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Among the Dangs: Ten Short Stories
His second book and first book of short stories.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
255 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 1960
50 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 2, 2025
Hated every second. Kristi & Abby Tabby
April 25, 2024
A bunch of nice little short stories that arent really about anything and don't really deliver any morals and if the reviews I've been able to scrape up so far are representative that seems to be why his career never went anywhere.
It is nice to read a story from the 1950s that makes it clear that everyone knew about the internment camps of the 40s and that decent people opposed them and felt bad about them afterwards - and then they got memory holed within ten years and had to be 'rediscovered' like we always do with our atrocities. Also that the AMA and the American Legion have always been understood to be disgusting reactionaries opposing anything good or helpful.
Among the Dangs sucks - even in the 1950s Im pretty sure anthropologists didnt deliberately set themselves up as gods of the tribes they visit or consider teaching them the story of Jesus as a "prophecy" is an unfortunate whoopsie but ah, nevertheless, a necessary and inevitable step on their path towards "freedom". His (baffling choice of) word, by the way. And even if you accept he just doesnt know dick about shit as anthro goes, the story just doesnt have any there there.
Seems like that was one of his earliest though. The rest are little self contained stories about upper middle class people being sad at each other, one dystopian apocalypse scifi story and one borgesian short story about infinity.
It is nice to read a story from the 1950s that makes it clear that everyone knew about the internment camps of the 40s and that decent people opposed them and felt bad about them afterwards - and then they got memory holed within ten years and had to be 'rediscovered' like we always do with our atrocities. Also that the AMA and the American Legion have always been understood to be disgusting reactionaries opposing anything good or helpful.
Among the Dangs sucks - even in the 1950s Im pretty sure anthropologists didnt deliberately set themselves up as gods of the tribes they visit or consider teaching them the story of Jesus as a "prophecy" is an unfortunate whoopsie but ah, nevertheless, a necessary and inevitable step on their path towards "freedom". His (baffling choice of) word, by the way. And even if you accept he just doesnt know dick about shit as anthro goes, the story just doesnt have any there there.
Seems like that was one of his earliest though. The rest are little self contained stories about upper middle class people being sad at each other, one dystopian apocalypse scifi story and one borgesian short story about infinity.
Want to read
April 11, 2025Read so far:
*A family matter --
*Brother Quintillian and Dick the chemist --
Faq' --2
*Miss Cudahy of Stowes Landing --
*The NRACP --
Children of Ruth --1
The beautification of BobbySu Wilson --
Love among the old folk --
Hymn of the angels --
Among the Dangs --3
***
Is he dead?
Miracle play
Words, words, words
*A family matter --
*Brother Quintillian and Dick the chemist --
Faq' --2
*Miss Cudahy of Stowes Landing --
*The NRACP --
Children of Ruth --1
The beautification of BobbySu Wilson --
Love among the old folk --
Hymn of the angels --
Among the Dangs --3
***
Is he dead?
Miracle play
Words, words, words
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews