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kleonard's review against another edition
1.0
The teaser blurb made this sound fascinating, but the book itself was dull.
briandice's review against another edition
5.0
I will profess to not knowing very much in this life but I will go to the mat, kicking-and-screaming, proclaiming my self-crowned king of short fiction. I love this genre so much that if I was told on pain of death I would never be able to read any other genre, I would salute all those unread Tolstoys and Joyces and never look back. In an alternate universe I followed that childhood itch to be a full-time writer and follow in the footsteps of Flannery O’Connor, Tobias Wolff, Jim Shepard, George Saunders, Charles Baxter.
Thank you for suffering that preamble; but I don’t want it to point to me, I want to you to understand that when I say Tim Horvath’s Understories isn’t just a fantastic book – it’s one of the best collections of short fiction I’ve ever read - that this opinion comes from a mind packed with countless short fiction collections. I finished the final story this morning and then disrupted two friends’ Christmas time with their families with a phone call to tell them they needed to purchase this book. It’s that good.
Understories has the heft and scope of a binary-star solar system. Two stories in this collection of 21 pieces are Betelgeuse bright and feel like the twin of each other, despite being told in completely unique voices and dealing with motifs of their own. The first of these, “Circulation” left me breathless. It is as close to a perfect work of short fiction that I’ve read (the other being “Stray Dogs” by Mark Richard). I took a 24 hour break from Understories after this work to chew on it, wishing I had a reading buddy to meet over coffee and discuss. There’s this line:
This is the most eloquent way of asking in the most gentle and honest means possible about our humanity. You’ve just got to read this story to see how Horvath weaves a tale around this question.
The Understory is the twin-star story that provides the one-two punch within the first 100 pages of this collection. Chosen for the Raymond Carver Short Story Award, this piece uses a brief friendship between Heidegger and the story’s protagonist as the backdrop to a brilliant look at what happens when science, humanity, politics and nature collide.
I was just typing a few sentences about how “The Discipline of Shadows” and “The City in the Light of Moths” employed virtuosic short fiction writing techniques – but I just erased it all because rather than go on-and-on about why others should read this book, I’m putting my money where my mouth is. So the first three GR friends that post in the comments that they would like this book (and will read it, dammit!) I will purchase a copy and have it sent to you at the address of your liking. And everyone else, please, do yourself a great 2015 reading favor, and add this book to your TBR shelf. I promise you will not be disappointed.
Thank you for suffering that preamble; but I don’t want it to point to me, I want to you to understand that when I say Tim Horvath’s Understories isn’t just a fantastic book – it’s one of the best collections of short fiction I’ve ever read - that this opinion comes from a mind packed with countless short fiction collections. I finished the final story this morning and then disrupted two friends’ Christmas time with their families with a phone call to tell them they needed to purchase this book. It’s that good.
Understories has the heft and scope of a binary-star solar system. Two stories in this collection of 21 pieces are Betelgeuse bright and feel like the twin of each other, despite being told in completely unique voices and dealing with motifs of their own. The first of these, “Circulation” left me breathless. It is as close to a perfect work of short fiction that I’ve read (the other being “Stray Dogs” by Mark Richard). I took a 24 hour break from Understories after this work to chew on it, wishing I had a reading buddy to meet over coffee and discuss. There’s this line:
At what point does one recognize that the truth is precisely the wrong instrument for a task?
This is the most eloquent way of asking in the most gentle and honest means possible about our humanity. You’ve just got to read this story to see how Horvath weaves a tale around this question.
The Understory is the twin-star story that provides the one-two punch within the first 100 pages of this collection. Chosen for the Raymond Carver Short Story Award, this piece uses a brief friendship between Heidegger and the story’s protagonist as the backdrop to a brilliant look at what happens when science, humanity, politics and nature collide.
I was just typing a few sentences about how “The Discipline of Shadows” and “The City in the Light of Moths” employed virtuosic short fiction writing techniques – but I just erased it all because rather than go on-and-on about why others should read this book, I’m putting my money where my mouth is. So the first three GR friends that post in the comments that they would like this book (and will read it, dammit!) I will purchase a copy and have it sent to you at the address of your liking. And everyone else, please, do yourself a great 2015 reading favor, and add this book to your TBR shelf. I promise you will not be disappointed.
REMEMBER TO REMEMBER WHY WE REMEMBER
mccleark's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fantastic book. I really can't emphasize that enough. I devoured it, wanting to read faster and faster but forcing myself to slow down in order to properly appreciate every word. The way Horvath plays with language is absolutely amazing--sentence after sentence, he'll make you want to sit back and take five minutes to think about what you just read. With each new story there's a new narrative style. And what stories! Cities of restaurants, endangered languages as lovers or children, rubbery and undulating cities, cities of films and projectionists, intrepid stargazers, children's playlands...each story introduces you to an entirely new world, ranging from perfectly in place with ours to almost outside the believable. In short, read this book; you won't regret it.
adamz24's review against another edition
4.0
Understories is made up mostly of the best kind of challenges fiction can offer us. These are stories, this is a book, that wants to teach you how to read it. It is, at times, heavily allusive, but it also has its own distinct grammar. Its sentences shimmer. It is an intellectual pleasure, a challenge and an education, but doesn't forget that human readers, most of us, like our lit to be more than a set of puzzles and provocations of thought.
