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American Short Story Masterpieces
This highly Acclaimed collection of short stories by American writers contains only the best literary art of the past four decades. With a bias toward realism editors Raymond Carver and Tom Jenks have selected fiction that “tells a story”–and tells it with a masterful handling of language, situation, and insight.
But what is so special about this volume is that it mirrors our age, our concerns, and our lives. Whether it’s the end of a marriage, as in Bobbie Ann Manson’s “Shiloh,” or the struggle with self-esteem and weight in Andre Dubus’s “The Fat Girl,” the 36 works included her probe issues that give us that “shock of recognition” that is the hallmark of great art—wonderful, absorbing fiction that will be read and reread for decades to come.
But what is so special about this volume is that it mirrors our age, our concerns, and our lives. Whether it’s the end of a marriage, as in Bobbie Ann Manson’s “Shiloh,” or the struggle with self-esteem and weight in Andre Dubus’s “The Fat Girl,” the 36 works included her probe issues that give us that “shock of recognition” that is the hallmark of great art—wonderful, absorbing fiction that will be read and reread for decades to come.
512 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1987
59 people are currently reading
526 people want to read
About the author
Raymond Carver
361 books5,118 followersCarver was born into a poverty-stricken family at the tail-end of the Depression. He married at 19, started a series of menial jobs and his own career of 'full-time drinking as a serious pursuit', a career that would eventually kill him. Constantly struggling to support his wife and family, Carver enrolled in a writing programme under author John Gardner in 1958. He saw this opportunity as a turning point.
Rejecting the more experimental fiction of the 60s and 70s, he pioneered a precisionist realism reinventing the American short story during the eighties, heading the line of so-called 'dirty realists' or 'K-mart realists'. Set in trailer parks and shopping malls, they are stories of banal lives that turn on a seemingly insignificant detail. Carver writes with meticulous economy, suddenly bringing a life into focus in a similar way to the paintings of Edward Hopper. As well as being a master of the short story, he was an accomplished poet publishing several highly acclaimed volumes.
After the 'line of demarcation' in Carver's life - 2 June 1977, the day he stopped drinking - his stories become increasingly more redemptive and expansive. Alcohol had eventually shattered his health, his work and his family - his first marriage effectively ending in 1978. He finally married his long-term parter Tess Gallagher (they met ten years earlier at a writers' conference in Dallas) in Reno, Nevada, less than two months before he eventually lost his fight with cancer.
Rejecting the more experimental fiction of the 60s and 70s, he pioneered a precisionist realism reinventing the American short story during the eighties, heading the line of so-called 'dirty realists' or 'K-mart realists'. Set in trailer parks and shopping malls, they are stories of banal lives that turn on a seemingly insignificant detail. Carver writes with meticulous economy, suddenly bringing a life into focus in a similar way to the paintings of Edward Hopper. As well as being a master of the short story, he was an accomplished poet publishing several highly acclaimed volumes.
After the 'line of demarcation' in Carver's life - 2 June 1977, the day he stopped drinking - his stories become increasingly more redemptive and expansive. Alcohol had eventually shattered his health, his work and his family - his first marriage effectively ending in 1978. He finally married his long-term parter Tess Gallagher (they met ten years earlier at a writers' conference in Dallas) in Reno, Nevada, less than two months before he eventually lost his fight with cancer.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
June 7, 2024
One person's masterpiece is another person's hmmm, well, hmmm, maybe.....
[Looks round quickly to see if there's a professor lurking nearby... runs away quickly]
[Looks round quickly to see if there's a professor lurking nearby... runs away quickly]
February 3, 2019
Anthologies are always such a hodge podge. My favorites in this one: Sonny's Blues by Baldwin, Weekend by Beattie, Fever by Carver and Shiloh by Mason.
One thing I want to say though: Bobbie Ann Mason amazes me.
One thing I want to say though: Bobbie Ann Mason amazes me.
April 29, 2018
With 500+ pages and 36 stories, you'll get your money's worth (and then some since this is a mass market paperback), but your "masterpiece" mileage may vary. Some of the stories I'd wager were only included because they tinkered with the short story format, but that kind of tinkering is old hat now so the masterpiece mantle doesn't fit very well anymore-see "The Amish Farmer" by Vance Bourjaily.
None of the reviewers can agree on what the best or worst stories were, so here are my random thoughts because random is what I do best.
• Favorite: “Walking Out” by David Quammen. I would never, NEVER have predicted a story by a writer I’d never heard of about hunting of all things would be my favorite, but this story is just about perfect: evocative, absorbing, haunting ending. It was also just turned into a movie of the same name.
• Other top tier stories: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, “Fever” by Raymond Carver, “The Lover of Horses” by Tess Gallagher, and “Akhnilo” by James Salter.
• Other stories I liked: “Talk of Heroes” by Carol Bly, "Shiloh" by Bobbie Ann Mason, “The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malamud, “Verona: A Young Woman Speaks” by Harold Brodkey, “Weekend” by Ann Beattie, “Rock Springs” by Richard Ford, “Water Liars” by Barry Hannah, “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates (adapted into the movie Smooth Talk), “The Heavenly Animal” by Jayne Anne Phillips, “The Wedding” by Joy Williams, “Redemption” by John Gardner, “Dream Children” by Gail Godwin, and “The Liar” by Tobias Wolff.
• Story I begrudgingly liked: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. Maybe she was a lovely woman, but I can’t shake the feeling that O’Connor was a sanctimonious asshole. All of her stories are about people with moral failings who end up getting maimed or killed in some spectacular fashion, their comeuppance often highly disproportionate to their misdeeds. The schadenfreude is not cute. Having said all that, this is probably one of her best.
• Stories I didn’t like: “A Poetics for Bullies” by Stanley Elkin, “Letters from the Samantha” by Mark Helprin, and “The Misfits” by Arthur Miller.
• “You could have picked any story by {writer} and THIS is the one you picked?” stories: The Ursula K. Le Guin (“Ile Forest”) and John Updike (“The Christian Roommates”) were both just fair. If you were going to go with ONE Le Guin story, I cannot imagine why you’d chose anything other than “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.”
This collection was edited by Carver and Tom Jenks. It’s maybe a bit unusual that a writer would select a story by himself and his girlfriend/later wife (Tess Gallagher) in an anthology they were editing, but Carver and Gallagher also had two of the best stories in the bunch. Jenks explains in the preface that they excluded writers who were included in the Short Story Masterpieces anthology, which somewhat explains the gaping abyss left by not including John Cheever.
(And, how is there no Truman Capote?)
The fact that there is almost no agreement on what stories were good or bad would make this great classroom discussion material, although some of the stories are too explicit to ever fly at the high school level.
None of the reviewers can agree on what the best or worst stories were, so here are my random thoughts because random is what I do best.
• Favorite: “Walking Out” by David Quammen. I would never, NEVER have predicted a story by a writer I’d never heard of about hunting of all things would be my favorite, but this story is just about perfect: evocative, absorbing, haunting ending. It was also just turned into a movie of the same name.
• Other top tier stories: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, “Fever” by Raymond Carver, “The Lover of Horses” by Tess Gallagher, and “Akhnilo” by James Salter.
• Other stories I liked: “Talk of Heroes” by Carol Bly, "Shiloh" by Bobbie Ann Mason, “The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malamud, “Verona: A Young Woman Speaks” by Harold Brodkey, “Weekend” by Ann Beattie, “Rock Springs” by Richard Ford, “Water Liars” by Barry Hannah, “Where are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates (adapted into the movie Smooth Talk), “The Heavenly Animal” by Jayne Anne Phillips, “The Wedding” by Joy Williams, “Redemption” by John Gardner, “Dream Children” by Gail Godwin, and “The Liar” by Tobias Wolff.
• Story I begrudgingly liked: “A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor. Maybe she was a lovely woman, but I can’t shake the feeling that O’Connor was a sanctimonious asshole. All of her stories are about people with moral failings who end up getting maimed or killed in some spectacular fashion, their comeuppance often highly disproportionate to their misdeeds. The schadenfreude is not cute. Having said all that, this is probably one of her best.
• Stories I didn’t like: “A Poetics for Bullies” by Stanley Elkin, “Letters from the Samantha” by Mark Helprin, and “The Misfits” by Arthur Miller.
• “You could have picked any story by {writer} and THIS is the one you picked?” stories: The Ursula K. Le Guin (“Ile Forest”) and John Updike (“The Christian Roommates”) were both just fair. If you were going to go with ONE Le Guin story, I cannot imagine why you’d chose anything other than “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas.”
