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drusmilford's review against another edition
4.0
Gift. Probably would not have picked it up to read if not given as a gift. It was a short simple read. Great short stories.
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
A collection of 12 short stories about love, marriage and motherhood. Six are unrelated, and the other six revolved around Lola and her family.
meghan111's review against another edition
3.0
First line: "It's a crappy coincidence that on the day that James asks for my hand in marriage, there is a masturbator loose in the library." This story, called Butte as in Beautiful, doesn't quite live up to its beginnings.
jesssicawho's review against another edition
4.0
Review published here: http://www.hipsterbookclub.com/reviews/copy/1109/love_stories_in_this_town_amanda_eyre_ward.html
Amanda Eyre Ward delivers 12 beautiful and memorable tales in her short story collection Love Stories in This Town. Despite what the title may imply, these are not idealistic tales of naïve romance. Rather, Ward’s stories are fiercely realistic, sometimes cynical and always raw.
The first six stories in the collection focus on different women struggling through critical times in their lives. On the surface, many of their problems are far from extraordinary: fighting with a spouse, uncertainty over a new engagement, anxiety in the wake of 9/11. One of Ward’s gifts as a writer is her ability to relate the agony and pressure of everyday life in ways that are subtly poignant and relatable. Most of the characters are at an age where they are thinking of marriage or motherhood, and those topics take center stage. Tied together with themes of disappointment, loss, choice, and hope, the stories present an honest look at the burdens faced by women in contemporary society.
The second half of the book re-examines these themes in a series of stories spanning the life of Lola Wilkerson. Readers follow Lola through different turning points in her life, including lost love, elopement, run-ins with her alcoholic father, and childbirth. In just six short stories, we see Lola’s entire life as told through the accounts of different women: her own, her mother’s, her mother-in-law’s. Ward expertly crafts a complete history for Lola in fewer than 100 pages, allowing readers insight into her decisions and feelings. The character is at once authentic and genuine but also entirely relatable to readers who will be able to see some of themselves in Lola as she evolves.
Setting and locale are important to each of these stories, and Ward takes readers everywhere from suburban Texas to the high rise apartments of New York City to an American compound in Saudi Arabia. Ward creates and conveys these locations just as thoughtfully as she does her characters so that readers are instantly immersed in every aspect of the tales. The towns of these stories provide more than just an interesting backdrop for the plot; they are woven into the fabric of the stories, becoming just as crucial as the characters themselves. In the story "Shakespeare.com," Ward captures the essence of the impending internet boom in Seattle, relating the excitement and trepidation inexperienced companies felt as they embarked on new, risky ventures. She conveys the shaky starts, the misguided ideas, the thrill of success and fear of failure and juxtaposes that mood with her young character who strives to conceive a child.
Setting also advances the evolution of the characters, particularly in the Lola stories. She begins as a young college student in Montana, suffering a broken heart in a lonely bar, looking for direction from the detached bartender who tells her, "There are no love stories in this town." We then find Lola impulsively eloping in Las Vegas and then beginning a life with her new husband in a small town in Colorado. Her journeys from there illustrate other changes in her life, the momentous and the mundane.
In this collection, Ward masters subtlety. While her stories deal with significant life choices and some agonizing realizations, she never ventures into maudlin or weepy territory. In fact, if there is a complaint about this book, it would be that the outlook on love and life is sometimes overly cynical and borderline pessimistic. There are no easy choices for the women of these stories, and the reader can sometimes be left feeling disheartened by the book’s somber mood. Not every story needs or deserves a happy ending, of course, but the sullen tone does mount throughout the book. Therefore, it is up to the reader to decide what will happen to these characters and if their choices will ultimately end in happiness. Ward offers no easy conclusions or cheerful closure, but instead leaves the stories open-ended, allowing the characters to continue living inside the minds of readers. A close read will show glimmers of hope for the women in the book, but readers must discover that for themselves.
Love Stories in This Town is a smart, memorable, and relevant look at the choices and issues facing women today. Ward’s witty, delicate prose and her honest characters will hit readers like a forceful breath of fresh air and possibly prompt them to consider how their town or city exemplifies their own journey through life.
Amanda Eyre Ward delivers 12 beautiful and memorable tales in her short story collection Love Stories in This Town. Despite what the title may imply, these are not idealistic tales of naïve romance. Rather, Ward’s stories are fiercely realistic, sometimes cynical and always raw.
The first six stories in the collection focus on different women struggling through critical times in their lives. On the surface, many of their problems are far from extraordinary: fighting with a spouse, uncertainty over a new engagement, anxiety in the wake of 9/11. One of Ward’s gifts as a writer is her ability to relate the agony and pressure of everyday life in ways that are subtly poignant and relatable. Most of the characters are at an age where they are thinking of marriage or motherhood, and those topics take center stage. Tied together with themes of disappointment, loss, choice, and hope, the stories present an honest look at the burdens faced by women in contemporary society.
The second half of the book re-examines these themes in a series of stories spanning the life of Lola Wilkerson. Readers follow Lola through different turning points in her life, including lost love, elopement, run-ins with her alcoholic father, and childbirth. In just six short stories, we see Lola’s entire life as told through the accounts of different women: her own, her mother’s, her mother-in-law’s. Ward expertly crafts a complete history for Lola in fewer than 100 pages, allowing readers insight into her decisions and feelings. The character is at once authentic and genuine but also entirely relatable to readers who will be able to see some of themselves in Lola as she evolves.
Setting and locale are important to each of these stories, and Ward takes readers everywhere from suburban Texas to the high rise apartments of New York City to an American compound in Saudi Arabia. Ward creates and conveys these locations just as thoughtfully as she does her characters so that readers are instantly immersed in every aspect of the tales. The towns of these stories provide more than just an interesting backdrop for the plot; they are woven into the fabric of the stories, becoming just as crucial as the characters themselves. In the story "Shakespeare.com," Ward captures the essence of the impending internet boom in Seattle, relating the excitement and trepidation inexperienced companies felt as they embarked on new, risky ventures. She conveys the shaky starts, the misguided ideas, the thrill of success and fear of failure and juxtaposes that mood with her young character who strives to conceive a child.
Setting also advances the evolution of the characters, particularly in the Lola stories. She begins as a young college student in Montana, suffering a broken heart in a lonely bar, looking for direction from the detached bartender who tells her, "There are no love stories in this town." We then find Lola impulsively eloping in Las Vegas and then beginning a life with her new husband in a small town in Colorado. Her journeys from there illustrate other changes in her life, the momentous and the mundane.
In this collection, Ward masters subtlety. While her stories deal with significant life choices and some agonizing realizations, she never ventures into maudlin or weepy territory. In fact, if there is a complaint about this book, it would be that the outlook on love and life is sometimes overly cynical and borderline pessimistic. There are no easy choices for the women of these stories, and the reader can sometimes be left feeling disheartened by the book’s somber mood. Not every story needs or deserves a happy ending, of course, but the sullen tone does mount throughout the book. Therefore, it is up to the reader to decide what will happen to these characters and if their choices will ultimately end in happiness. Ward offers no easy conclusions or cheerful closure, but instead leaves the stories open-ended, allowing the characters to continue living inside the minds of readers. A close read will show glimmers of hope for the women in the book, but readers must discover that for themselves.
Love Stories in This Town is a smart, memorable, and relevant look at the choices and issues facing women today. Ward’s witty, delicate prose and her honest characters will hit readers like a forceful breath of fresh air and possibly prompt them to consider how their town or city exemplifies their own journey through life.
mhall's review against another edition
3.0
First line: "It's a crappy coincidence that on the day that James asks for my hand in marriage, there is a masturbator loose in the library." This story, called Butte as in Beautiful, doesn't quite live up to its beginnings.
v_iaggio's review against another edition
4.0
These stories were so evocative and sometimes brutal in their examination of our inner emotional world.
tam_francis's review against another edition
Wonderful, oft times poignant, writing, but not what I was expecting from the title. It should have been titled: "Unloved Stories in this Town." The Lola stories had a tiny bit of happy light, but they were heavy and an emotional spiral into if not down right depression, then general malaise. If you like realistic fiction, which is well written, thought provoking, and bittersweet, you will love this collection of stories.
drusillamilford's review against another edition
4.0
Gift. Probably would not have picked it up to read if not given as a gift. It was a short simple read. Great short stories.
rachelcoconut's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed the writing style and most of the characters. However, many of the stories focused on pregnancy and motherhood related issues which I didn't really expect or particularly enjoy.
stuffjessicawrites's review
4.0
great voice. the second half of the book revolved around one woman and her family and friends, and that was great.
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