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cosmiccloudbird's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
directorpurry's review
2.0
Actual rating: 2.3 (approximately) stars
(427 pages)
I've never heard of the majority of these authors, and that might be on me, but it might also be that they've just been forgotten over time.
While there were a few stand outs and surprisingly good stories ("Beginning of Wisdom," "Partnership with Death," "Chip Off the Old Block," and "Death and Uncle Felix") there were a LOT of duds - mostly stories that aged incredibly poorly, but a good few that just aren't that great story-telling-wise compared to the literary tastes today. Overall, the 1940s seemed like a terrible time to be alive, especially if you were Jewish and/or a woman. Or a person of color. Or literally anything other than a white Christian in America.
"This Healthy Life" by Vicki Baum: 3~ish stars
Weird. Good writing but weird. I don't know what to make of it when one character tells her husband he "belongs" over there - i.e. in Nazi Germany. That gives me..... feelings, as a Jew. Like, there's so much to unpack that I wouldn't know where to start, even if I did know authorial intentions.
"Boundary Line" by Warren Beck: -1 star
This story single handedly assured that I would unhaul this book once I finished.
"Frenchman's Ship" by Kay Boyle: DNF
"The Pleasures of Solitude" by John Cheever: 1.5 stars
????
"The Dream of Angelo Zara" by Guido D'Agostino: 2.5 stars
Unpopular (??) opinion, but I think it was a good think that Mussolini died.
"Samuel Blane" by Murray Dyer: 2 stars
Missionaries suck and that's all I got out of this one.
"The Bear" by William Faulkner: 3.5 stars
My first Faulkner. Does that make me a bad classics reader if it takes this questionable book of short stories to get me to FINALLY read Faulkner? Probably.
But anyway - I think I actually like Faulkner! Weirdly exoticized Black people and Native Americans at the end there, though.
"Beginning of Wisdom" by Rachel Field: 4 stars
(427 pages)
I've never heard of the majority of these authors, and that might be on me, but it might also be that they've just been forgotten over time.
While there were a few stand outs and surprisingly good stories ("Beginning of Wisdom," "Partnership with Death," "Chip Off the Old Block," and "Death and Uncle Felix") there were a LOT of duds - mostly stories that aged incredibly poorly, but a good few that just aren't that great story-telling-wise compared to the literary tastes today. Overall, the 1940s seemed like a terrible time to be alive, especially if you were Jewish and/or a woman. Or a person of color. Or literally anything other than a white Christian in America.
"This Healthy Life" by Vicki Baum: 3~ish stars
Weird. Good writing but weird. I don't know what to make of it when one character tells her husband he "belongs" over there - i.e. in Nazi Germany. That gives me..... feelings, as a Jew. Like, there's so much to unpack that I wouldn't know where to start, even if I did know authorial intentions.
"Boundary Line" by Warren Beck: -1 star
This story single handedly assured that I would unhaul this book once I finished.
"Frenchman's Ship" by Kay Boyle: DNF
"The Pleasures of Solitude" by John Cheever: 1.5 stars
????
"The Dream of Angelo Zara" by Guido D'Agostino: 2.5 stars
Unpopular (??) opinion, but I think it was a good think that Mussolini died.
"Samuel Blane" by Murray Dyer: 2 stars
Missionaries suck and that's all I got out of this one.
"The Bear" by William Faulkner: 3.5 stars
My first Faulkner. Does that make me a bad classics reader if it takes this questionable book of short stories to get me to FINALLY read Faulkner? Probably.
But anyway - I think I actually like Faulkner! Weirdly exoticized Black people and Native Americans at the end there, though.
"Beginning of Wisdom" by Rachel Field: 4 stars
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