This collection was edited by Carver and Tom Jenks. It’s maybe a bit unusual that a writer would select a story by himself and his girlfriend/later wife (Tess Gallagher) in an anthology they were editing, but Carver and Gallagher also had two of the best stories in the bunch. Jenks explains in the preface that they excluded writers who were included in the Short Story Masterpieces anthology, which somewhat explains the gaping abyss left by not including John Cheever.
(And, how is there no Truman Capote?)
The fact that there is almost no agreement on what stories were good or bad would make this great classroom discussion material, although some of the stories are too explicit to ever fly at the high school level.
September 13, 2025
Short Stories, Essays by Raymond Carver
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is probably my last note on Raymond Carver.
Albeit, in a few years’ time, after reading again some of his works I might try to put down some thoughts.
It has been a joy ride.
To mention the first titles that came when searching among my notes on some the narratives of this fabulous author:
- A small Good thing, Vandals, Kindling and a couple of essays…
- The essays on Writing and his father stand out
The Essay on Writing
The reader learns from here about the authors that Raymond Carver prefers:
- Chekhov, Isak Dinesen, Isaac Babel and Flannery O'Connor seem to be among the favorite writers of Raymond Carver
Flannery O’Connor, who is one of my own favorites, is mentioned with her revelation-
- When writing, she does not know where the story is going, sometimes even a few lines ahead
- She mentions the account wherein there is a girl with a wooden leg, based on a real person, but who had no artificial limb
- A little ahead of the event, Flannery O’Connor did not know that the leg would be stolen, she did not premeditate that
Raymond Carver says that he hates small tricks and he quotes another author, adding that he likes no tricks at all.
About the right attitude of the creator:
- “The writer must not be so smart…in fact he would do better to stare with a gaped mouth at the event and then write about it”
In the chronology, which is at the end of The Collected Stories, we see how important sincerity was for Raymond Carver.
When an editor tried to “improve” his work by cutting large parts, the author was very upset and insisted on having the real accounts, in their proper form.
- “And Suddenly Everything Became Clear to Him”
This is one of the favorite quotes of the writer, taken out of Chekhov and suggesting a wide range of possibilities and mystery:
- What was there before?
- And what happens next…what becomes clear?
Alcohol is one of the major themes in the stories and Chronology makes it clear that Raymond Carver has been confronted with this addiction.
He says at one point:
- I am most proud of being able to quit drinking…I do not know about reading, but this is the biggest achievement of my life…words to that effect, I guess
And then the author insists more on the importance of hard work and honesty:
- Sincerity is paramount, without tricks as has been already established.
- And hard work…
And to end with another quote from the master:
- "Get in, get out. Don't linger"
Another version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list... and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is probably my last note on Raymond Carver.
Albeit, in a few years’ time, after reading again some of his works I might try to put down some thoughts.
It has been a joy ride.
To mention the first titles that came when searching among my notes on some the narratives of this fabulous author:
- A small Good thing, Vandals, Kindling and a couple of essays…
- The essays on Writing and his father stand out
The Essay on Writing
The reader learns from here about the authors that Raymond Carver prefers:
- Chekhov, Isak Dinesen, Isaac Babel and Flannery O'Connor seem to be among the favorite writers of Raymond Carver
Flannery O’Connor, who is one of my own favorites, is mentioned with her revelation-
- When writing, she does not know where the story is going, sometimes even a few lines ahead
- She mentions the account wherein there is a girl with a wooden leg, based on a real person, but who had no artificial limb
- A little ahead of the event, Flannery O’Connor did not know that the leg would be stolen, she did not premeditate that
Raymond Carver says that he hates small tricks and he quotes another author, adding that he likes no tricks at all.
About the right attitude of the creator:
- “The writer must not be so smart…in fact he would do better to stare with a gaped mouth at the event and then write about it”
In the chronology, which is at the end of The Collected Stories, we see how important sincerity was for Raymond Carver.
When an editor tried to “improve” his work by cutting large parts, the author was very upset and insisted on having the real accounts, in their proper form.
- “And Suddenly Everything Became Clear to Him”
This is one of the favorite quotes of the writer, taken out of Chekhov and suggesting a wide range of possibilities and mystery:
- What was there before?
