Reasons to Live discussion

Just skimming the reviews and ratings, it seems that men love these stories while women just like them.

Interesting analysis, Melissa. Maybe it's the minimalist component. Hemingway wrote in the minimalist style also and men seem to love his writing too.

Melissa wrote: "Just skimming the reviews and ratings, it seems that men love these stories while women just like them. "

It's cause she's hot. =p j/k.

I LOVE Amy Hempel, her writing allows me to really sit and think about a sentence. Rather then run passed it. I think why guys like her is because she is so different. Personally I like her so much because she is so different from me, and I like girls that intrigue and make me realize how inside the box I am. My two favorite lines from her..

“if it's true your life flashes past your eyes before you die, then it is also the truth that your life rushes forth when you are ready to start to truly be alive.”
― Amy Hempel, The Collected Stories

"My heart — I thought it stopped. So I got in my car and headed for God. I passed two churches with cars parked in front. Then I stopped at the third because no one else had"

ok just kidding one more!

"The year I began to say vahz instead of vase, a man I barely knew nearly accidentally killed me."

ok I'm done.

As a man, what I like about Hempel is that her writing isn't trying all that hard to beat me over the head with her gender. While some of the stories are very delicate, very feminine, they aren't abrasively, abusively trying to convey the "magic of woman" if you will.

I will say, though, that I don't unconditionally like Hempel. There are some real stinkers in her books, but there are some gold chunks, too. On the whole, on average, I think she's only OK to pretty good. She's nowhere near the god of minimalist writing that people seem all too ready to make her.

Charles wrote: "As a man, what I like about Hempel is that her writing isn't trying all that hard to beat me over the head with her gender. While some of the stories are very delicate, very feminine, they aren't a..."

Agreed. I will say that sadly her first collection (this collection) is the best and then she slowly slides down from there.