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The Anarchists' Convention and Other Stories
Before John Sayles was an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, he was a National Book Award-nominated writer of fiction. The Anarchists' Convention is his first short story collection, providing a prism of America through fifteen stories. These everyday people -- a kid on the road heading west, aging political activists, a lonely woman in Boston -- go about their business with humor and resilience, dealing more in possibility than fact. In the widely anthologized and O. Henry Award-winning "I-80 Nebraska," Sayles perfectly renders the image of a pill-popping trucker who has become a legend of the road.
- GenresFictionShort Stories
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
About the author
John Sayles
88 books163 followersJohn Thomas Sayles is an independent film director, screenwriter, novelist and short story writer who frequently plays small roles in his own and other indie films.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 7, 2016
Read only the title story and have too many other books waiting to read the whole thing right now. The anarchists make for an interesting and humorous group. Especially in times of political happenings, this is an example of how things could be worse.
April 1, 2020
"Dated" isn't an inherently negative term, even if it is frequently deployed as such. Much of "The Anarchist's Convention" is dated, both in good and bad ways. One of the most popular stories in the collection, "I-80 Nebraska" is incredibly dated, in that it's about a cadre of truckers rallying against someone clogging up their CB airwaves. It's sublimely 70s in all the best ways, something no one would think to write in any other decade than the decade of "Convoy". The middle suite of stories, all concerning a character named Brian as he moves from his teenage years across the United States to his young adulthood in California, all feel like little slices of not just a country but a country at a particular point in its history, dealing with the fallout of the tumult of not just the revolutionary 1960s but everything else, the reactionary 50s, the wartime 40s, the depressed 30s, that led up to it. The 70s feel like a loose decade of traumatized, uneasy calm, where free radicals of recent history were still pinging across the landscape, selling drugs along the heartland or burrowing into fallout shelters a few miles away from missile silos. Sayles also falls victim to some of the negative sides of datedness- for how perceptive and politically acute he can be, he still falls prey to some of the white male chauvinism so prevalent in his contemporaries: the borderline yellowface of "Tan," which is about Vietnamese people affected by the war, is horrific, and many of his female characters need much to be desired. All in all, though, this is a pretty great short story collection, with far more high points (including the title story and "Children of the Silver Screen") than low.
August 13, 2016
Short story collection; read in advance of Sayles' book tour for his latest epic novel. Stories that explore the human condition.
My favorites were "At the Anarchists' Convention," "Schiffman's Ape" and "I-80 Nebraska", mostly b/c they were unique perspectives that combined well the benign and the bizarre. His writing is spare (influenced by Carver??) and thus the reader is free to evoke sensation and images that enrich the reading experience - personally my favorite short story writing method b/c the reader is less aware of the gaps in story left when a writer tries to do too much in too little space or, the reverse, leaves the reader thinking, "So what?? Who cares?"
One reviewer mentioned hints of sexism. I'm not sure that I detected that; there were sexist characters, but they were written believably and in-character - a professor who lusts after his student, teenage boys who think almost exclusively about making out, a carpenter never looking back at his string of one-night-stands-meets-lonely-female-customers, etc. The strong female characters did help balance it out.
My favorites were "At the Anarchists' Convention," "Schiffman's Ape" and "I-80 Nebraska", mostly b/c they were unique perspectives that combined well the benign and the bizarre. His writing is spare (influenced by Carver??) and thus the reader is free to evoke sensation and images that enrich the reading experience - personally my favorite short story writing method b/c the reader is less aware of the gaps in story left when a writer tries to do too much in too little space or, the reverse, leaves the reader thinking, "So what?? Who cares?"
One reviewer mentioned hints of sexism. I'm not sure that I detected that; there were sexist characters, but they were written believably and in-character - a professor who lusts after his student, teenage boys who think almost exclusively about making out, a carpenter never looking back at his string of one-night-stands-meets-lonely-female-customers, etc. The strong female characters did help balance it out.
November 24, 2009
This was a surprise. Sayles is a well known progressive independent film maker, and as it turns out, a screenwriter too. Now I know why, he can write dialogue better than most.
I am sure you are fans of well known writers who have great stories, but their characters seems to speak with the same voice (I'm thinking of Marge Piercy and Carl Heissen, and most thriller novelists).