- And what happens next…what becomes clear?
Alcohol is one of the major themes in the stories and Chronology makes it clear that Raymond Carver has been confronted with this addiction.
He says at one point:
- I am most proud of being able to quit drinking…I do not know about reading, but this is the biggest achievement of my life…words to that effect, I guess
And then the author insists more on the importance of hard work and honesty:
- Sincerity is paramount, without tricks as has been already established.
- And hard work…
And to end with another quote from the master:
- "Get in, get out. Don't linger"
August 16, 2008
I loved reading this book. I'm sad that it's over. I always forget how much I like short stories, so I don't read enough of them. This was a fun collection because it's filled with 20th-century American stories, most of which I'd never read in an anthology before.
Some that I really enjoyed:
Midair (Frank Conroy)
The Fat Girl (Andre Dubus)
Dream Children (Gail Godwin)
Christian Roomates (John Updike)
A Poetics for Bullies (Stanley Elkin)
Fever (Raymond Carver)
Rock Springs (Richard Ford)
and the one that I can't get out of my head (though I didn't think I'd like it much when I started) is Walking Out (David Quammen).
Anyway, I highly recommend the collection. It's great for a straight read-through or sporadic reading.
Some that I really enjoyed:
Midair (Frank Conroy)
The Fat Girl (Andre Dubus)
Dream Children (Gail Godwin)
Christian Roomates (John Updike)
A Poetics for Bullies (Stanley Elkin)
Fever (Raymond Carver)
Rock Springs (Richard Ford)
and the one that I can't get out of my head (though I didn't think I'd like it much when I started) is Walking Out (David Quammen).
Anyway, I highly recommend the collection. It's great for a straight read-through or sporadic reading.
July 19, 2008
Jenks is the master. Read and learn.
January 3, 2023
James Baldwin – 'Sonny's Blues' - This is a great story! It seems to have the experience of American blacks told. It gives the nuances of what it is like to grow up knowing the injustice that may befall them at any moment; the bleakness of the future as a high school students; the escape into drugs; etc.
Harold Brodkey, 'Verona: A Young Woman Speaks' – a young girl on a trip with her parents riding a train through Italy, and having the time of her life. Throughout the story she she is inundated with experiences, mostly at the behest of her dad. At the end, though, she marvels at her Mother being so wonderful She is growing up to see her parent as different people, as well as how wonderful life can be.
John Updike, 'The Christian Roommates' – one fellow comes from bum-fornication-South Dakota, the other from Oregon. They do not clash, but, as roommates will, they do not really get along. Orson is in pre-med, his roommate, Hub, is who knows what major. There are other freshmen at Harvard who are a part of this all. This story focuses on the freshmen year of school, but it does gibe the development of the others mentioned in the story. The funny thing about this story is that Orson follows his life path, as he predicted, except....
Bobbie Ann Mason, 'Shiloh' - Leroy was a truck driver until he had that accident, no he stays at home flailing about a bit for something to do. His wife finds him underfoot, so to get away, I guess, she starts night school. He lights upon building her a log cabin to live in, so he starts to plan for it, with little hope of actually building it. Her Mother suggests they go on a trip to Shiloh, just o get away, as she had done on her Honeymoon But that is when, after relaxing, the undercurrent comes out.
Harold Brodkey, 'Verona: A Young Woman Speaks' – a young girl on a trip with her parents riding a train through Italy, and having the time of her life. Throughout the story she she is inundated with experiences, mostly at the behest of her dad. At the end, though, she marvels at her Mother being so wonderful She is growing up to see her parent as different people, as well as how wonderful life can be.
John Updike, 'The Christian Roommates' – one fellow comes from bum-fornication-South Dakota, the other from Oregon. They do not clash, but, as roommates will, they do not really get along. Orson is in pre-med, his roommate, Hub, is who knows what major. There are other freshmen at Harvard who are a part of this all. This story focuses on the freshmen year of school, but it does gibe the development of the others mentioned in the story. The funny thing about this story is that Orson follows his life path, as he predicted, except....
