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Waiting for the Evening News: Stories of the Deep South
A petty thief is bested by a widow and her card-playing friends; a farmer must cope with raising his baby granddaughter; a train engineer inadvertently causes a major disaster and finds himself amidst a media frenzy; a young man falls in love with a voice on the radio; and a camera repairman discovers a woman's family history in a roll of undeveloped film. Ordinary people are confronted with extraordinary situations, with results that are sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, but always life changing. In stories filled with heart and humour, Tim Gautreaux explores the stresses and strains of everyday life as his characters struggle to make amends for their mistakes and hope for different, better days to come.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
389 pages, Paperback
First published March 18, 2010
10 people are currently reading
231 people want to read
About the author
Tim Gautreaux
29 books202 followersTimothy Martin Gautreaux (born 1947 in Morgan City, Louisiana) is a novelist and short story writer who lives in Hammond, Louisiana, where he is Writer in Residence at Southeastern Louisiana University.
His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, Atlantic, Harper's, and GQ. His novel The Next Step in the Dance won the 1999 SEBA Book Award. His novel The Clearing won the 1999 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance SIBA Book Award and the 2003 Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association Award. He also won the 2005 John Dos Passos Prize.
Gautreaux also authored Same Place, Same Things and Welding with Children—collections of short stories. His 2009 novel The Missing was described as his "best yet" by New Orleans Times-Picayune book editor Susan Larson in a featured article.
Gautreaux notes that his family’s blue-collar background has been a significant influence on his writing. His father was a tugboat captain, and his grandfather was a steamboat engineer. Given those influences, he says, “I pride myself in writing a ‘broad-spectrum’ fiction, fiction that appeals to both intellectuals and blue-collar types. Many times I’ve heard stories of people who don’t read short stories, or people who have technical jobs, who like my fiction.”
In addition, Gautreaux has made clear that he is not interested in being classified as a "Southern writer," preferring instead to say that he is a "writer who happens to live in the South." He is much more comfortable embracing his Roman Catholicism, saying, "I've always been a Roman Catholic, since baptism, since birth."
His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, Atlantic, Harper's, and GQ. His novel The Next Step in the Dance won the 1999 SEBA Book Award. His novel The Clearing won the 1999 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance SIBA Book Award and the 2003 Mid-South Independent Booksellers Association Award. He also won the 2005 John Dos Passos Prize.
Gautreaux also authored Same Place, Same Things and Welding with Children—collections of short stories. His 2009 novel The Missing was described as his "best yet" by New Orleans Times-Picayune book editor Susan Larson in a featured article.
Gautreaux notes that his family’s blue-collar background has been a significant influence on his writing. His father was a tugboat captain, and his grandfather was a steamboat engineer. Given those influences, he says, “I pride myself in writing a ‘broad-spectrum’ fiction, fiction that appeals to both intellectuals and blue-collar types. Many times I’ve heard stories of people who don’t read short stories, or people who have technical jobs, who like my fiction.”
In addition, Gautreaux has made clear that he is not interested in being classified as a "Southern writer," preferring instead to say that he is a "writer who happens to live in the South." He is much more comfortable embracing his Roman Catholicism, saying, "I've always been a Roman Catholic, since baptism, since birth."
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 1, 2020
Having been delighted by two novels written by this author I hunted down a copy of this book of short stories, hoping to find the same ethereal quality of writing - and was certainly not disappointed!
Even though I have no personal experience of the Deep South of the USA, I still found that I could envisage the settings and the characters in these stories - and the stories themselves were very unique in topic and style, although with a theme running through them of characters living their everyday lives whilst trying, and often not succeeding, to make amends for their mistakes. This tended to make the stories a trifle negative - you almost knew that things weren't going to work out for the main character - but yet you had hope and, at the end, empathy for them.
I don't think I have ever awarded 5 stars for a book of short stories - there are usually a few that don't quite hit the mark - but not so in this case. Absolutely loved every one and, whilst I rarely re-read books, I will probably be keeping this one so I can just experience again the odd story every now and again - 10/10.
Even though I have no personal experience of the Deep South of the USA, I still found that I could envisage the settings and the characters in these stories - and the stories themselves were very unique in topic and style, although with a theme running through them of characters living their everyday lives whilst trying, and often not succeeding, to make amends for their mistakes. This tended to make the stories a trifle negative - you almost knew that things weren't going to work out for the main character - but yet you had hope and, at the end, empathy for them.
I don't think I have ever awarded 5 stars for a book of short stories - there are usually a few that don't quite hit the mark - but not so in this case. Absolutely loved every one and, whilst I rarely re-read books, I will probably be keeping this one so I can just experience again the odd story every now and again - 10/10.
October 14, 2012
Some people steer clear of short stories. They can be as dull as tarmac, as slight and insubstantial as a sesame seed, or over-the-top and self-indulgent like balloon-arches at a wedding. Fortunately these stories are none of those things. Instead, they capture the 'perfection in miniature' of a snowflake, and although each is unique, they are similar enough to cling together to create a magical whole.
These are colourful tales shot-through with heart-ache and humour in equal doses, that acquaint us with the fractured lives of various Louisiana folks, mostly of advancing years, getting by on guts, a thimbleful of luck and what little dignity they can muster.
Characters are Gautreaux's strong suit. His head must be teeming with them like the pages of a Where's Wally(Waldo) annual. He has an unrivalled ability to hook you in and take you straight to their hearts, so you connect within the first few sentences. On those odd occasions when he treads a fine line between the comical and the farcical, it's the strength of this connection that brings it back.
Favourites abound, but "The Courtship of Merlin LeBlanc" and "Welding With Children" are twin stories separated at birth. Each mining the fertile and poignant ground that is the relationship between grandparent and grandchild, with insight, economy and a sureness of touch.
I've no idea what the literary cognoscenti's view of Tim Gautreaux might be, but in my humble opinion, as a (short) storyteller, he's damn hard to beat.
These are colourful tales shot-through with heart-ache and humour in equal doses, that acquaint us with the fractured lives of various Louisiana folks, mostly of advancing years, getting by on guts, a thimbleful of luck and what little dignity they can muster.
Characters are Gautreaux's strong suit. His head must be teeming with them like the pages of a Where's Wally(Waldo) annual. He has an unrivalled ability to hook you in and take you straight to their hearts, so you connect within the first few sentences. On those odd occasions when he treads a fine line between the comical and the farcical, it's the strength of this connection that brings it back.
Favourites abound, but "The Courtship of Merlin LeBlanc" and "Welding With Children" are twin stories separated at birth. Each mining the fertile and poignant ground that is the relationship between grandparent and grandchild, with insight, economy and a sureness of touch.
I've no idea what the literary cognoscenti's view of Tim Gautreaux might be, but in my humble opinion, as a (short) storyteller, he's damn hard to beat.
May 23, 2020
I'm a big fan of short stories. So much easier to dip in and out of when you have a few spare minutes. This is a great selection of short stories with a common theme.
They are all based in the Southern States and are full of that hot sultry atmosphere, local history, customs and vocabulary. They are humorous, sad, evocative and interesting. Full of people living lives, having conversations and doing jobs that seem alien to anyone living outside of this region - which is most of us.
My one minor quibble - with such a confined 'palate' of people and places, some of the 23 stories tended to merge into one and become slightly 'samey.' But that is a very small point over the length of an enjoyable selection of stories.
"If you were wondering where all the great Southern writers were these days, he's in Louisiana and his name is Tim Gautreaux." The Guardian
"Stories filled with heart and humour explore the stresses of everyday life with characters trying to maintain their hopes for diferent, better days to come."
"A petty thief is bested by a widow and her card playing friends." "A farmer must cope with raising his baby granddaughter." "A train engineer inadvertently causes a major disaster and gets caught up in a media frenzy." "A camera repairman discovers a family's history in a roll of forgotten film."
They are all based in the Southern States and are full of that hot sultry atmosphere, local history, customs and vocabulary. They are humorous, sad, evocative and interesting. Full of people living lives, having conversations and doing jobs that seem alien to anyone living outside of this region - which is most of us.
My one minor quibble - with such a confined 'palate' of people and places, some of the 23 stories tended to merge into one and become slightly 'samey.' But that is a very small point over the length of an enjoyable selection of stories.
"If you were wondering where all the great Southern writers were these days, he's in Louisiana and his name is Tim Gautreaux." The Guardian
"Stories filled with heart and humour explore the stresses of everyday life with characters trying to maintain their hopes for diferent, better days to come."
"A petty thief is bested by a widow and her card playing friends." "A farmer must cope with raising his baby granddaughter." "A train engineer inadvertently causes a major disaster and gets caught up in a media frenzy." "A camera repairman discovers a family's history in a roll of forgotten film."
December 28, 2010
Like all good books, I read this one very slowly because I didn't want it end. The stories and the language were magical and my only complaint is that there were not more stories in the volume. At the end I found myself wanting more of these wonderful lives, more stories, more details, more Louisiana thunderstorms.
Among these tales, a petty thief is outsmarted by a widow and her card-playing friends; a farmer finds ways his baby granddaughter; a hard-drinking train engineer inadvertently causes a major disaster and finds himself amidst a media frenzy; a young man falls in love with a voice on the radio; and a camera repairman discovers a woman’s family history in a roll of undeveloped film.
Each story is borne by sadness, humor and inspiration in their exploration of the human spirit.
Among these tales, a petty thief is outsmarted by a widow and her card-playing friends; a farmer finds ways his baby granddaughter; a hard-drinking train engineer inadvertently causes a major disaster and finds himself amidst a media frenzy; a young man falls in love with a voice on the radio; and a camera repairman discovers a woman’s family history in a roll of undeveloped film.
Each story is borne by sadness, humor and inspiration in their exploration of the human spirit.
December 30, 2017
The best modern fiction writer on the subject of work: men with jobs, men looking for jobs, men avoiding looking for jobs and men whose working days are over. He finds the poetry in it, and the music and the colour, and puts it living onto the page in a way nobody else can.
Three or four of these stories are masterworks, and the others are pretty close to being that too. Read this collection, then read his novels. Amazingly, he's even better as a novelist than as a short-story writer.
Three or four of these stories are masterworks, and the others are pretty close to being that too. Read this collection, then read his novels. Amazingly, he's even better as a novelist than as a short-story writer.
August 8, 2014
Each one of these memorable gems left me breathless and unable to move onto the next until a few days has past, to let them settle. Tim Gautreaux is the contemporary voice of the south. Hard hitting, passionate and very real.
November 11, 2016
got half way - couldn't be bothered to finish - I need a "half read but not that great " shelf / category to put these books onto
May 8, 2023
I spent happy weeks delighted with this book. You can't read it quickly because each story is a masterpiece that requires to be savoured, and thought about, for a long time after you've read it. Tim Gautreaux is a master who - clearly - has honed and smoothed and worked on every sentence until nothing is wasted and everything keeps the narrative moving along. He takes you down to the flat country of present-day Louisiana where a version of French is still spoken, into the worlds of working people - tough men and tough women - who fix the engines of the river boats on the big Mississippi, work in the factories (or what's left of them), play poker whilst also competing to see who can tell the most outlandish tall story, fix up old cars just to keep them on the road, shore up old houses that may not survive another flood, and watch TV on half-broken sets. This is the most beautiful kind of "dirty American realism": straight, functional writing that drops you straight in. Here's a sample just to whet your appetite (it's only the first two sentences at the beginning of "The Piano Tuner" but when you've read them, you're in, and you want to know what happens next):
The phone rang Monday morning while the piano tuner was shaving, and he nicked himself. The strange lady was on the line, the one who hardly ever came out of her big house stuck back in the cane fields south of town.
The phone rang Monday morning while the piano tuner was shaving, and he nicked himself. The strange lady was on the line, the one who hardly ever came out of her big house stuck back in the cane fields south of town.
April 17, 2024
Finally got hold of a copy of this and it’s well worth the wait. All great short stories well written with humour and done tounge in cheek about the small society in the southern states. All people facing dilemmas the stories having a defining outcome. I could be influenced to write my own story about people of my own locality if I was clever enough.
The sad thing is when I take this book back to my local library it will be put back in long term deep storage at the county warehouse, what a shame.
The sad thing is when I take this book back to my local library it will be put back in long term deep storage at the county warehouse, what a shame.
July 19, 2022
The best short story collection I've ever read. Every story in this book was good to excellent. Usually I'll read each story and if by the halfway point it doesn't keep my interest I don't finish it. I finished every story in this collection. Highly recommend!
October 12, 2024
I’ve always thought Tim Gautreaux was an amazing novelist. He is an even more fantastic short story, writer. This is the kind of book where you finish one story and you have to put the book down in order to think about what you just experienced. Not one bad story in the lot. Highly recommended.
February 3, 2019
I couldn't really get into this, so gave up. 'Died and Gone To Vegas' was very good, but none of the other 6 I read really grabbed me.
June 8, 2021
This is a British edition of Tim Gautreaux’s two previous American short story collections, with no additional content.
September 30, 2021
Magical!
Loved the way this is written, a triumph.
The very essence of the deep south is within these pages, I want more.
Loved the way this is written, a triumph.
The very essence of the deep south is within these pages, I want more.
November 13, 2012
Waiting for the Evening News was another page turner that kept me from napping when I should for wanting to read another page or short story. 23 short stories in one volume all set in the deep south of Louisiana. It's fun to read about places we know, like Lake Ponchartrain, Ponchatoula, and the causeway. Interesting characters. Though not all of the stories are great, they are all worth reading (except the shortest but because it is the shortest, I won't quibble). And some of them are incredible stories of grandfathers seeking to make atonement in the lives of their children/grandchildren. The other ladies in book club said it did not make them think highly of Louisianians, but having lived there, I could simultaneously see how the characterization rang true and yet didn't personify everyone in the state! Seems like it was never released in the States. We got a used copy from London where it was printed, and it's only a few years old!
May 29, 2012
Comparisons are frequently odious, but these pithy, humane, wryly humorous stories put me in mind of the following: episodes of 'The Waltons' as written by Cormac McCarthy; Mark Twain's 'Life on the Mississipi' as re-imagined by Garrison Keillor, and 'To Kill a Mockingbird' as told from the perspective of cajun redneck undergoing a spiritual crisis. These are beautifully crafted morality tales full of gentle humour and unsung acts of kindness.
October 1, 2010
I am not usually a fan of short story collections, but I really enjoyed this one!
August 9, 2016
Great stories so far. It really feel like Louisiana
December 22, 2013
Sheer brillance- well most of it. Worth reading. I loved it and I can't say anything less. Well most of it anyway. Compassionate, compelling and thoughtful.
November 8, 2015
OK but I don't go for short stories
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews