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Love Stories in this Town
From San Francisco to Savannah, Montana to Texas, Amanda Eyre Ward’s characters are united in their fervent search to find a place where they truly belong. Annie, a librarian in a small mining town, must choose between the only home she’s ever known and the possibility of a new future. Casey, a suburban New Yorker with a wry sense of humor, braves the dating scene after losing her husband. And in six linked stories spanning a decade of her life, Lola Wilkerson navigates elopement, motherhood, and lingering questions about who she wants to be when she grows up. Whether exploring the fierceness of a mother’s love or the consolations of marriage, Amanda Eyre Ward’s stories are imbued with humor, clear-eyed insight, and emotional richness.
225 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
24 people are currently reading
594 people want to read
About the author
Amanda Eyre Ward
16 books1,420 followersAmanda Eyre Ward’s new novel. LOVERS AND LIARS, will be published in May, 2024! It is the story of a librarian in love.
Here is a very long bio: Amanda was born in New York City in 1972. Her family mved to Rye, New York when she was four. Amanda attended Kent School in Kent, CT, where she wrote for the Kent News.
Amanda majored in English and American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She studied fiction writing with Jim Shepard and spent her junior fall in coastal Kenya. She worked part-time at the Williamstown Public Library. After graduation, Amanda taught at Athens College in Greece for a year, and then moved to Missoula, Montana.
Amanda studied fiction writing at the University of Montana with Bill Kittredge, Dierdre McNamer, Debra Earling, and Kevin Canty, receiving her MFA. After traveling to Egypt, she took a job at the University of Montana Mansfield Library, working in Inter Library Loan.
In 1998, Amanda moved to Austin, Texas where she began working on Sleep Toward Heaven. Amanda finished Sleep Toward Heaven, which was published in 2003. Sleep Toward Heaven won the Violet Crown Book Award and was optioned for film by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight. To promote Sleep Toward Heaven, Amanda, her baby, and her mother Mary-Anne Westley traveled to London and Paris.
Amanda moved to Waterville, Maine, where she wrote in an attic filled with books. Amanda’s second novel, How to Be Lost, was published in 2004. How to Be Lost was selected as a Target Bookmarked pick, and has been published in fifteen countries.
After one year in Maine and two years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Amanda and her family returned to Austin, Texas.
To research her third novel, Forgive Me, Amanda traveled with her sister, Liza Ward Bennigson, to Cape Town, South Africa. Forgive Me was published in 2007.
Amanda's short story collection, Love Stories in This Town, was published in April, 2009.
Her fourth novel, Close Your Eyes, published in July, 2011, received a four-star reiew in People Magazine, won the Elle Lettres Readers' Prize for September, and inspired the Dallas Morning News to write, "With CLOSE YOUR EYES, Austin novelist Amanda Eyre Ward puts another jewel in her crown as the reigning doyenne of 'dark secrets' literary fiction."
Close Your Eyes was named in Kirkus' Best Books of 2011, and won the Elle Magazine Fiction Book of the Year. It was released in paperback in August, 2012.
Amanda's fifth novel, The Same Sky, was published on January 20, 2015. It was named one of the most anticipated books for 2015 by BookPeople and Book of the Week by People Magazine. Dallas Morning News writes, "Ward has written a novel that brilliantly attaches us to broader perspectives. It is a needed respite from the angry politics surrounding border issues that, instead of dividing us, connects us to our humanity."
The Same Sky was chosen as a Target Bookmarked pick.
Amanda's new novel, The Nearness of You, was published on Valentine's Day, 2017.
Amanda's new novel, THE JETSETTERS, was chosen by Reese's Book Club and Hello Sunshine and became a New York Times bestseller. Her novel THE LIFEGUARDS was published in 2022.
Ask me anything and stay tuned for news about LOVERS AND LIARS and TV and film projects based on Amanda's work!