Bobbie Ann Mason, 'Shiloh' - Leroy was a truck driver until he had that accident, no he stays at home flailing about a bit for something to do. His wife finds him underfoot, so to get away, I guess, she starts night school. He lights upon building her a log cabin to live in, so he starts to plan for it, with little hope of actually building it. Her Mother suggests they go on a trip to Shiloh, just o get away, as she had done on her Honeymoon But that is when, after relaxing, the undercurrent comes out.
August 25, 2018
An excellent source for writers looking for stories against which to gauge their own work; also for any enthusiast of short stories who hasn't read some of the stories included in this collection. I found some to like and some that I didn't care for. This kind of reading helps me in so many ways with my own writing, from setting standards, to simply broadening my horizons. There is something here for everyone who likes short stories. I doubt I will ever be "done" with reading these stories.
Also, any non-writers who love stories will undoubtedly find things to like here.
There is a second Editor who was not mentioned in this listing: Tom Jenks, Author of "A Poerics of Fiction," a very respectable craft book for advanced writers. in this book, he has authored what some may consider the definitive work on fiction craft. It's claimed to be the equivalent for a full MFA in Creative Writing. Judge for yourself if you can justify the cost which is around $250 per copy; like a very deep and detailed, respected specialty textbook. Who knows? I can't afford it yet. But back to my point: he's a respected Editor and mentor of Editors. No doubt his contribution to this story collection affected the quality of the selections.
Also, any non-writers who love stories will undoubtedly find things to like here.
There is a second Editor who was not mentioned in this listing: Tom Jenks, Author of "A Poerics of Fiction," a very respectable craft book for advanced writers. in this book, he has authored what some may consider the definitive work on fiction craft. It's claimed to be the equivalent for a full MFA in Creative Writing. Judge for yourself if you can justify the cost which is around $250 per copy; like a very deep and detailed, respected specialty textbook. Who knows? I can't afford it yet. But back to my point: he's a respected Editor and mentor of Editors. No doubt his contribution to this story collection affected the quality of the selections.
February 24, 2024
Once upon a time it was fashionable to write stories with no definite ending. And that’s what you mainly get from American Shorty Masterpieces. So, if you expect a story to have a protagonist who encounters a challenge to which they finally overcome or succumb to, then this anthology is not for you. What you do get are tales with character development, as if that’s an exercise in a creative writing class. The characters get developed, but some of the stories in which they’re entombed are so bad as to be unintentionally humorous. I realize that it’s unfair to criticize a work for what it is not intended to be. So this isn’t a criticism. It’s simply a warning. But if you persevere and wade through the first 413 pages, you might discover that the editors suddenly realized that it would be a nice idea to have a few real stories in their book. Had the entire book raised to level of the final six stories, this might deserve the appellation Masterpieces.
May 3, 2024
This is one of the best anthologies of short stories to be found. (By the way, Tom Jenks (an astute reader, editor, teacher, and writer) is also an editor of this collection.) Reading this, I have been re-introduced to the especially important place short fiction plays in literature. No other form, poetry or novel or whatever, hits that sweet spot where metaphor and narrative/characterization intersect. In some of the best stories, that resonance took me beyond language to pure feeling that can't be described in words. That is a strange quality to applaud in writing, which is all about words, but I don't know how else to describe the effect of such great writing. (Just one example: Gina Berriault's 'The Bystander.' This collection contains many such stories. 'American Short Story Masterpieces' was published in the late 80s. I hope some writer/editor out in the publishing world manages to get a similar collection published of work written since then.
August 12, 2019
I read this book on and off for over a year. The book, itself, was well put together with short stories written by masters. The story selection and authorship was diverse and interesting. I did, however, discover that I am not really fond of the 'short story'. I do not like being left hanging, which so many short stories seem to do, just drop off. Unlike in a conversation where one might be telling a story -as in any of these short stories- and then just drop off, the listener could ask, "What happened then?" When getting dropped off the end of a short story, the author just leaves us hanging. Nearly all of these short story masterpieces were like that for me. I appreciated the excellent and varied writing styles, which is what keep me reading; otherwise, it was relatively unfulfilling reading.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 21, 2024
This is the book that started me on my love of short writing. I've always been a reader, but discovering great stories made me a lifelong reader by allowing me to keep reading, even when life got in the way. This anthology brings together a diverse collection of powerful and memorable short stories from celebrated American authors, offering rich insights into human nature, relationships, and societal dynamics. Great for fans of classic American literature, short fiction, and thought-provoking character studies.
