Believe Them: Stories

by Mary Robison

"Robison uses a minimalist discipline and barely ruffled surfaces, but her hidden pictures of childhood and other states of vulnerability are boundless in their emotion." ― The Los Angeles Times Book Review

The eleven stories in Believe Them , most of which first appeared in The New Yorker , depict Mary Robison's sly, scatty world of plotters, absconders, ponderers, and pontificators. Robison's take on her characters is sharp, cool, astringently ironic, and her language vibrates with edginess and nerve. With what John Barth has called her "enigmatic superrealism," Robison flashes entire lives by us in small, stunning moments―odd, skewed outtakes from real life. Believe Them confirms Mary Robison's place as one of America's most original writers.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Short Story Collection

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Mary Robison is an American short story writer and novelist. She has published four collections of stories, and four novels, including her 2001 novel Why Did I Ever, winner of the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for fiction. Her most recent novel, released in 2009, is One D.O.A., One on the Way. She has been categorized as a founding "minimalist" writer along with authors such as Amy Hempel, Frederick Barthelme, and Raymond Carver. In 2009, she won the Rea Award for the Short Story.

Reviews

[Emad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eleven great pieces, all same as other Robison's stories and all different from them.


Highlights:
Seizing Control
While Home
Trying
Again, Again, Again

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Sherry made a long throwing gesture and said to Carolyn Wylie ’This’ll be the living room, once we’re rid of these boxes and we’ve unpacked enough to start actual living.’

‘Don’t count on that here,’ Carolyn said. ‘I’ve been in this town for four or five thousand years, and there’s nothing you’d call actual living.’”

I have always found tales of American suburbia somewhat surreal – especially when they invoke improbable brand names, sunshine, sprinklers, automobiles, weird food, and esoteric sports. When I was a child this world was just a television fantasy – a slightly futuristic setting for sitcoms that were often puzzling, but always upbeat. A touch of this fantasy still lingers.

Mary Robison is American and should know – but her suburbia seems to have more than a touch of surreality as well. The eleven stories in this 1988 collection are skewed snapshots of other people’s lives, full of wry observations, edgy interactions, and dialogue that’s sharp, scatter-brained, and a pleasure to read.

Individually, few of the stories can be said to be memorable – which is partly to do with length (short) and partly to do with narrative (wayward or slight). But that’s fine. I just liked the writing overall.

[Cherise Wolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't fall into any of these stories. Not sure if it's because they seem very dated, rather than classic, but neither the writing nor the characters much interested me. I am going to try something else by Robison.

[Robert Morgan Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue to be obsessed with Mary Robison and what she has to teach me.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

some of my favorites "seizing control", "while home", "mirror" & "i get by" are in this one!