Blogcritics Category: Books: Short Story

Book Review: From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder by Dennis Palumbo

Mel Odom — Thu, 3 Jul 2008 19:08:41 EDT

The Smart Guys Marching Society solves a relatively bloodless collection of puzzles that armchair detectives will relish.
Dennis Palumbo absolutely fascinated me with his new book From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder. In nine tales about his Smart Guys Marching Society, he delivers traditional locked room puzzles, red herrings, and clues aplenty for armchair detectives everywhere. But the world he represents in his writing is our present and...

Graphic Novel Review: Water Baby by Ross Campbell

Vichus Smith — Wed, 2 Jul 2008 09:02:52 EDT

A review of the DC/Minx title Water Baby, written and illustrated by Ross Campbell
Water Baby doesn't dive deep enough.You don't have to look close to tell that it was more than just a flesh wound. If I had looked at the back cover of Water Baby I might have not been as shocked at the main character's amputation at the mercy of a shark. I guess that the cover is designed in such a way to mislead readers or keep some of them in...

Book Review: Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

Ted Gioia — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 00:22:23 EDT

A Pulitzer Prize winning author reaches new heights in her latest collection of stories.
I have spent too many evenings in hotel rooms in various Asian cities, wasting my time watching television shows in languages I don't understand. Then again, I have found that I don't need to know the native tongue to recognize a recurring theme in the local dramas and soap operas. These shows always revolve around unhappy parents - stern fathers...

Interview with Mathias B. Freese, author of Down to a Sunless Sea

Mayra Calvani — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:24:00 EDT

"I am a stranger in a strange land. I thrive in that wintry landscape," says Freese.
A teacher, writer and psychotherapist, Mathias B. Freese is the author of two books, The i Tetralogy and Down to a Sunless Sea. His fiction has appeared on numerous prestigious publications. His short story, "Herbie," was listed in The Best American Short Stories of 1974 along with the works of I.B. Singer, Joyce Carol Oates and Norman...

Book Review: Down to a Sunless Sea by Mathias B. Freese

Mayra Calvani — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 12:36:51 EDT

Down to a Sunless Sea offers a sad, if not cynical, view of humanity.
Dark and poignant, Down to a Sunless Sea is a short story collection that takes us inside the minds of various disturbed, lost souls. Freese is not afraid to show us the harsh reality and emptiness of the characters’ mediocre, dysfunctional lives, and he does it with insight and his unique sense of literary style.My favorite stories were...

Book Review: The O. Henry Prize Stories 2008 edited by Laura Furman

El Bicho — Tue, 3 Jun 2008 20:25:16 EDT

In an age where technology allows everyone a chance to be read, it�s easy to forget that not everyone should be.
Named after the famous author who excelled at the form, The O. Henry Award is given to the best English short stories published in U.S. and Canadian magazines. The process begins with author Laura Furman, who has been the series editor since 2003, selecting twenty. The stories are then submitted without identification to each member of the...

Audio Book Review: Knitting Memories - Reflections on the Knitter's Life Edited by Lela Nargi

Jennifer Bogart — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:49:45 EDT

A moving collection of stories that follow the strands of knitting through each author�s life.
What do you do when you are knitting? Some knitters possess the talent of working with their hands while their eyes are directed elsewhere: watching television, overseeing their children, or engaging in lively conversation with friends – including direct eye contact. Unfortunately I am not so experienced a knitter as to be able to claim...

Book Review: Last Evenings On Earth Roberto Bolano

Richard Marcus — Sat, 24 May 2008 21:25:09 EDT

Last Evenings On Earth is as haunting a collection of short stories that you're liable to read today anywhere.
Like most English speaking North Americans, South America - or more truthfully, Spanish speaking America - is somewhat of a mystery to me. I'm sure for us up in Canada, where we sometimes forget that Mexico is even part of North America, it's even more of a closed book than for Americans who have a sizable Spanish speaking population. Like most of...

Book Review: Cheating at Canasta - Stories by William Trevor

Janet Lewison — Sat, 24 May 2008 05:47:23 EDT

William Trevor's latest collection of short stories uncovers the secret revisitations of the past, where things are only ever finished, never finished with.
I remember reading Katherine Mansfield’s story 'The Garden Party' during a sixth form lesson and finding its indirect, impressionistic style haunting and yet real. Mansfield’s young protagonist Laura discovers death’s centrality to her existence one summer afternoon and the story’s slow, elegiac tone reveals her...

Book Review: I Was Told There'd Be Cake by Sloane Crosley

Kevin Eagan — Sun, 11 May 2008 14:56:58 EDT

Crosley's debut collection of essays is full of sardonic wit and deadpan humor.
Growing up in middle class suburbia has become the height of American comfort, but it's also true that it breeds a certain level of eccentricity - at least, for those who came of age in all of its pre-packaged glory. Blame it on the lack of originality; the strip malls, the four-lane divided highways, and the big box retailers all start to look...