Here is a very long bio: Amanda was born in New York City in 1972. Her family mved to Rye, New York when she was four. Amanda attended Kent School in Kent, CT, where she wrote for the Kent News.
Amanda majored in English and American Studies at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She studied fiction writing with Jim Shepard and spent her junior fall in coastal Kenya. She worked part-time at the Williamstown Public Library. After graduation, Amanda taught at Athens College in Greece for a year, and then moved to Missoula, Montana.
Amanda studied fiction writing at the University of Montana with Bill Kittredge, Dierdre McNamer, Debra Earling, and Kevin Canty, receiving her MFA. After traveling to Egypt, she took a job at the University of Montana Mansfield Library, working in Inter Library Loan.
In 1998, Amanda moved to Austin, Texas where she began working on Sleep Toward Heaven. Amanda finished Sleep Toward Heaven, which was published in 2003. Sleep Toward Heaven won the Violet Crown Book Award and was optioned for film by Sandra Bullock and Fox Searchlight. To promote Sleep Toward Heaven, Amanda, her baby, and her mother Mary-Anne Westley traveled to London and Paris.
Amanda moved to Waterville, Maine, where she wrote in an attic filled with books. Amanda’s second novel, How to Be Lost, was published in 2004. How to Be Lost was selected as a Target Bookmarked pick, and has been published in fifteen countries.
After one year in Maine and two years on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Amanda and her family returned to Austin, Texas.
To research her third novel, Forgive Me, Amanda traveled with her sister, Liza Ward Bennigson, to Cape Town, South Africa. Forgive Me was published in 2007.
Amanda's short story collection, Love Stories in This Town, was published in April, 2009.
Her fourth novel, Close Your Eyes, published in July, 2011, received a four-star reiew in People Magazine, won the Elle Lettres Readers' Prize for September, and inspired the Dallas Morning News to write, "With CLOSE YOUR EYES, Austin novelist Amanda Eyre Ward puts another jewel in her crown as the reigning doyenne of 'dark secrets' literary fiction."
Close Your Eyes was named in Kirkus' Best Books of 2011, and won the Elle Magazine Fiction Book of the Year. It was released in paperback in August, 2012.
Amanda's fifth novel, The Same Sky, was published on January 20, 2015. It was named one of the most anticipated books for 2015 by BookPeople and Book of the Week by People Magazine. Dallas Morning News writes, "Ward has written a novel that brilliantly attaches us to broader perspectives. It is a needed respite from the angry politics surrounding border issues that, instead of dividing us, connects us to our humanity."
The Same Sky was chosen as a Target Bookmarked pick.
Amanda's new novel, The Nearness of You, was published on Valentine's Day, 2017.
Amanda's new novel, THE JETSETTERS, was chosen by Reese's Book Club and Hello Sunshine and became a New York Times bestseller. Her novel THE LIFEGUARDS was published in 2022.
Ask me anything and stay tuned for news about LOVERS AND LIARS and TV and film projects based on Amanda's work!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
January 5, 2010
This collection was trying too hard to follow the "academic ending" way of writing. Parachute into the short story with a snappy opening, numb the reader with a bland character doing bland things, and finish with the "academic ending" (an ending that's deliberately loose and unfinished, almost begging for some first year lit student to write an essay about the deep meaning). The female leads in each piece just reinforced the stereotypes that women only long for marriage/breeding and are wishy washy push overs. The writing was decent but the stories were like licking a stamp, unappealing at first with a bad aftertaste. Adding insult to injury was the "author questionnaire" at the end. I'm glad I got this one from the library, saving some cash.
December 6, 2017
Onvan : Love Stories in This Town - Nevisande : Amanda Eyre Ward - ISBN : 812980115 - ISBN13 : 9780812980110 - Dar 224 Safhe - Saal e Chap : 2009
March 20, 2010
I really enjoyed
Love Stories in This Town
. Amanda Eyre Ward populates her stories with realistic and engaging characters. I like the way Ward ties the title of each story into a piece of dialog from that story. It ties title and story together nicely, and also imparts meaning to the titles. (Some other stories I have read seem to be named rather arbitrarily; I'm not fond of that).
My favorite character is Lola, around whom the last six stories in the book are centered. Something about the Lola stories in particular made me want to go to Austin, TX to see if I could find her there.
The edition I read has a nice little interview with the author, in which she confides that she probably will revisit Lola in future stories. I look forward to that.
I only have one tiny complaint about this book, and it isn't really the author's fault. It's editing, or what I consider to be poor editing. At the end of the story Butte as in Beautiful (no, I won't spoil the story!) there is a name that appears as "Neil Davidson" in the second paragraph, but inexplicably changes to "Joseph Davidson" three paragraphs later. Why? Wasn't anyone doing a final proofread of this book? It drives me nuts, because I think Ballantine Books did Amanda Eyre Ward a real disservice here. I found myself watching for other such slip-ups (thankfully, I found none) in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable book. I think I will have to write to the publisher about this.
My favorite character is Lola, around whom the last six stories in the book are centered. Something about the Lola stories in particular made me want to go to Austin, TX to see if I could find her there.
The edition I read has a nice little interview with the author, in which she confides that she probably will revisit Lola in future stories. I look forward to that.
I only have one tiny complaint about this book, and it isn't really the author's fault. It's editing, or what I consider to be poor editing. At the end of the story Butte as in Beautiful (no, I won't spoil the story!) there is a name that appears as "Neil Davidson" in the second paragraph, but inexplicably changes to "Joseph Davidson" three paragraphs later. Why? Wasn't anyone doing a final proofread of this book? It drives me nuts, because I think Ballantine Books did Amanda Eyre Ward a real disservice here. I found myself watching for other such slip-ups (thankfully, I found none) in an otherwise thoroughly enjoyable book. I think I will have to write to the publisher about this.
May 20, 2009
I really enjoyed this book. It was recommended to me by the owner of a Great Good Place for Books, a wonderful bookstore in Oakland, CA, and I am so glad she suggested it to me. I was very taken in by the female narrators in the stories in Part One. They said things that were funny and surprising. I really enjoyed their struggles with marriage, family relationships, and fertility. The author's writing is both elegant and nervy, and the stories stayed with me for a long time. I especially enjoyed "The Stars Are Bright in Texas" and "On Messalonskee Lake" -- the ending of that story was simply gorgeous and I was in utter awe at the writing. I re-read it several times, and I know I will keep going back to it. I was really thrilled to discover this writer, and I am looking forward to going back and reading her novels. I highly recommend checking this one out.
May 16, 2010
One of the best collections of short stories that I've read in a long time. Mostly about young couples starting out together, Part 2 is all interwoven stories about the same character. A quick read, Ward has crafted each story so well that it feels complete and conclusive. A true gem.
One small criticism though. There is one story in this collection that perpetuates the misconception that you can just be a librarian without going to school for it. For those of us that have worked through a Master's degree in order to become librarians (and many of us that have the student loans to attest to this) this is pretty insulting.
One small criticism though. There is one story in this collection that perpetuates the misconception that you can just be a librarian without going to school for it. For those of us that have worked through a Master's degree in order to become librarians (and many of us that have the student loans to attest to this) this is pretty insulting.
September 6, 2011
I adore Amanda Eyre Ward and love a well-written short story collection so was thrilled to see this come out. It did not disappoint. Each story is delicious and satisfying and beautifully written. I fell in love with many of the characters, even the ones we know only for a few pages. In terms of character studies, I’ve scarcely read anything better. My only quibble was that I wanted some of the people to get more pages! Whole novels even! Really just perfectly rendered. There are no “love stories in this town.” Amazing.
March 19, 2023
My first dabble in short stories since high school English class. I like the idea of short stories, but I struggled with the book flowing like a regular novel and having to remind myself each chapter is a different storyline.
April 4, 2022
I absolutely adore Ward's novels, but I admit I struggled with this collection--especially in the first half, where both tone and theme feel overly repetitive, the focus placed so much on pregnancy/getting pregnant as it is. In fact, that's a theme throughout the whole of the collection, far more so than motherhood, and I might not have picked up the collection if that had been made more clear on the cover copy. Still, I did finish the work, and there are some stand-out stories. "The Way the Sky Changed" is especially powerful, and there's also a lot to admire in the linked stories making up the second half of the collection. That said, I'm not sure I'd pick up another collection by Ward. Her prose brings characters to life beautifully, but the depth she brings to novels adds more than slice-of-life, she brings so much depth to even the simplest stories, and that depth just didn't translate into her short stories. Perhaps part of that is how repetitive the tone and themes felt from story to story, but as it stands, I just didn't enjoy this collection all that much.
If you want to give Ward a try, pick up one of her novels and it might well make you a fan of her for life, but unless you specifically want pregnancy-themed women's fiction short stories that all strike loosely the same note, I have to recommend leaving this collection on the shelf, lovely as Ward's prose may be.
If you want to give Ward a try, pick up one of her novels and it might well make you a fan of her for life, but unless you specifically want pregnancy-themed women's fiction short stories that all strike loosely the same note, I have to recommend leaving this collection on the shelf, lovely as Ward's prose may be.
January 10, 2019
Totally and utterly loved this book. The first part is a collection of short stories and some are heartbreakingly sad (dealing with the loss of a loved one at 9/11) and the second part are Lola's stories - beautifully written as well. A total gem to read.
April 6, 2023
Love and Family
I'm not really a fan of short stories, but this book actually kept my attention. and I liked them. I do like Amanda Eyre Ward's books that I read a few years ago, and will read more.
I'm not really a fan of short stories, but this book actually kept my attention. and I liked them. I do like Amanda Eyre Ward's books that I read a few years ago, and will read more.
December 3, 2009
Review published here: http://www.hipsterbookclub.com/review...
Amanda Eyre Ward delivers 12 beautiful and memorable tales in her short story collection Love Stories in This Town. Despite what the title may imply, these are not idealistic tales of naïve romance. Rather, Ward’s stories are fiercely realistic, sometimes cynical and always raw.
The first six stories in the collection focus on different women struggling through critical times in their lives. On the surface, many of their problems are far from extraordinary: fighting with a spouse, uncertainty over a new engagement, anxiety in the wake of 9/11. One of Ward’s gifts as a writer is her ability to relate the agony and pressure of everyday life in ways that are subtly poignant and relatable. Most of the characters are at an age where they are thinking of marriage or motherhood, and those topics take center stage. Tied together with themes of disappointment, loss, choice, and hope, the stories present an honest look at the burdens faced by women in contemporary society.
The second half of the book re-examines these themes in a series of stories spanning the life of Lola Wilkerson. Readers follow Lola through different turning points in her life, including lost love, elopement, run-ins with her alcoholic father, and childbirth. In just six short stories, we see Lola’s entire life as told through the accounts of different women: her own, her mother’s, her mother-in-law’s. Ward expertly crafts a complete history for Lola in fewer than 100 pages, allowing readers insight into her decisions and feelings. The character is at once authentic and genuine but also entirely relatable to readers who will be able to see some of themselves in Lola as she evolves.
Setting and locale are important to each of these stories, and Ward takes readers everywhere from suburban Texas to the high rise apartments of New York City to an American compound in Saudi Arabia. Ward creates and conveys these locations just as thoughtfully as she does her characters so that readers are instantly immersed in every aspect of the tales. The towns of these stories provide more than just an interesting backdrop for the plot; they are woven into the fabric of the stories, becoming just as crucial as the characters themselves. In the story "Shakespeare.com," Ward captures the essence of the impending internet boom in Seattle, relating the excitement and trepidation inexperienced companies felt as they embarked on new, risky ventures. She conveys the shaky starts, the misguided ideas, the thrill of success and fear of failure and juxtaposes that mood with her young character who strives to conceive a child.
