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trin's review against another edition
4.0
The word I keep wanting to use to describe this short story collection is “masculine.” Customers give me weird looks when I do this. But I suppose it's still better than the other phrase I could use: “Whoa-ho-ho, hello, daddy issues!”
This is a collection all about manly men in the height of their manliness, doing manly things like hunting deer and having questionable affairs with questionable women, all while suffering from some seriously bad cases of Manpain (a.k.a. Mangst), and failing to connect with their fathers and/or brothers. It's really quite good though. Tower's writing is incisive and vivid, and these stories frequently don't go where one might expect. Nor do they just...trail off, end unresolved, like my least favorite but highly common type of short story does. The emotional stakes are high here, folks! Reading this collection will leave you feeling rather ravaged. And kind of like you might want to don a bunch of plaid and pose for the front of a Brawny paper towels package.
This is a collection all about manly men in the height of their manliness, doing manly things like hunting deer and having questionable affairs with questionable women, all while suffering from some seriously bad cases of Manpain (a.k.a. Mangst), and failing to connect with their fathers and/or brothers. It's really quite good though. Tower's writing is incisive and vivid, and these stories frequently don't go where one might expect. Nor do they just...trail off, end unresolved, like my least favorite but highly common type of short story does. The emotional stakes are high here, folks! Reading this collection will leave you feeling rather ravaged. And kind of like you might want to don a bunch of plaid and pose for the front of a Brawny paper towels package.
gadicohen93's review against another edition
4.0
This was a pretty exquisite book of short stories. Very short stories: Stories that would ferry you to far-off narrative islands, leave you to rummage around in the thickets of their characters' lives, and then suddenly drop the earth off from under your feet and catapult you onto the next adventure. I would be extremely invested in one character / setting / story / narrative ascent, waiting on the edge of my seat for the culmination of tension, for the characters' relationships to somehow come to a head, and then I would turn the page, and it would all end.
Wells Tower has a lovely way with words and with dialogue; realistic, tinged with wit, imbuing his characters with a rooted sense of their worlds. Each character reveled in their own unique set of inadequacies. (Especially memorable: The brothers in the forest, the girl in the river, and, of course, the Vikings.)
Wells Tower has a lovely way with words and with dialogue; realistic, tinged with wit, imbuing his characters with a rooted sense of their worlds. Each character reveled in their own unique set of inadequacies. (Especially memorable: The brothers in the forest, the girl in the river, and, of course, the Vikings.)
j0rdan0fjupit3r's review against another edition
dark
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
tjb16d's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
justlily's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not usually big on short story anthologies because I never feel like I get what I need. The stories never last long enough for me to like any of the characters. And usually they're all written so...pretentiously. Like the author really has a point they want to cleverly get across but they're actually more interesting in being clever than ever getting to the point.
I didn't have any of those problems with this group of stories. The first three or four are all written from men's point of views and they all have women issues. Luckily not the kind where I get to write a review about what a misogynist the author is, although I do so love writing those. These are just...realistic. Honest. I was starting to think they would all be in the same vein but then the last couple stories had female POVs and they were just as good as the other ones. And each story was short but felt full and complete, the characters rounded out and like you knew them well by the end.
Just happened upon this book while needing something with a yellow cover and now I think I'll look into more of Wells Tower's work.
I didn't have any of those problems with this group of stories. The first three or four are all written from men's point of views and they all have women issues. Luckily not the kind where I get to write a review about what a misogynist the author is, although I do so love writing those. These are just...realistic. Honest. I was starting to think they would all be in the same vein but then the last couple stories had female POVs and they were just as good as the other ones. And each story was short but felt full and complete, the characters rounded out and like you knew them well by the end.
Just happened upon this book while needing something with a yellow cover and now I think I'll look into more of Wells Tower's work.
ericfheiman's review against another edition
5.0
Every so often there's a book that comes along that feels so fresh, is so well written, and inspires insane jealousy in anyone trying to write fiction themselves. This is one of those books. The hype over Wells Tower is 100% founded. His trick is not to use postmodern pyrotechnics, but to drop well-drawn characters that feel both alien and familiar into idiosyncratic scenarios that could happen right next door. It's a neat trick, and Tower makes it look easy.
bethtmorris's review against another edition
4.0
I've really come around about short stories in the past few years. It might speak to my increasing ADD but I'd like to think it's because I'm broadening my horizons. And I think my appreciation is higher because in some ways they are probably harder to write than a novel. These stories varied greatly and kept me on my toes. I especially enjoyed Wild America and Retreat. Would be curious to read what Wells Tower writes next.
hexagong's review against another edition
4.0
So well written. I wish there were more books from this author. Even though some of the characters and subject matter weren't what I usually go for, Wells Tower is immensely talented. Raw, descriptive, engaging stories.