As someone who dabbles in writing fiction like Annie Hall dabbles in photography, I envy Mr. Horvath his tremendous imagination. Unlike collections in which every story is some variation on one already tired theme, or collections which are merely cobbled commercial artifacts, Understories manages the rare trick of featuring a wide range of subject matter, a veritable cornucopia of themes, while remaining... unified, much like a good novel is. I think that's because there's a terrific voice here, with a lot to say. I already said that the sentences in Understories shimmer, but that's not all of it. There's a real fascination conceptually with language here and that fascination spills over into the use of language in this book, so you're reading something that both deals with language and manifests an understanding of language far more profound than most books do.
Mostly what drove my interest while reading this book was curiosity, curiosity about what was going to happen, that's kind of a basic story-level thing, but also a grander curiosity, a wonder. I'm not making much sense, so I'll just use my testicular fortitude for the week and say that I sometimes felt while reading "Understories" what I feel while reading Borges.
The following were my three favourites:
"The Understory," which it seems to me is a real insightful story of soured friendship that doubles as an interrogation of Heidegger as a person/character and as a philosopher.
"The Discipline of Shadows," in which I learned about Umbrology, the study of shadows. Umbrology has got to be the greatest fictional academic discipline I've ever come across. But, y'know, this thing's got even more than that going for it. One of the funniest and smartest pieces in the book, for sure, and one of the better pieces of short fiction I've read recently.
"Urban Planning: Case Study Number Seven: The City in the Light of Moths." This was my favourite piece in the book, and I find it hard to explain what I think is so utterly brilliant about it. I think urban cinephiles might get more out of this one than others might, but it does so many things right it's hard to justify even that claim. Beautiful, just gorgeous story, plus what seems to me like real valuable social commentary.
Finished reading this a short while ago, but have been putting off writing a review of it. I was worried that my review would be one of those faintly embarrassing adjective-laden things I write, which it has unfortunately turned out to be. But if you've read this far, you should reward yourself by reading something better, like Understories, y'know?
As someone who dabbles in writing fiction like Annie Hall dabbles in photography, I envy Mr. Horvath his tremendous imagination. Unlike collections in which every story is some variation on one already tired theme, or collections which are merely cobbled commercial artifacts, Understories manages the rare trick of featuring a wide range of subject matter, a veritable cornucopia of themes, while remaining... unified, much like a good novel is. I think that's because there's a terrific voice here, with a lot to say. I already said that the sentences in Understories shimmer, but that's not all of it. There's a real fascination conceptually with language here and that fascination spills over into the use of language in this book, so you're reading something that both deals with language and manifests an understanding of language far more profound than most books do.
Mostly what drove my interest while reading this book was curiosity, curiosity about what was going to happen, that's kind of a basic story-level thing, but also a grander curiosity, a wonder. I'm not making much sense, so I'll just use my testicular fortitude for the week and say that I sometimes felt while reading "Understories" what I feel while reading Borges.
The following were my three favourites:
"The Understory," which it seems to me is a real insightful story of soured friendship that doubles as an interrogation of Heidegger as a person/character and as a philosopher.
"The Discipline of Shadows," in which I learned about Umbrology, the study of shadows. Umbrology has got to be the greatest fictional academic discipline I've ever come across. But, y'know, this thing's got even more than that going for it. One of the funniest and smartest pieces in the book, for sure, and one of the better pieces of short fiction I've read recently.
"Urban Planning: Case Study Number Seven: The City in the Light of Moths." This was my favourite piece in the book, and I find it hard to explain what I think is so utterly brilliant about it. I think urban cinephiles might get more out of this one than others might, but it does so many things right it's hard to justify even that claim. Beautiful, just gorgeous story, plus what seems to me like real valuable social commentary.
Finished reading this a short while ago, but have been putting off writing a review of it. I was worried that my review would be one of those faintly embarrassing adjective-laden things I write, which it has unfortunately turned out to be. But if you've read this far, you should reward yourself by reading something better, like Understories, y'know?
stitchandwitch's review against another edition
4.0
This book reads like poetry combined with a day dream. Not just any daydream, though... These are the day dreams you don't share, and may only think about writing in your journal. Somehow, though, Horvath turned those day dreams into a wonderful collection of stories that I will likely read a few times over.
katymvt's review against another edition
3.0
Pop Sugar 2020 Reading challenge-a book with an upside down image on the cover.
This book has some funny stuff and some weird stuff. The weird generally overwhelms the funny. The introduction is hilarious so I had higher hopes for the rest of the book.
This book has some funny stuff and some weird stuff. The weird generally overwhelms the funny. The introduction is hilarious so I had higher hopes for the rest of the book.
kathrynhoss's review against another edition
Maybe I've become a lazy reader, but I pretty much never understood what was going on, so I gave up.
jeremy_bearimy's review against another edition
4.0
Wow. This is one of the weirdest books that I've read in a long time. The stories were kind of hit or miss for me, but I'm still bumping this up to 4 stars for sheer originality. I also appreciated the broad diversity of topics covered in this book, ranging from umbrology (the study of shadows) to the study of trees. In his "case studies" he creates a medley of cities with different quirks, such as a city completely devoted to fine dining and exotic cuisine. Mr. Horvath would be a fascinating person to have a long, meandering conversation with given his sweeping interests and quirky wit.
I particularly enjoyed the short story "Circulation", which includes this paragraph: "Within the library that Borges conjures, not only is every book ever written shelved somewhere but every possible book, every conceivable configuration of the alphabet. The conceit is too dizzying to think about for very long, but it serves as a good antidote to certain fundamental realities: funds are limited, books go unread, tumble out of print, serve as doorstops—all too effectively, I might add; the greatest libraries of civilizations burn down, suns collapse, abandon planets without child support. And each life is limited—there is only so much reading that one can consume in the course of a lifetime, and the guests are waiting for the ham." I have no idea who Borges is, but I love that it goes from a fancy pants shoutout to the mundane event of needing to serve your guests dinner.
This excerpt also demonstrates Horvath's propensity for very long, meandering sentences. Sometimes it felt like a slog to get through them, but others pay off with lovely gems such as "...I believe the phrase “Doritian, as in the aesthetic kin to Doritos” may still have some resonance for you." Again, a disorienting but fascinating blend of the intellectual and mundane.
Despite my best efforts, there were some sentences that I could absolutely not make sense of (e.g. "Our talking is a kudzu of carotids in which we lose our marbles.") The final chapter, "Tilkez", is basically stream of consciousness with insanely long sentences. For me, it bordered on gibberish.
QUICK TIP: If you don't read this book on your Kindle or other ebook device, I recommend having a dictionary handy. I have a pretty expansive vocabulary (my cousin used to tease me for being "Tommy Thesaurus") and I still had to look up a bunch of words. Sometimes this felt kind of annoying and pretentious, but again I cut him slack here because he is just so damn interesting.
I particularly enjoyed the short story "Circulation", which includes this paragraph: "Within the library that Borges conjures, not only is every book ever written shelved somewhere but every possible book, every conceivable configuration of the alphabet. The conceit is too dizzying to think about for very long, but it serves as a good antidote to certain fundamental realities: funds are limited, books go unread, tumble out of print, serve as doorstops—all too effectively, I might add; the greatest libraries of civilizations burn down, suns collapse, abandon planets without child support. And each life is limited—there is only so much reading that one can consume in the course of a lifetime, and the guests are waiting for the ham." I have no idea who Borges is, but I love that it goes from a fancy pants shoutout to the mundane event of needing to serve your guests dinner.
This excerpt also demonstrates Horvath's propensity for very long, meandering sentences. Sometimes it felt like a slog to get through them, but others pay off with lovely gems such as "...I believe the phrase “Doritian, as in the aesthetic kin to Doritos” may still have some resonance for you." Again, a disorienting but fascinating blend of the intellectual and mundane.
Despite my best efforts, there were some sentences that I could absolutely not make sense of (e.g. "Our talking is a kudzu of carotids in which we lose our marbles.") The final chapter, "Tilkez", is basically stream of consciousness with insanely long sentences. For me, it bordered on gibberish.
QUICK TIP: If you don't read this book on your Kindle or other ebook device, I recommend having a dictionary handy. I have a pretty expansive vocabulary (my cousin used to tease me for being "Tommy Thesaurus") and I still had to look up a bunch of words. Sometimes this felt kind of annoying and pretentious, but again I cut him slack here because he is just so damn interesting.
kitaliae's review against another edition
4.0
I'm unsure of what to say about this collection - overall it is a set of stories that are somewhere between a day dream and an afternoon nap. Many of them left me feeling warm and comfortable, the prose and feeling were spot on. Others missed the mark, maybe trying too hard to be "literature" or they wandered too much with no real punch. The balance between the Urban Planning stories and the asides are for the most part enjoyable, there is a good push and pull between reality and whimsical.
The stories "Circulation" and "Understories" are two that I will carry with me for a very long time, they've rightfully earned a very special place in my heart. Would recommend based on those two shorts alone.
The stories "Circulation" and "Understories" are two that I will carry with me for a very long time, they've rightfully earned a very special place in my heart. Would recommend based on those two shorts alone.