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The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories
from: Vintage
List Price: $15.95Our Price: $10.85 You Save: $5.10 (32%)Prices subject to change.
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.0108054
EAN: 9780679745136
Edition: 1st
ISBN: 0679745130
Label: Vintage
Manufacturer: Vintage
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 576
Publication Date: September 06, 1994
Publisher: Vintage
Release Date: September 06, 1994
Studio: Vintage
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Editorial Review:
The thirty-three stories in this volume prove that American short fiction maybe be our most distinctive national art form. As selected and introduced by Tobias Wolff, they also make up an alternate map of the United States that represents not just geography but narrative traditions, cultural heritage, and divergent approaches. Contributors and stories include: Mary Gaitskill, "A Romantic Weekend"; Thom Jones, "A White Horse"; Andre Dubus, "The Fat Girl"; Tim O'Brien, "The Things They Carried"; Chris Offutt, "Aunt Granny Lith"; Raymond Carver, "Cathedral"; Joyce Carol Oates, "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"; Robert Stone, "Helping"; Mona Simpson, "Lawns"; Ann Beattie, "A Vintage Thunderbird"; Jamaica Kincaid, "Girl"; Stuart Dybek, "Chopin in Water"; Barry Hannah, "Testimony of Pilot"; John Edgar Wideman, "Daddy Garbage"; Ron Hansen, "Wickedness"; Denis Johnson, "Emergency"; Edward P. Jones, "The First Day"; John L'Heureux, "Departures"; Ralph Lombreglia, "Men Under Water"; Leonard Michaels, "Murderers"; Robert Olmstead, "Cody's Story"; Jayne Anne Phillips, "Home"; Susan Power, "Moonwalk"; Amy Tan, "Rules of the Game"; Stephanie Vaughn, "Dog Heaven"; Joy Williams, "Train"; Dorothy Allison, "River of Names"; Richard Bausch, "All The Way in Flagstaff, Arizona"; Carol Bly, "Talk of Heroes"; Scott Bradfield, "The Darling"; Kate Braverman, "Tall Tales from the Mekong Delta"; Richard Ford, "Rock Springs"; and Allan Gurganus, "Minor Heroism."
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - quirky... one of my very favorites
To help you understand what kind of a person i am and to find if you can relate to me... I was recently called obscure. I prefer to call myself unique.
I absolutely loved this book. I would have to say it is one of my top 5 favorites. I've read it over and over again, I have 2 copies... one is always in my purse (just in case I need something to read!) and I have lended the other to many friends and they have loved it as well.
I love it because it has a story to fit every mood. ... Read More
Rating: - A Nice Collection of Contemporary Short Stories
This is one of the best collections of contemporary American fiction. Every story is top-notch, and Wolff included a few authors I'd never heard of before (such as Braverman and Dybek, two writers whose short stories I've since sought out). I was also surprised at how this collection didn't sag at all--it was strong right to the end.
The bottom line: Wolff knows how to choose a great story. This book is a keeper.
Also recommended: The Gospel of Arnie
Rating: - 80/15/5
I can't heap enough praise on 80 percent of the stories in this collection. They were variously beautiful, touching, haunting, riveting, warming...it makes me run out of adjectives. They covered me in short story love.
The next 15 percent were excellently written but didn't enchant.
Only 5 percent made me raise my eyebrows and mutter.
Read this book. You'll feel wiser to the human condition, when you throw a party beautiful people will start conversations with you ... Read More
Rating: - Serious literature with grit
"The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories" speaks with the intensity of liquor and fists. It lets loose on the gut of America.
Tobias Wolff, one of America's hardest hitting fiction writers, ("The Night in Question: Stories" and "In the Garden of North American Martyrs") has hammered together one of the best collections of modern fiction--far better than any individual "Best of..." collection.
If you are drawn, like me, to the intensity and ... Read More
Rating: - Mr. Wolff sure can pick 'em!
Tobias Wollf, himself an excellent practitioner of the short story, does not include a work of his own in this wonderful collection (save a very thoughtful introduction). This is one of the most well edited collections of contemporary short stories on the market. It may be a few years old by now, but most of the "must read" writers, as well as surprisingly good lesser-knowns are included. Raymond Carver and Andre Dubus, sadly no longer contemporary in the strict sense, live on within these pages ... Read More
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