Setting also advances the evolution of the characters, particularly in the Lola stories. She begins as a young college student in Montana, suffering a broken heart in a lonely bar, looking for direction from the detached bartender who tells her, "There are no love stories in this town." We then find Lola impulsively eloping in Las Vegas and then beginning a life with her new husband in a small town in Colorado. Her journeys from there illustrate other changes in her life, the momentous and the mundane.
In this collection, Ward masters subtlety. While her stories deal with significant life choices and some agonizing realizations, she never ventures into maudlin or weepy territory. In fact, if there is a complaint about this book, it would be that the outlook on love and life is sometimes overly cynical and borderline pessimistic. There are no easy choices for the women of these stories, and the reader can sometimes be left feeling disheartened by the book’s somber mood. Not every story needs or deserves a happy ending, of course, but the sullen tone does mount throughout the book. Therefore, it is up to the reader to decide what will happen to these characters and if their choices will ultimately end in happiness. Ward offers no easy conclusions or cheerful closure, but instead leaves the stories open-ended, allowing the characters to continue living inside the minds of readers. A close read will show glimmers of hope for the women in the book, but readers must discover that for themselves.
Love Stories in This Town is a smart, memorable, and relevant look at the choices and issues facing women today. Ward’s witty, delicate prose and her honest characters will hit readers like a forceful breath of fresh air and possibly prompt them to consider how their town or city exemplifies their own journey through life.
Amanda Eyre Ward delivers 12 beautiful and memorable tales in her short story collection Love Stories in This Town. Despite what the title may imply, these are not idealistic tales of naïve romance. Rather, Ward’s stories are fiercely realistic, sometimes cynical and always raw.
The first six stories in the collection focus on different women struggling through critical times in their lives. On the surface, many of their problems are far from extraordinary: fighting with a spouse, uncertainty over a new engagement, anxiety in the wake of 9/11. One of Ward’s gifts as a writer is her ability to relate the agony and pressure of everyday life in ways that are subtly poignant and relatable. Most of the characters are at an age where they are thinking of marriage or motherhood, and those topics take center stage. Tied together with themes of disappointment, loss, choice, and hope, the stories present an honest look at the burdens faced by women in contemporary society.
The second half of the book re-examines these themes in a series of stories spanning the life of Lola Wilkerson. Readers follow Lola through different turning points in her life, including lost love, elopement, run-ins with her alcoholic father, and childbirth. In just six short stories, we see Lola’s entire life as told through the accounts of different women: her own, her mother’s, her mother-in-law’s. Ward expertly crafts a complete history for Lola in fewer than 100 pages, allowing readers insight into her decisions and feelings. The character is at once authentic and genuine but also entirely relatable to readers who will be able to see some of themselves in Lola as she evolves.
Setting and locale are important to each of these stories, and Ward takes readers everywhere from suburban Texas to the high rise apartments of New York City to an American compound in Saudi Arabia. Ward creates and conveys these locations just as thoughtfully as she does her characters so that readers are instantly immersed in every aspect of the tales. The towns of these stories provide more than just an interesting backdrop for the plot; they are woven into the fabric of the stories, becoming just as crucial as the characters themselves. In the story "Shakespeare.com," Ward captures the essence of the impending internet boom in Seattle, relating the excitement and trepidation inexperienced companies felt as they embarked on new, risky ventures. She conveys the shaky starts, the misguided ideas, the thrill of success and fear of failure and juxtaposes that mood with her young character who strives to conceive a child.
