two poles—on one side, those in which the parts, maybe wonderful in themselves, when read together seem to step on each others’ hems, the repetitions making each less wonderful, or else don't speak to each other at all. At the other end is the overt novel-in-stories. But in between are marvelous collections like this--a certain kind of grouping which becomes more than the sum of its parts.. These masterful stories speak to one another, contradict, make exceptions, cast shadows from one to the next.
Mirrors occur in three of these stories--once in the flight-obsessed woman's art work, to be seen from the sky, and in two, space mirrors of the type described in Weil’s exceptional, futuristic novel, The Great Glass Sea--designed to pierce the darkness and harness the darkened hours for human productivity. These stories consider the attraction, the obsession of humans for light, but also the distorted world that creates. In “Angle of Reflection” a group of boys hang out at night inside a cement factory dreaming childish dreams of catching trains and killing their fathers, but one boy, a Serbian refugee usually seen as a dark figure against the stars, dreams of the space mirror to be launched over Canada. The boy-narrator fills in what he can’t possibly understand about the Serbian boy, as they all do, and ends in a dangerous incident that changes all their lives.
The most interesting tales are the ones that involve the darkness rather than the light, like “The Point of Roughness,” where a man living in the far north considers the disruption the adoption of a special needs child had dealt his one great love. My favorite story of the collection is “The First Bad Thing,” a noir tale of a mysterious young woman on the run who comes into the life of a man hiding something, working in a solar-coating garage in a time when the constant light of the nighttime illumination produced by endless rafts of space mirrors--the end point of all that electrification, all that demand for light--has driven the animals crazy and eliminated night. What she wants is to see the night for the first time.
Short story collections fall somewhere on a scale between two poles—on one side, those in which the parts, maybe wonderful in themselves, when read together seem to step on each others’ hems, the repetitions making each less wonderful, or else don't speak to each other at all. At the other end is the overt novel-in-stories. But in between are marvelous collections like this--a certain kind of grouping which becomes more than the sum of its parts.. These masterful stories speak to one another, contradict, make exceptions, cast shadows from one to the next.
June 19, 2017
Beautiful writing. Weil is able to grab what is happening in the outer world and bring it inside of us and create a new whole which is made up of us and the outer world. Intricately beautiful and sad. He does this with both physical manifestations of the outer world like electricity, the sky mirror but also what what is happening like what happened to Shimel. He plays with cause and effect like a photographer playing with light to give us different pictures.
No Flies, No Folly
Considering the title of the collection …..this was a very good choice to start with. A great story. Shimelmy friend, yes you have to look towards the future but the past had a huge say in that as you know so well. We are made by our past each and every choice we make contributed towards that.
Long Bright Line
Clare’s obsession became Clare’s world. A world where other people were simply coincidental. The play on selfless and selfish resounds in the story. I think Clare became without self in fact, without a self which could relate, love others thus appearing selfish. In fact she was simply not there, she was up there in the sky. I wonder how it would have turned out if her world had allowed her to really get up there.
The Essential Constituent of Modern Living Standards
Power war, hole war. The war was won but the sad, desolate feeling I got after I read this made me think of pyrrhic victories.
Angle of Reflection
Znamya - Banner
Consequences - What happens when steps forward stall and sputter. I felt sad at seeing Mirza’s hopes snuffing out.
The Point of Roughness
This one made me angry and sad. I wish that she had listened when he said no, not for him, but that would have meant denial of hope and we always hope for the best for more don’t we.
Beautiful Ground
What does two Arctic explorers and a couple venturing into swinging have in common. Both are testing the limits of how much they can be together and how elastic is their relationship.
The First Bad Thing
Another perspective from the sky mirror world. I could just imagine us doing that and then reaping the consequences later, like what happened to the animals without any dark or the the plants with all that light. But also consequences to us. Every situation will have it’s strutting survivors and victims. The connection between these two so tight.
Hello From Here
So we end how we started, with Shimel. Still tied to his family, still loving, still hopeful.
an ARC gently given by author/publisher via Netgalley
dnf
January 4, 2018DNF at page 163, story "Beautiful Ground"
"Not the book its me"
Mister Weil has a talent for writing. The characters and plots (in the stories I read) were done well for the most part.
(In one story I was kind of disturbed throughout. It wasn't any one thing really, just something quiet simmering under the surface, and out of the corner of my eye at times.)
So why the DNF? Despite all that, I wasn't enjoying myself like I wanted to. I felt a heaviness that I couldn't shake. Not depressing but just there... you know?
Just not for me after all *shrugs*
"Not the book its me"
Mister Weil has a talent for writing. The characters and plots (in the stories I read) were done well for the most part.
(In one story I was kind of disturbed throughout. It wasn't any one thing really, just something quiet simmering under the surface, and out of the corner of my eye at times.)
So why the DNF? Despite all that, I wasn't enjoying myself like I wanted to. I felt a heaviness that I couldn't shake. Not depressing but just there... you know?
Just not for me after all *shrugs*
September 11, 2017
I received a free copy via NetGalley.
Interesting read although it was lacking some aspects I was looking forward to.
'The Age of Perpetual Light' is a short story collection by Josh Weil. I've got a wonky relationship with short stories because in most cases I just want more depth or information from a story. However, I came across some really great anthologies in the last years. Somehow, having a central topic and collecting stories that go along with it works really well for me.
The theme in this book was light and connected with this human progress. I believe this is an awesome choice as light has such a vital role in our lives. When I picked up the book I had two expectations: I wanted to get to know something new about a major or minor fact of human development. I mean, whole societies changed when a light was available to the majority. Otherwise, I was looking forward to exploring the different aspects of light. There are many associations that fascinate me - light as the opposite of darkness as well as light as the medium that brings people together.
To sum this up - I certainly had high hopes.
One mistake I made. I thought that different authors would contribute stories to this book. I wasn't prepared to read numerous stories written by one author. My mistake - unfortunately, the author's way of writing didn't always work for me. Sometimes reading on was a little tedious. Too many descriptions, too few actions.
There were stories in this book that I loved while others did not really stick with me. I won't summarise all of them - better explore them yourself if you read the book. My favorite story was probably 'Long Bright Line'. Weil managed to paint a vivid image of the world and feelings of Clare's world.
'The Point of Roughness' will stay with me for a whole lot of other reasons. I actually broke my heart a little.
I was not too invested in other stories which is a shame because I believe the could have been great but sometimes I just wanted more.
In the end, this was a solid read that I enjoyed although I probably will not read the book again as the book was not able to deliver what I expected.
Interesting read although it was lacking some aspects I was looking forward to.
'The Age of Perpetual Light' is a short story collection by Josh Weil. I've got a wonky relationship with short stories because in most cases I just want more depth or information from a story. However, I came across some really great anthologies in the last years. Somehow, having a central topic and collecting stories that go along with it works really well for me.
The theme in this book was light and connected with this human progress. I believe this is an awesome choice as light has such a vital role in our lives. When I picked up the book I had two expectations: I wanted to get to know something new about a major or minor fact of human development. I mean, whole societies changed when a light was available to the majority. Otherwise, I was looking forward to exploring the different aspects of light. There are many associations that fascinate me - light as the opposite of darkness as well as light as the medium that brings people together.
To sum this up - I certainly had high hopes.
One mistake I made. I thought that different authors would contribute stories to this book. I wasn't prepared to read numerous stories written by one author. My mistake - unfortunately, the author's way of writing didn't always work for me. Sometimes reading on was a little tedious. Too many descriptions, too few actions.
There were stories in this book that I loved while others did not really stick with me. I won't summarise all of them - better explore them yourself if you read the book. My favorite story was probably 'Long Bright Line'. Weil managed to paint a vivid image of the world and feelings of Clare's world.
'The Point of Roughness' will stay with me for a whole lot of other reasons. I actually broke my heart a little.
I was not too invested in other stories which is a shame because I believe the could have been great but sometimes I just wanted more.
In the end, this was a solid read that I enjoyed although I probably will not read the book again as the book was not able to deliver what I expected.
December 17, 2018
This is one of those rare story collections that I had to read straight through (and this is the best way to read it, I found). What is most special about this collection is how different the stories are; they were written over a decade, but few writers show such variety, especially in a collection that has a sort of theme to it, the one suggested by the title. They are different in tone and style and structure and time period. And yet each is well written (although a couple were less interesting to me than the rest). Weil is a truly excellent young writer. I look forward to reading his novellas next.
May 21, 2018
I have been really looking forward to reading Josh Weil's stories. The tales here are connected by the themes of light and electricity. Such a sense of history is built within these incredibly varied tales, and I found Weil's writing style wonderful; he really knows how to tell a story. There was one tale here ('The Essential Constituent of Modern Living Standards') which I didn't enjoy that much, but others were great; 'The Point of Roughness', for instance, is absolutely stunning. Weil manages to make these stories as imaginative and innovative as they are realistic; his characters move and breathe. The Age of Perpetual Light is a rich and thoughtful collection, and I am very much looking forward to reading more of Weil's books in future.
January 28, 2018
It has become a bit of a surprise to me that I do like short stories most of the time. However this is one of those times when a collection really didn't work for me. I'm pretty sure the writer is a good writer and very smart, maybe too smart for me. Most of the stories left me confused as to who was narrating and what was happening. There were a couple that I enjoyed but overall it just wasn't for me.
May 10, 2017
Beautiful Stories. A Full Review will be posted closer to release date.
October 8, 2017
The book is entitled "The Age of Perpetual Light" because light plays some kind of role in each of the stories in the book. Not important.
What is important is that all of the stories are well-written. Also, they differ from each other in their writing styles, which is not always easy for an author. Some of the story ideas are traditional, others are almost science fiction but all are well done.
A big compliment: as I finished each of the eight stories, I looked forward to beginning the next one.
What is important is that all of the stories are well-written. Also, they differ from each other in their writing styles, which is not always easy for an author. Some of the story ideas are traditional, others are almost science fiction but all are well done.
A big compliment: as I finished each of the eight stories, I looked forward to beginning the next one.
October 1, 2018
I saw what would become the lead story in this collection One Story a couple of years ago and fell in love, and have been waiting for this to come out. And I'm still in love with it—"No Flies, No Folly" is gorgeous and haunting—and I think a bunch of others were very strong as well. Weill's range is impressive, from the dawn of the 20th century to a speculative story set in the nearish future, each one loosely structured around the theme of light. And while I didn't think every one was a mad hit like the first, it was a good collection and definitely worth reading.
February 8, 2018
Some stories were fantastic, some were just okay. A quick, engaging read all around!
September 30, 2018
This collection contains several compelling stories and a few that didn't catch my fancy. The theme of light -- its absence, its uniqueness, and its overabundance -- links the stories. My favorites involved a runaway Russian soldier or floating mirrors, one pair historical fiction and the other pair science fiction, to be intriguing investigations of the impact of new ideas, technology, love, and loss.
September 23, 2017
Josh Weil has lit a lamp with his words that will stay with me long after closing this book. Even in the varied landscapes and characters and time periods of the stories within THE AGE OF PERPETUAL LIGHT, a similar, yearning glow exists. Beautiful work, highly recommended.
August 12, 2018
These beautiful, strange, often disturbing, and totally brilliant stories really knocked my socks off.
June 2, 2017
I got this from NetGalley to preview.
I love short stories--they are amazing. And this collection held a lot of promise. However, the writing felt disjointed, and I couldn't quite figure out where these stories were trying to take me. I would start to relate to a character, and then felt like there was a random shift and I had no idea who this character was anymore. I couldn't ever get really connected. I gave up reading after a few because I just couldn't get my head around them. There were moments of lovely writing, and there was a lot of potential, I just never found it to pan out.
I love short stories--they are amazing. And this collection held a lot of promise. However, the writing felt disjointed, and I couldn't quite figure out where these stories were trying to take me. I would start to relate to a character, and then felt like there was a random shift and I had no idea who this character was anymore. I couldn't ever get really connected. I gave up reading after a few because I just couldn't get my head around them. There were moments of lovely writing, and there was a lot of potential, I just never found it to pan out.
August 16, 2017
Fascinating collection of wonderful short stories with the theme of light to unite them. Weil has a terrific way with language, making these a pleasure to read. You'll find something to relate to in so many ways. All of the characters are "outsiders"- immigrants, people in small communities, parents struggling with a child who is different- but they all react with amazement to light. Thanks to edelweiss for the ARC. If you're a short story reader, try this collection to meet Americans throughout our history.
December 2, 2017
I read this book for my last book club meeting. While enjoyable, it is just not the type of book that I enjoy reading. It's a collection of stories, which are connected by a thread to each other...which adds to the enjoyment and mystery of them.
December 2, 2017
The first story is a stunner.
April 12, 2018
Shocking.
February 3, 2021
Went through this book because it was referenced in Defending Jacob, a series on Apple tv Plus.
Couldn't really connect to any of the stories.
Couldn't really connect to any of the stories.
April 21, 2023
confused and dark
For a collection of stories about light, very little light seems to be shed by these. Muddled and turgid. Not recommended.
For a collection of stories about light, very little light seems to be shed by these. Muddled and turgid. Not recommended.
August 29, 2017
The Age of Perpetual Light is a collection of unique short stories by Josh Weil. Ranging from Jewish peddlers selling lightbulbs to modern day couples trying to bring new experiences to their marriage, these stories explore human emotions and experience throughout the past century.
I enjoyed these stories. They were beautifully written and interesting to read. I was introduced to an eclectic group of characters and exposed to their ideologies, experiences, and feelings. Most of these stories take place more internally than anything. There was a lot to appreciate about these stories.
However, I didn't love this collection. It was fun. It was enjoyable. It wasn't anything that really stood out to me or anything that I'll be suggesting to someone in two years. There was something lacking (or perhaps something I missed) in these stories. Most of them addressed deep emotions, but my involvement with the stories stayed at the surface. I could rarely relate to characters, I kept reading to be done rather than being hooked, and I rather frequently had to reread sections to understand what was going on and why things were significant. So while this was a good collection of stories, it wasn't great.
Recommended for lovers of beautiful writing and strong emotions in books.
I enjoyed these stories. They were beautifully written and interesting to read. I was introduced to an eclectic group of characters and exposed to their ideologies, experiences, and feelings. Most of these stories take place more internally than anything. There was a lot to appreciate about these stories.
However, I didn't love this collection. It was fun. It was enjoyable. It wasn't anything that really stood out to me or anything that I'll be suggesting to someone in two years. There was something lacking (or perhaps something I missed) in these stories. Most of them addressed deep emotions, but my involvement with the stories stayed at the surface. I could rarely relate to characters, I kept reading to be done rather than being hooked, and I rather frequently had to reread sections to understand what was going on and why things were significant. So while this was a good collection of stories, it wasn't great.
Recommended for lovers of beautiful writing and strong emotions in books.
December 15, 2017
Maybe it's just because so much of it is historical, but it just seemed like each story was channeling a specific writer from the previous century. The first one is obviously Isaac Babel, next could be Willa Cather I guess, later mixing in your generic high-modernists like John Updike or Richard Yates.
I really don't mind this exquisite, if a bit stuffy, kind of bourgeois prose, but I feel like it's been done enough by a bunch of dead folks, so I like to find things that formally or stylistically push forward more instead.
I really don't mind this exquisite, if a bit stuffy, kind of bourgeois prose, but I feel like it's been done enough by a bunch of dead folks, so I like to find things that formally or stylistically push forward more instead.
May 12, 2025
From the glimmer of a small flask of phosphorus to early electrification to Americans living under space mirrors, Josh Weil’s eight stories explore darkness and light, and project a dystopian future under perpetually glowing skies. Surprisingly, the last story returns the reader to the time when Yankel (Shimel) Yushrov, Russian Jewish refugee boarded a ship bound for America, wishing the family he left behind “a light in the darkness,” and taking with him that small flask of phosphorus.
March 12, 2025
I had a hard time with this one. We talked about it at book club and someone mentioned one of the stories and I had totally forgotten about it. One of the stories you were in a country and then in the next paragraph you were totally somewhere else. It was hard to keep up with at points. But this was just me I think.
August 31, 2017
Interesting collection of short stories. I felt like I couldn't quite connect with all of the characters but the variety of ways these people dealt with life definitely made me feel for them.
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**Goodreads Giveaways**
March 25, 2018
It’s hard to rate short story collections sometimes, such as in this case where some of the stories shine and the others fall short ( in my opinion). If you pick up this book, I highly recommend “Long Bright Line “ and “The Point of Roughness.”
May 29, 2019
Not my cup of tea. I appreciated the different short stories and a couple of them were quite good. However, the writing style left me feeling scatter brained.
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