Not Sayles. He has a terrific ear for the spoken word - and manages to recreate it on the page. I just love reading his stuff because the characters talk in an unique, authentic voice, be it the Puerto Rican maid, the old Jewish anarchist, the young drifter, etc..
If you are into dialogue, you must check out Sayles. I read that Sayles can remember verbatim, about two pages of dialogue from someone he has overheard. What a gift!
I am sure you are fans of well known writers who have great stories, but their characters seems to speak with the same voice (I'm thinking of Marge Piercy and Carl Heissen, and most thriller novelists).
Not Sayles. He has a terrific ear for the spoken word - and manages to recreate it on the page. I just love reading his stuff because the characters talk in an unique, authentic voice, be it the Puerto Rican maid, the old Jewish anarchist, the young drifter, etc..
If you are into dialogue, you must check out Sayles. I read that Sayles can remember verbatim, about two pages of dialogue from someone he has overheard. What a gift!
May 31, 2025
I think I can understand why several reviewers of this collection thought that "The Anarchists' Convention" and "I-80 Nebraska m. 490-m.2025" are "best" stories in it. I beg to differ. They are perhaps the most conventional stories here in that something dramatic actually happens, giving them a climax, a pay-off. Most of the rest of the stories, including the six that make up Part 2 of the book, are slices of life.
And they are the lives of fairly unremarkable people. Brian O'Neill, the protagonist of those six stories in Part 2 is a 17-year-old son of an alcoholic railyard worker. He comes across as a decent enough kid, but he is not remarkably intelligent or insightful and he does not have adventures that are out of the ordinary in 1970s American life. The joy of reading these and the other stories is just how well John Sayles renders the inner lives and the dialogue of all the characters he creates. Everyone seems exactly like a real person.
The latter is strength but also perhaps the weakness of his writing, especially for the younger reader. His characters say racist and sexist things (and have racist and sexist thoughts) and they espouse many beliefs that were commonplace for the time. In that sense the stories seemed "dated." But in this sense nearly all short stories written in decades past seem dated, especially perhaps, those written by white straight men.
John Sayles was and is progressive as hell, so one can assume pretty safely that he is essentially reporting all this based on the close observation of his fellow human beings that makes his movies so good. It is hard to say what, if anything here, is drawn from biography. Sayles was an overachiever who went from Schenectady public schools to Williams College to writing short stories for Atlantic magazine and then onto Hollywood to work for Roger Corman. Brian O'Neill drops out of high school and hits the road. Nina, the protagonist of "Home for Wayfarers" has graduated from Bard and is stalled in temp jobs in Boston.
Sayles' prose is not showy. It is well observed, including details that make you stop and admire how apt it was to include this or that detail in the description of a person, place, or just a feeling. His democratic impulses mean that he must keep his vocabulary straightforward and also not dive too deeply into psychoanalysis of anyones motives. This may make the writing feel flat to some younger readers, who are more used to depictions of neurotics and eccentrics as the only persons worth writing about and living interesting lives. Instead, Sayles focuses on human beings who are in the middle of rather ordinary lives and wondering what they should do next. You have no confidence that most of them will make the right decision, but the stakes are never terribly high for the small series of decisions that we see them make. If they keep going down this path, it may not be wine and roses, but we never see it happen.
And they are the lives of fairly unremarkable people. Brian O'Neill, the protagonist of those six stories in Part 2 is a 17-year-old son of an alcoholic railyard worker. He comes across as a decent enough kid, but he is not remarkably intelligent or insightful and he does not have adventures that are out of the ordinary in 1970s American life. The joy of reading these and the other stories is just how well John Sayles renders the inner lives and the dialogue of all the characters he creates. Everyone seems exactly like a real person.
The latter is strength but also perhaps the weakness of his writing, especially for the younger reader. His characters say racist and sexist things (and have racist and sexist thoughts) and they espouse many beliefs that were commonplace for the time. In that sense the stories seemed "dated." But in this sense nearly all short stories written in decades past seem dated, especially perhaps, those written by white straight men.