Edited by Raymond Carver, a master of minimalist fiction, known for his impactful short stories that capture the quiet struggles and complexities of ordinary life.
Edited by Raymond Carver, a master of minimalist fiction, known for his impactful short stories that capture the quiet struggles and complexities of ordinary life.
August 1, 2025
this collection was stellar. I'd say of the 36, 6 were amazing, 6 I did not enjoy at all, and 24 or so good to pretty goods. impressive stuff. not as consistent as Faulkner's collection but i doubt almost anything could be. I rated each one out of 10 and left a mark in my book at the end. I would definitely reread the 8's and above. short and sweet. made me get Flannery O'Connor's collection. hers was a top 3 in here. I loved that many of the best stories were written by women. can't say I also think thats true with novels but thats just my subjective opinion. so here's to female authors and the succinct beauty of a short story.
Read
June 7, 2021Great and varied collection. My favorites were:
- Weekend, by Ann Beattie
- Fever, by Raymond Carver
- Midair, by Frank Conroy
- A Poetics for Bullies, by Stanley Elkin
- The Ledge, by Lawrence Sargent Hall
- Letters from the Samantha, by Mark Helprin
- Shiloh, by Bobbie Ann Mason
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, by Joyce Carol Oates
- The Heavenly Animal, by Jayne Anne Phillips
- Walking Out, by David Quammen
- The Conversion of the Jews, by Philip Roth
- The Christian Roommates, by John Updike
- Weekend, by Ann Beattie
- Fever, by Raymond Carver
- Midair, by Frank Conroy
- A Poetics for Bullies, by Stanley Elkin
- The Ledge, by Lawrence Sargent Hall
- Letters from the Samantha, by Mark Helprin
- Shiloh, by Bobbie Ann Mason
- Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?, by Joyce Carol Oates
- The Heavenly Animal, by Jayne Anne Phillips
- Walking Out, by David Quammen
- The Conversion of the Jews, by Philip Roth
- The Christian Roommates, by John Updike
January 19, 2018
This is a dense collection and it takes perseverance at times to make the switches between stories. I found so many gems believing as I read I’d found my “favorite” but the last (“The Liar”) was indeed the one.
February 5, 2019
Collection of literary short stories that give a "shock of recognition that is the hallmark of great art." By accomplished writers from 1948-1984. Well worth reading over again. Many great examples of the literary short story form.
June 13, 2025
This book was an interesting revelation for me. I have been a big fan of American literature, and have a general idea about its writers and their own references. I bought this book years ago and started to read it. I found an incredible variety of stories and writing styles. It was the first book in which I read something by James Baldwin, Joyce Carol Oats or John Updike. I think this is a good option for those who are from other countries and want to get in touch with American literature.
I loved most of the short stories. They were incredible portraits of people living then and there. I was not used to reading the kind of narrating style of some of the authors, so it was a challenge.
I loved most of the short stories. They were incredible portraits of people living then and there. I was not used to reading the kind of narrating style of some of the authors, so it was a challenge.
May 12, 2017
an astoundingly good collection of short stories, my husband and I discovered this awesome little book right at the beginning of our marriage and immensely enjoyed reading thru these
November 23, 2018
I've just decided that I can't really get emotionally involved in a story that is short.
December 6, 2024
Qué nivel de escritores tenían los gringos en su época de esplendor. Puros golazos este libro.
October 27, 2022
I read these because I was recovering from surgery & was bored. They're terrible. Definitely NOT masterpieces. Some don't even make sense.
