The Haves and Have Nots

by Barbara H. Solomon (Editor), Various

Collected for the first time in one volume.How does money--or the lack of it--affect our lives? What happens when the rich meet the poor, when status comes with a price tag, when personal desires do battle with financial concerns? This unique anthology offers a mosaic of answers, with stories * Francine Prose * F. Scott Fitzgerald * Jack London * Kate Chopin * Ethan Canin * Gloria Naylor * Sandra Cisneros * O. Henry * Theodore Dreiser * Stephen Crane * Kate Braverman * James T. Farrell * Charlotte Perkins Gilman * and many others.

Genres: Fiction

528 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

Reviews

[Andrei Dumitrescu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars:

Alice Dunbar-Nelson - Hope Deferred : 3*
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Winter Dreams: 4*
James T. Farrell - A Jazz-Age Clerk: 2*
Sandra Cisneros - Three Sketches from The House on Mango Street: 3*
Sherwood Anderson - The Untold Lie: 3*
Ethan Canin - Where We Are Now: 5*
John Cheever - The Sorrows of Gin: 5*
T. Corraghesan Boyle - Peace of Mind: 3.5*
Barbara Kingsolver - Why I Am a Danger to the Public: 3*
Anzia Yezierska - The Free Vacation House: 3*
Dorothy West - Jack in the Pot: 4*
Sarah Orne Jewett - Miss Esther’s Guest: 3.5*
O. Henry - The Gift of the Magi: 5*
Raymond Carver - Elephant: 5*
Rebecca Harding Davis - Life in the Iron Mills: 2.5*
Stephen Crane - Maggie: A Girl of the Streets: 2.5*
Jack London - The Apostate: 3.5*
Hamlin Garland - Under the Lion’s Paw: 3.5*
Frank Norris - A Deal in Wheat: 3*
Mary Wilkins Freeman - Louisa: 3.5*
Theodore Dreiser - The Second Choice: 3*
Francine Prose - Everyone Had a Lobster: 3*
Charlotte Perkins Gilman - Mrs. Beazley’s Deeds: 3.5*
J.F. Powers - Blue Island: 3.5*
Kate Braverman - Over the Hill: 3.5*
Kate Chopin - A Pair of Silk Stockings: 3.5*
Katherine Anne Porter - He: 4*
Tillie Olsen - I Stand Here Ironing: 4*
Alice Waker - Everyday Use: 3.5*
Gloria Naylor - Kiswana Browne: 3*

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

Hope deferred / Alice Dunbar-Nelson --3
Winter dreams / F. Scott Fitzgerald --2
A jazz-age clerk / James T. Farrell --
Three sketches from The house on Mango Street / Sandra Cisneros --2
*The untold lie / Sherwood Anderson --
Where we are now / Ethan Canin --3
*The sorrows of gin / John Cheever --
Peace of mind / T. Coraghessan Boyle --
*Why I am a danger to the public / Barbara Kingsolver --
The free vacation house / Anzia Yezierska --3
Jack in the pot / Dorothy West --
*Miss Esther's guest / Sarah Orne Jewett --
The gift of the magi / O. Henry --3
*Elephant / Raymond Carver --
Life in the iron mills / Rebecca Harding Davis --2
Maggie: a girl of the streets / Stephen Crane --3
The apostate / Jack London --4
Under the lion's paw / Hamlin Garland --3
A deal in wheat / Frank Norris --3
Louisa / Mary Wilkins Freeman --3
The second choice / Theodore Dreiser --3
Everyone had a lobster / Francine Prose --
Mrs. Beazley's deeds / Charlotte Perkins Gilman --3
*Blue Island / J.F. Powers --
Over the hill / Kate Braverman --
A pair of silk stockings / Kate Chopin --3
He / Katherine Anne Porter --3
I stand here ironing / Tillie Olsen --3
Everyday use / Alice Walker --3
*Kiswana Browne / Gloria Naylor--

[JC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book for 50 cents at a library book sale, which seems appropriate given its focus. The stories are all about work, money and/or status, but cover periods from the late 1800s to the present and are extremely varied in both style and viewpoint. I like the fact that the editor included race, nationality and gender as part of the mix. There were some old favorites, but most of the stories were new to me even when the authors were familiar. I loved the Charlotte Perkins Gilman story of a grasping husband outsmarted due to his own greed; also, I've never thought I would like John Cheever, but after reading "The Sorrows of Gin" I'm going to seek out more of his work. Some of the stories were (not surprisingly)depressing, but others were lively, hopeful or funny. Definitely a keeper!
Spoiler alert: I recommend reading the introduction AFTER the stories, as too much of the plot is given away in some cases: but the editor does a good job of placing the stories and authors in context.

[James (JD) Dittes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up to find some ideas for a high school American Literature class I teach. Many of the excerpts can already be found in high school literature textbooks--Fitzgerald's "Winter Dreams," O Henry's "Gift of the Magi," and Alice Walkers, "Everyday Use."

There were other stories that I found fascinating. The two stories that hold up the center of the book, Stephen Crane's "Maggie; a Girl of the Streets" and "Life in the Iron Mills" by Rebecca Harding Davis are exemplars of American realism. "Ms Beazley's Deeds" is another find by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, an early 20th-century writer who stature has risen in the past five years, primarily on the strength of her longer story, "The Yellow Wallpaper."

This is a good collection that readers will find hit-or miss. I wouldn't recommend reading it straight through, as I did. But teachers will find six to eight stories worth filing away for a unit on class, such as The Great Gatsby.

[Susan Hester · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of stories, old and new regarding class. I didn't read much of it, so no rating.