John Sayles was and is progressive as hell, so one can assume pretty safely that he is essentially reporting all this based on the close observation of his fellow human beings that makes his movies so good. It is hard to say what, if anything here, is drawn from biography. Sayles was an overachiever who went from Schenectady public schools to Williams College to writing short stories for Atlantic magazine and then onto Hollywood to work for Roger Corman. Brian O'Neill drops out of high school and hits the road. Nina, the protagonist of "Home for Wayfarers" has graduated from Bard and is stalled in temp jobs in Boston.
Sayles' prose is not showy. It is well observed, including details that make you stop and admire how apt it was to include this or that detail in the description of a person, place, or just a feeling. His democratic impulses mean that he must keep his vocabulary straightforward and also not dive too deeply into psychoanalysis of anyones motives. This may make the writing feel flat to some younger readers, who are more used to depictions of neurotics and eccentrics as the only persons worth writing about and living interesting lives. Instead, Sayles focuses on human beings who are in the middle of rather ordinary lives and wondering what they should do next. You have no confidence that most of them will make the right decision, but the stakes are never terribly high for the small series of decisions that we see them make. If they keep going down this path, it may not be wine and roses, but we never see it happen.
February 8, 2019
Though the stories now seem somewhat dated (early to mid-70s), the title story is absolutely amazing. There is an incredible audio reading of it by Jerry Stiller here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xvsv...
What I love about Sayles is that he's completely fearless and all over the place. It's like he just picks a location or situation and improvises a story--more often than not with no small level of profundity and mastery. There are a few linked stories--but there's no through-line for the entire book, which is not a fault but some readers might feel a little whiplash. Then again, Anarchy is in the title.
My other fave story here is "Tan." Sayles has always been obsessed with the mundanity (and sanctity) of ordinary lives and social justice. His stories sort of paved the way for the corrective, blue-collar, grounded work of Ray Carver. His dialogue is superb--no surprise for an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. The stories haven't aged that well--but are very much worth your time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xvsv...
What I love about Sayles is that he's completely fearless and all over the place. It's like he just picks a location or situation and improvises a story--more often than not with no small level of profundity and mastery. There are a few linked stories--but there's no through-line for the entire book, which is not a fault but some readers might feel a little whiplash. Then again, Anarchy is in the title.
My other fave story here is "Tan." Sayles has always been obsessed with the mundanity (and sanctity) of ordinary lives and social justice. His stories sort of paved the way for the corrective, blue-collar, grounded work of Ray Carver. His dialogue is superb--no surprise for an Oscar-nominated screenwriter. The stories haven't aged that well--but are very much worth your time.
Read
April 9, 2026no score; writing competent but had realization while reading that I'm very much addled by any writing that doesn't orient itself to a very specific aesthetic/concentration of plot, having read this, having recognized the strengths but put off by my very specific point of view demanding a solipsistic recognition of what I enjoy in writing
January 19, 2019
Most of the stories don't live up to the promise of the title story.
March 12, 2021
The short story "Anarchists Convention" was hilarious and sentimental. Read by Jerry Stiller
March 7, 2025
3.5 stars. Still haven’t seen any of his movies (would like to), but now I’ve read him.
February 9, 2017
This doesn't age as well as I was hoping it might.
November 4, 2008
The title story is great, the rest not so much. Surprisingly, several of the stories were sexist, but it oculd be argued that this was the character's view or necessary for the story and not the author's beliefs. I'd be interested in what other people thought.
May 30, 2007
I bought this so I could read the O. Henry Award-winning story "I-80 Nebraska". I started the book with this story and never read another. It was dry, long, and irrelevant.
April 5, 2008
loved the title story, gradually lost interest after that.
October 14, 2008
Funny and somewhat wry/cynical short stories/sketches
Read
August 2, 2011Nearly as good a short story writer as he is a director... which is a serious compliment in my books.
September 15, 2011
I only read "At the Anarchists' Convention." How Funny!
May 1, 2017
I came across "I-80 Nebraska" years ago in an anthology -- loved it, of course -- but had never experienced the volume that produced that memorable story. What I found were some memorable characters in interesting situations -- slice of life vignettes. Sadly, "At the Anarchists' Convention" was the only story that came close to measuring up to "I-80."
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews