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jonathanwlodarski's review
4.0
The best story here is the title one, "Here's Your Hat What's Your Hurry," about a drifting distant relative who blows from house to house. It's fun, it's sad, it's hopeful. A really good one. "What We Know About the Lost Aztec Children" is also really great.
But there aren't any others that particularly strike me. "June" is probably the third-best story, but it's borderline too-uncomfortable-to-enjoy, and "The Goings-On of the World" feels like a good beginning but ultimately it doesn't go far enough.
But I was bored by several of them: "The Bar of Our Recent Unhappiness" in particular has evaporated from my mind completely, and "Secretary of State," a story about a big family that reminds me of my father's own sprawling dynasty, didn't capture my attention.
So one keeper to come back to, a few to remember fondly, and several to forget.
3/5
But there aren't any others that particularly strike me. "June" is probably the third-best story, but it's borderline too-uncomfortable-to-enjoy, and "The Goings-On of the World" feels like a good beginning but ultimately it doesn't go far enough.
But I was bored by several of them: "The Bar of Our Recent Unhappiness" in particular has evaporated from my mind completely, and "Secretary of State," a story about a big family that reminds me of my father's own sprawling dynasty, didn't capture my attention.
So one keeper to come back to, a few to remember fondly, and several to forget.
3/5
tracy2_0's review against another edition
5.0
Touching, poignant, charged with undercurrents of loneliness, avoidance and longing.
jdgcreates's review
3.0
[b:The Giant's House|136216|The Giant's House|Elizabeth McCracken|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1436028418s/136216.jpg|374973] is one of my favorite books and I have enjoyed several of [a:Elizabeth McCracken|73450|Elizabeth McCracken|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1299753682p2/73450.jpg]'s others, but this collection just seemed a little too quirky, I guess. They were entertaining and well-written and I genuinely liked some of the stories, but found it hard to go back and finish the last two after a break.
eralon's review
4.75
This is one of those rare short story collections where all the stories are good. There are nine stories and my favorites are the first one, It's Bad Luck to Die, about a man who tattoos his wife a great deal, and Some Have Entertained Angels Unaware, which is both moving and hilarious. I also really liked June, Secretary of State, and the title story.
edwarde3ddd's review
4.0
The Giant's House is still one of my favorite books. This collection, which came out first, demonstrated McCracken's gift at the short story as well. I had read a number of these stories before, but they continued to amaze. Other stories which were new to me were also wonderful. Many of her stories are full of misfits or people just on the fringe of society, but all portrayed sympathetically and not all that different than "the rest of us". I really enjoy when I think about several of the characters or the story days after reading it. This is the case for a number of these in this collection. I know that McCracken wrote a memoir in that last year or two, but I don't know how much she has been writing fiction in that same time. I would love to read more by her as both this collection and The Giant's House were certainly wonderful reads.
rhodered's review
4.0
This is Literature. Much more so than the fluff I am often reading. It's a collection of nine short stories that are all compelling and lovely. The author nails the whole short story form. Each beginning hooks you in, the dialogue sounds true and real, the stories often surprising.
Really fantastic stuff.
Really fantastic stuff.
derschnauzbart's review
It took me a few stories to get into it, but by the time I got to the stories at the end, every one of them was breaking my heart.
xanthe's review
4.0
I requested this one through interlibrary loan because I ran across someone glowingly praising Elizabeth McCracken’s writing. I keep attempting to understand and value short stories and I’m still not quite there. This collection showcases McCracken’s writing, which is impressively good. Her descriptions and characterizations are so sharp, making me pause from time to time to just savor the way she made me think about the world differently for just a moment. But I still struggle with short stories in that they’re a bit like islands, isolated and meant to be complete and unconnected to a longer, larger story. And this was not the soul-crushing kind of Literature where the banality of humanity is exposed and explored, but I definitely came away from each story feeling and little sadder and a little warier. I guess I prefer longer stories that make me feel happy when I’m done reading, which maybe makes me uncultured, but whatever. In summary, lovely writing, but I continue not to appreciate short stories or Literature.
anndouglas's review
5.0
An intriguing and quirky collection of short stories by a highly talented writer. I am happy that this is the first book I have read by Elizabeth McCracken because this means I still have the rest of her books to discover.
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