Setting also advances the evolution of the characters, particularly in the Lola stories. She begins as a young college student in Montana, suffering a broken heart in a lonely bar, looking for direction from the detached bartender who tells her, "There are no love stories in this town." We then find Lola impulsively eloping in Las Vegas and then beginning a life with her new husband in a small town in Colorado. Her journeys from there illustrate other changes in her life, the momentous and the mundane.
In this collection, Ward masters subtlety. While her stories deal with significant life choices and some agonizing realizations, she never ventures into maudlin or weepy territory. In fact, if there is a complaint about this book, it would be that the outlook on love and life is sometimes overly cynical and borderline pessimistic. There are no easy choices for the women of these stories, and the reader can sometimes be left feeling disheartened by the book’s somber mood. Not every story needs or deserves a happy ending, of course, but the sullen tone does mount throughout the book. Therefore, it is up to the reader to decide what will happen to these characters and if their choices will ultimately end in happiness. Ward offers no easy conclusions or cheerful closure, but instead leaves the stories open-ended, allowing the characters to continue living inside the minds of readers. A close read will show glimmers of hope for the women in the book, but readers must discover that for themselves.
Love Stories in This Town is a smart, memorable, and relevant look at the choices and issues facing women today. Ward’s witty, delicate prose and her honest characters will hit readers like a forceful breath of fresh air and possibly prompt them to consider how their town or city exemplifies their own journey through life.
January 25, 2022
I borrowed this from Hoopla on a whim. Some of the stories were better than others, and I didn't love all of the themes the author focused on, but I thought she had an interesting writing style. I would like to read more short stories, but I think I need to research better before choosing the next collection to make sure I find one that matches my reading preferences.
October 18, 2009
A short, sweet read. The first couple stories didn't develop quite enough to fully engage me as a reader, but luckily the remaining stories seemed to develop more weight and a few really resonated. The one that I was really looking forward to was a bit of a disappointment... It's about a librarian in a small mining town in Montana who must choose between a new life and the only life she's ever known. I thought that more could have been done with this premise and with the story, and it ended rather unsatisfactorily for my taste, or perhaps the premise is too close to my own life right now. There were a few gems; the story of two people who lost their spouses in 9/11 trying to rejoin the dating world; a couple living during the dot.com bubble in San Francisco, trying to start a family, and another couple who are expecting who take a trip to their family's lake cabin where a relative mysteriously drowned decades earlier. Pregnancy, or the lack of pregnancy, motherhood, and family, are the themes that tie this collection together, which I found interesting since my own book of short stories (the one that hasn't been written yet) centers on the same themes. The second half of the book is a set of linked stories centered around one character, and I thought I wouldn't enjoy these but ended up liking most of them. This version has a P.S. section where the author discusses the book and the writing process which I found particularly interesting.
July 27, 2010
I first gave this three stars, then in looking over my past reviews, I realized I generously gave 3 stars to some pretty crappy books (Vanishing Acts by Jodi Picoult? Seriously?) Clearly, I'm an easy grader. So I'm upping this to 4 stars. I agree with previous reviews that this book is compulsively page-turning. I read this while laid up with pneumonia and stayed awake far later than was healthy or advisable, anxious to see what would happen next. However, some of the story endings left me going: "Huh?" They just ended so abruptly, with some random sentence. One mentioned "dinosaurs" and other one I had to read over and over again (about the librarian and the masturbator). I still don't know what the hell that story was about. When I read the interview with the author at the end the "dinosaur" ending finally made sense to me. I also got tired about hearing about infertility and/or trying to get pregnant. It certainly made me appreciate my three children but it seemed to be a predominant theme. I like some escapism in my reading, so any character that drives a minivan just makes me want to run and hide. "Nan and Claude" was my favorite story and I loved the last sentence, so sometimes she nailed it. The Lola stories, in general, had some really believable characters. I also liked when the author tried to write from a male perspective. Her story about house hunting in The Woodlands was great. So, in summary, I think any book that compels you to stay up late earns 4 stars.
December 31, 2009
I'm not quite sure what to think of this book. I found it compulsively readable, compelled to begin each story as soon as the one before it had ended, but at the same time at no point did I feel emotionally engaged, or impressed with the writing. The characters were decently well done, but as I went on I would forget which character had been in which story, or what happened. I guess that with other short story collections that I've read, like Delicate Edible Birds, and Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, each story lived in my mind like a little distinct world that felt true, whereas here they just all blended. The book is split into two parts, the first a set of unrelated short stories, mostly about pregnant women or women who wanted to be pregnant, and the second half all centered around the character Lola. I think I liked the first half best; the Lola stories, partly because they were arranged chronologically, felt like a novel that hadn't yet been finished.
January 12, 2011
I loved that so many of the characters were going through various stages of relationships and motherhood, and the humor and light touch Amanda Eyre Ward uses is remarkable. One of my favorite stories was The Stars are Bright in Texas, maybe because I've lost a baby, maybe because it has elements of that in the story without allowing itself to be melodramatic. Some of the male characters in the book are really harsh (Lola's dad is SUCH an asshole) and I was disappointed initially when I realized half the book was stories about the same person-I just finished a book of short stories about one person recently and I was ready for a fresh start with each new story I turned to. However, I didn't mind the Lola stories. Really looking forward to reading more of this author's work.
August 23, 2015
Thought provoking short stories about the hardships one faces in various relationships of love. I enjoyed the first part of the book, but really could not connect to the Lola stories. If you are going to do short stories-just do short stories, not short stories and half of a novel.
Found this book in my high school library because we do units on short stories, but I think these would be lost on the teenage mind. They required more adult experience. The only redeeming draw to the book was the fact that the themes worked around love in the Age of Terrorism post-9/11. It made the stories more unique.
Found this book in my high school library because we do units on short stories, but I think these would be lost on the teenage mind. They required more adult experience. The only redeeming draw to the book was the fact that the themes worked around love in the Age of Terrorism post-9/11. It made the stories more unique.
July 19, 2009
Definitely the most impressive chick lit I've read, but these stories still fall short compared to other contemporaries (including Dan Chaon, who has a blurb on the back cover). Ward is daring in her material (her "love stories" regularly approach topics of infidelity, doubt, and, even, masturbation), but I'm finding the writing rather monotonous - lots of unnecessary dialogue and exposition littered with bland descriptions.
I'm only halfway through, so I guess there's still room for surprise.
I'm only halfway through, so I guess there's still room for surprise.
October 30, 2013
Great to see Amanda Ward flex her short fiction muscles. She has a way with dialogue and, while she'd never admit it, lines ring like little poem conflagrations throughout. For example:
"Lola thought about her father suddenly, understanding for the first time that he must have been trying to alleviate unbearable pain by abandoning them."
There is a ton in that line!!
or:
"To the baby, Lola would smell like a mother, and the ridiculous chandelier would look like stars."
Each of those appear on pgs 149/ 150 of this edition, respectively. Nuff said.
"Lola thought about her father suddenly, understanding for the first time that he must have been trying to alleviate unbearable pain by abandoning them."
There is a ton in that line!!
or:
"To the baby, Lola would smell like a mother, and the ridiculous chandelier would look like stars."
Each of those appear on pgs 149/ 150 of this edition, respectively. Nuff said.
December 14, 2016
Not being a fan of short stories I don't read them often. Too much unsaid, story lines left dangling. This book is no different. We get glimpses into different relationships like a curtain is drawn back for a few minutes but closes too soon.
I was duped by the cover which looks remarkably like a book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Strong characters, sad stories but over too soon.
A book best read with a bottle or two of good wine or a six-pack, when you need a little help to start crying in your beer. Otherwise it leaves too much hanging.
I was duped by the cover which looks remarkably like a book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Strong characters, sad stories but over too soon.