Want to read
October 25, 2025Read so far:
Sonny's blues / James Baldwin --4
Weekend / Ann Beattie --3
*The bystander / Gina Berriault --
Talk of heroes / Carol Bly --2
The Amish farmer / Vance Bourjaily --3
1/3, 1/3, 1/3 / Richard Brautigan --
Verona : a young woman speaks / Harold Brodkey --2
*Fever / Raymond Carver --
The fisherman from Chihuahua / Evan S. Connell --2
Midair / Frank Conroy --2
*Willi / E.L. Doctorow --
The fat girl / Andre Dubus --3
A poetics for bullies / Stanley Elkin --2
Rock springs / Richard Ford --2
*The lover of horses / Tess Gallagher --
Redemption / John Gardner --2
Dream children / Gail Godwin --3
The ledge / Lawrence Sargent Hall --3
*Water liars / Barry Hannah --
Letters from the Samantha / Mark Helprin --3
*Ile forest / Ursula K. Le Guin --
The magic barrel / Bernard Malamud --2
Shiloh / Bobbie Ann Mason --4
*The story of a scar / James Alan McPherson --
*Murderers / Leonard Michaels --
The misfits / Arthur Miller --2
Where are you going, where have you been? / Joyce Carol Oates --3
A good man is hard to find / Flannery O'Connor --4
*The used-boy raisers / Grace Paley --
The heavenly animal / Jayne Anne Phillips --
Walking out / David Quammen --
The conversion of the Jews / Philip Roth --2
Akhnilo / James Salter --
*The Christian roommates / John Updike --
*The wedding / Joy Williams --
*The liar / Tobias Wolff--
Sonny's blues / James Baldwin --4
Weekend / Ann Beattie --3
*The bystander / Gina Berriault --
Talk of heroes / Carol Bly --2
The Amish farmer / Vance Bourjaily --3
1/3, 1/3, 1/3 / Richard Brautigan --
Verona : a young woman speaks / Harold Brodkey --2
*Fever / Raymond Carver --
The fisherman from Chihuahua / Evan S. Connell --2
Midair / Frank Conroy --2
*Willi / E.L. Doctorow --
The fat girl / Andre Dubus --3
A poetics for bullies / Stanley Elkin --2
Rock springs / Richard Ford --2
*The lover of horses / Tess Gallagher --
Redemption / John Gardner --2
Dream children / Gail Godwin --3
The ledge / Lawrence Sargent Hall --3
*Water liars / Barry Hannah --
Letters from the Samantha / Mark Helprin --3
*Ile forest / Ursula K. Le Guin --
The magic barrel / Bernard Malamud --2
Shiloh / Bobbie Ann Mason --4
*The story of a scar / James Alan McPherson --
*Murderers / Leonard Michaels --
The misfits / Arthur Miller --2
Where are you going, where have you been? / Joyce Carol Oates --3
A good man is hard to find / Flannery O'Connor --4
*The used-boy raisers / Grace Paley --
The heavenly animal / Jayne Anne Phillips --
Walking out / David Quammen --
The conversion of the Jews / Philip Roth --2
Akhnilo / James Salter --
*The Christian roommates / John Updike --
*The wedding / Joy Williams --
*The liar / Tobias Wolff--
March 17, 2017
Actually, I'm not sure I'll ever be finished reading this -- in a good way. I pick this up when I'm between novels, open randomly and flip until I find a story I haven't read yet and read that. Some of the stories are good and some are phenomenal. The phenomenal ones I've read several times, and I expect I'll read them several times more. Tip top favorites include:
"Sonny's Blues" - James Baldwin - guy picks up his brother from jail after being arrested for heroin
"Walking Out" - David Quammen - kid goes on hunting trip w/ father, accidentally shoots father
"The Magic Barrel" - Bernard Malamud - rabbi-to-be hires a matchmaker to find him a wife
"Redemption" - John Gardner - kid accidentally kills his brother & family tries to get past it
Also in here is "The Misfits" by Arthur Miller. I absolutely love that movie (Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift). I didn't know it had been a short story first. It's pretty cool to compare the two, see how they decided to expand it for the movie.
This is a never-ending resource of good stuff.
"Sonny's Blues" - James Baldwin - guy picks up his brother from jail after being arrested for heroin
"Walking Out" - David Quammen - kid goes on hunting trip w/ father, accidentally shoots father
"The Magic Barrel" - Bernard Malamud - rabbi-to-be hires a matchmaker to find him a wife
"Redemption" - John Gardner - kid accidentally kills his brother & family tries to get past it
Also in here is "The Misfits" by Arthur Miller. I absolutely love that movie (Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, Montgomery Clift). I didn't know it had been a short story first. It's pretty cool to compare the two, see how they decided to expand it for the movie.
This is a never-ending resource of good stuff.
