World Famous Love Acts

by Brian Leung

"An entire book of good stories. . . . [Leung] gains trust the old-fashioned way—through confidence, craftsmanship and compassion. There are no shortcuts here, no tricks or gimmicks, no glib patinas to conceal weak underpinnings. . . . This is a book about loss, twined irrevocably with hope, a hope that surges below the surface of all life. . . . Read [it] and see a bold new writer making himself vulnerable on the page. He gives us all hope."—Chris Offutt Born to a Chinese father and Euro-American mother, Brian Leung is a native of California, where he is now an assistant professor at California State University, Northridge. He received an M.F.A in creative writing from Indiana University.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Queer

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Suraj Alva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been in a slump. Not being able to connect with anything I was reading. Everything reading the same, the language too similar to everything else; conveying nothing new.

Till I read this

These tales deserves what Nietzsche deemed Dante's The Divine Comedy deserved: A slow reading.

They are dense, sometimes slow--too slow--but all this is integral. To give you a true feel of what these stories are about. To make you not only see; but to taste, smell and hear.

[Daniel Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic collection of short stories. My favorite is the titular story, where Leung writes, “If you ever ask me how much I love you, I’d answer with this detail: when we stood on the patio making love, my feet never moved.” So good, so good.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection of short stories, an epiphany around every corner.

[Lauren Iverson · Rating 5 out of 5]

absolutely amazing

[Marion · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Mr Leung has talent to get me into each character. The stores by themselves were amazing. The ones that came back around from another perspective were a pleasant surprise.

[Amy Lyke · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just couldn’t get into the stories. It may be that short stories just aren’t really my thing. I typically don’t get into the short story collections that I try.

[eric yoo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought his best story was 'Good Company.' It seemed the most imaginative and he tried to stretch and touch kafka's sandals. He didn't succeed but it was a good attempt.

Few of his characters seemed believable. And the connections between stories were amy tannish.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

some stories I enjoyed - others not so much and ended up skipping to the next one. Maybe I'm just not a fan of short stories. This was a disappointment to me, having read Leung's Lost Men and Take Me Home. I loved both.

[Aegean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing short stories that are surprisingly poignant. Love this book.

[Darius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty intellectual fiction, that is more often than not logically satisfying. Sooo, good title?

[Marianna Monaco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I especially like the juxtaposition of 2 of these two stories: Good Company and Desdamona's Ruin. Two sides of the relationship and life choices of 2 sisters.