A book best read with a bottle or two of good wine or a six-pack, when you need a little help to start crying in your beer. Otherwise it leaves too much hanging.
July 3, 2009
I bought Love Stories in This Town at a time when I was supposed to be reading a couple of collections to prepare for a class I was about to teach. Instead, I found myself picking up Ward's book again and again. Few modern short stories writers do first lines better than her. And don't just take my word for it: http://emergingwriters.typepad.com/em...
June 18, 2010
Quite good, but most of the stories are relentlessly sad. I imagine I'll work my way through a few more of her novels in the next several months - she's a good writer.
From the author interview in the back of the book:
"There are times I think my reading and writing life are truer than my real one, the one I have to brush my teeth for...
I read, I re-wire my brain, to expand my sense of what is possible."
From the author interview in the back of the book:
"There are times I think my reading and writing life are truer than my real one, the one I have to brush my teeth for...
I read, I re-wire my brain, to expand my sense of what is possible."
April 3, 2015
These stories are not sweet, sappy, saccharine, predictable. Ward has delved in the psyches of different types of people and really brought out the cold hard truth of relationships. I enjoyed every story in this collection. Plenty of surprises throughout. I laughed. I could relate. Sometimes if I didn't, Ward finds a way to make me empathize with the characters. She really does an excellent job with Love Stories in This Town. I highly recommend it.
October 1, 2012
Great collection of short stories. Some more successful than others. Applaud the arrangement of stories - all of the stories about Lola are separated into their own section - ta da! - Lola Stories. No guessing if the stories are related - they definitely are.
Should I Be Scared is about the most perfect short story I've ever read and the one I can't stop talking about in writing group.
The Way The Sky Changed and Miss Montana's Wedding Day are also favorites.
Should I Be Scared is about the most perfect short story I've ever read and the one I can't stop talking about in writing group.
The Way The Sky Changed and Miss Montana's Wedding Day are also favorites.
February 15, 2015
Before reading her new novel, I thought I'd pick up some work by this author to see how I liked her writing. My love of short stories was satisfied with some complete short stories, and the remainder of the book a look at one character through several stories. These weren't sappy love stories, but instead true to life stories of women making decisions that will impact their lives forever. Good character development, a joy to read.
June 19, 2009
Yay, it's finally ready for me to pick up at the library! Can't wait to start it.
Update: Not sure how I feel about this collection of short stories. There were some that I liked/enjoyed and other's I didn't get. Overall, I liked the development of Lola's stories, but sheesh was her father an ass! At times I was annoyed with Lola for continuing to allow him back. Ending was good, though!
Update: Not sure how I feel about this collection of short stories. There were some that I liked/enjoyed and other's I didn't get. Overall, I liked the development of Lola's stories, but sheesh was her father an ass! At times I was annoyed with Lola for continuing to allow him back. Ending was good, though!
June 3, 2009
This book was a nice collection of stories about women and love. I typically don't read short stories, since I like a novel that has character development. But it was nice for a change. The second part of the book was several short stories about the same character, which i liked best. The stories are well written and make you think a little after reading them.
November 27, 2011
I need to read more short stories. The word that runs through my mind to describe this collection is poignant. After each story, I felt the need to stop and process. Ward is clearly a talented writer, and was able to draw me in to each story. She left me feeling like I knew just enough, yet also wanting a little more, which is exactly what a short story should do.
July 19, 2009
i'm not normally a fan of short stories but i've really liked all of AEW's other books so wanted to read this one. i liked the stories- not all had happy endings and that was good- more realistic. the second half of the book's stories revolved around one person, lola, and her family. i'd love to see AEW write a book about them!
September 16, 2009
Normally short stories never grab my full attention. They always seem incomplete somehow. Ward does get it right though. The stories are composites of all of us, sometime during our lives; sweet, tender, loving and sad. And because she always inserts Montana into her stories I have to read them!
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