October 25, 2013
Of all the great stories in this anthology, it's hard to beat Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find." I'd forgotten how delightful the writing is. Her ability to vivify these characters with so few strokes of the brush is sheer magic. We meet a mother "whose face was as broad and innocent as a cabbage and was tied around with a green head-kerchief that had two points on the top like rabbit's ears." Does it get better than that?
Another favorite is John Gardner's Redemption, for its pathos and for the language.
It's a cliche to say that the stories were uneven in quality, so I won't. I'll just say that about one-third were unforgettable, and I'll return to them time and time again.
Another favorite is John Gardner's Redemption, for its pathos and for the language.
It's a cliche to say that the stories were uneven in quality, so I won't. I'll just say that about one-third were unforgettable, and I'll return to them time and time again.
July 17, 2011
"Masterpieces" sets the bar pretty high, but this anthology has enough variety and quality to merit it, I believe. There's a certain level of macho aesthetic permeating the collection that got a bit wearying after a while (Men Battle the Elements and Confront Death Stoically; Women Face Life with Resignation and/or Nag Men), but that's probably an inescapable result of the time period being sampled from. And some of them are truly luminous--James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" is worth four stars all on its own. The tone ranges mostly from ironic to nihilistic, so don't read this anthology if you need an emotional pick-me-up.
May 2, 2010
masterpieces: baldwin's sonny's blues, conroy's midair, roth's the conversion of the jews, elkin's a poetics for bullies, brautigan's 1/3 1/3
1/3
good: andre dubus' the fat girl, oates' where are you going, where have you been
worthwhile: ann beattie's weekend, richard ford's rock springs, john gardner's redemption, barry hannah's water liars, james salter's akhnilo
mediocre: grace paley's the used boy raisers, tobias woolf's the liar
bad: jayne ann phillips' the heavenly animal
1/3
good: andre dubus' the fat girl, oates' where are you going, where have you been
worthwhile: ann beattie's weekend, richard ford's rock springs, john gardner's redemption, barry hannah's water liars, james salter's akhnilo
mediocre: grace paley's the used boy raisers, tobias woolf's the liar
bad: jayne ann phillips' the heavenly animal
May 1, 2013
This is a great collection of stories if you are teaching a college or advanced high school English class, or I suppose if you just like well-crafted stories. But the majority are within the "MFA tradition", with exquisite langauge and description and literary devices that bear more weight than the actual story. Don't get me wrong, there aren't any postmodern or experimental head-scratchers, but still, a simple mystery wouldn't have killed anyone.
Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, and The Lover of Horses, by Tess Gallagher, are my faves.
Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, and The Lover of Horses, by Tess Gallagher, are my faves.
August 20, 2014
The short stories included are breathtakingly beautiful. Some made me laugh. None made me cry, but a few made me sad. Only a few had I read before.
Not that it's breaking news, but "A Good Man Is Hard to Find " is among the best pieces of writing I've digested. It's hard to excel so completely in tragedy and comedy within the confines of one story, however brilliant it may be. "Tragicomic" exists on account of Flannery O'Connor.
Not that it's breaking news, but "A Good Man Is Hard to Find " is among the best pieces of writing I've digested. It's hard to excel so completely in tragedy and comedy within the confines of one story, however brilliant it may be. "Tragicomic" exists on account of Flannery O'Connor.
February 15, 2016
Raymond Carver grew up in South Central Washington State. His first short stories concerned the local folks from and around his town near Yakima, WA. One of his critically acclaimed stories is printed in this edition. He is also a poet and several small towns along the Yakima River are very proud of the fact that Raymond is a product of the area.
I recommend that you check out some of his work it has an interesting small town flavor that you will enjoy.
I recommend that you check out some of his work it has an interesting small town flavor that you will enjoy.
August 15, 2010
These short stories are great to pass the time. You'll start to learn to appreciate different types of stories, too.
My ratings from what I've read:
(Note: * is what I read in Newark Academy)
*A Good Man Is Hard to Find- 5/5
*A Poetics For Bullies- 3/5
Fat Girl- 2/5
Fever- 2/5
The Story of a Scar- 4/5
*Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been- 5/5
My ratings from what I've read:
(Note: * is what I read in Newark Academy)
*A Good Man Is Hard to Find- 5/5
*A Poetics For Bullies- 3/5
Fat Girl- 2/5
Fever- 2/5
The Story of a Scar- 4/5
*Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been- 5/5
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews