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Philly Fiction: A Collection of Short Stories Highlighting Philadelphia as a City of Literary Inspiration
Philly Fiction is a collection of short stories as vibrant and diverse as Philadelphia.
- GenresFiction
186 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 24, 2011
I enjoyed every story in the collection, loved how each one highlighted or at least mentioned different areas or landmarks or restaurants from the characters' perspective, in various contexts, and at least the protagonist in every story reminded me at one point or another of someone I know in Philly. I could easily discuss all nineteen stories here, but I've chosen four to review briefly.
Neighborhood families in "The Stoop-Sitters" are just like those in a lot of real Philly neighborhoods: adulthood in the homes where they were raised, tied to their blocks, attention centered around the star of the block at any given time. I once listened in horror as a girlfriend's mother screamed at her for breaking up her marriage to the girlfriend's father, so I could relate indirectly to a portion of the central drama in this very well written, very realistic piece.
The girl who the male protagonist chases after their break up in "Terminal Pursuit" reminded me so much of an ex-girlfriend who practically drove me nuts here in Philly. I loved the stupid fights they had, the way the fights developed over nothing at all, the clever ending toward which the author built the action.
"Health Insurance and the Girl" . . . I found this piece absolutely hilarious, and I couldn't help but think of a few friends of mine who would surely do something like set out specifically to conquer a female medical student, partially with the silly goal of eliminating the need for health insurance, just like the male hero in the story. I loved the way he planned his approach, and I loved how as soon as he thought he had a good thing going with the girl, he made some major life decisions without ever checking on the girl's long term plans. Great flow to the story, a lot of fun to read.
"Bragging About Annie" was also a very fun story for me to read. I could immediately relate to the main male character's awkwardness in approaching a girl on the dance floor, his surprise when she actually gave him her number, and the various loops she threw in his direction as their relationship developed; the way he took her words at face value and then later learned that she was unsure about things, playing games to protect herself. I also just loved that they met his roommate at Silk City late-night back when it was still a diner as this brought back some great memories (I love the new Mark Bee gastropub version of Silk City too, but reading about a drunken meal at the old diner hit home).
Hemingway said something about how you know you've read great fiction when you think the story must be true, written about real people. Any one of these stories could've been true, in my opinion, because the authors were true to Philly with their quirky characters and well developed plots.
Neighborhood families in "The Stoop-Sitters" are just like those in a lot of real Philly neighborhoods: adulthood in the homes where they were raised, tied to their blocks, attention centered around the star of the block at any given time. I once listened in horror as a girlfriend's mother screamed at her for breaking up her marriage to the girlfriend's father, so I could relate indirectly to a portion of the central drama in this very well written, very realistic piece.
The girl who the male protagonist chases after their break up in "Terminal Pursuit" reminded me so much of an ex-girlfriend who practically drove me nuts here in Philly. I loved the stupid fights they had, the way the fights developed over nothing at all, the clever ending toward which the author built the action.
"Health Insurance and the Girl" . . . I found this piece absolutely hilarious, and I couldn't help but think of a few friends of mine who would surely do something like set out specifically to conquer a female medical student, partially with the silly goal of eliminating the need for health insurance, just like the male hero in the story. I loved the way he planned his approach, and I loved how as soon as he thought he had a good thing going with the girl, he made some major life decisions without ever checking on the girl's long term plans. Great flow to the story, a lot of fun to read.
"Bragging About Annie" was also a very fun story for me to read. I could immediately relate to the main male character's awkwardness in approaching a girl on the dance floor, his surprise when she actually gave him her number, and the various loops she threw in his direction as their relationship developed; the way he took her words at face value and then later learned that she was unsure about things, playing games to protect herself. I also just loved that they met his roommate at Silk City late-night back when it was still a diner as this brought back some great memories (I love the new Mark Bee gastropub version of Silk City too, but reading about a drunken meal at the old diner hit home).
Hemingway said something about how you know you've read great fiction when you think the story must be true, written about real people. Any one of these stories could've been true, in my opinion, because the authors were true to Philly with their quirky characters and well developed plots.
November 16, 2011
I seldom read short stories that aren't what would be considered "genre fiction" and I was very pleasantly surprised with this collection. Almost all of the stories were very good and well written and it was very nice to be able to recognize local places throughout the book. I'd recommend this one.
October 7, 2010
just started it but it seems like a good summer read for my last summer in Philly
October 4, 2010
Some of the stories are slow, not even necessarily stories. But it's a fun book to read, especially for someone from the Philadelphia area.
February 26, 2013
Delightful and charming. Glad to see so much talent from my town.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews