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elizabeth_spinner's review against another edition
4.0
Loved the short stories, but the novella was the experience of spending far too much time inside the head of a privileged white male.
dylanperry's review against another edition
4.0
*Finishes first story, sets book down*
*Opens Youtube, finds video*
*Glances at book sitting on my desk*
*Pauses video 1 minute in*
*Picks book back up and reads the next story all the way through*
This was how my day went, from 5 until now, just after midnight. I rarely finish a book in a day, even slim ones like this. But the stories were (for the most part) compulsively readable and engaging. A sign of a great book is when my usual distractions seem suddenly dull in comparison.
I docked a star for one story I didn't care for and DNFing the titular novella at the end.
However, I still recommend this for anyone looking for some good short stories. I'll be checking out more E.L. Doctorow in the future.
*Opens Youtube, finds video*
*Glances at book sitting on my desk*
*Pauses video 1 minute in*
*Picks book back up and reads the next story all the way through*
This was how my day went, from 5 until now, just after midnight. I rarely finish a book in a day, even slim ones like this. But the stories were (for the most part) compulsively readable and engaging. A sign of a great book is when my usual distractions seem suddenly dull in comparison.
I docked a star for one story I didn't care for and DNFing the titular novella at the end.
However, I still recommend this for anyone looking for some good short stories. I'll be checking out more E.L. Doctorow in the future.
jenni8fer's review against another edition
2.0
This seemed to be a writer's experimentation of sorts. First write a bunch of meandering stories, then write an insight into the meandering mind of the writer to tie it all together.
sjberzon's review against another edition
2.0
Only found two of these stories appealing (the novella not being one of them)
iqazi's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
smcleish's review against another edition
3.0
Originally published on my blog here in January 2002.
This collection, one novella and six short stories, is connected because all its contents are written in the first person and read as though they are selections from autobiographies. (The plural is because they are mutually contradictory, even though they share details and anecdotes.)
The title story is the novella, and is a memoir of the New York literary scene, all about the marital difficulties of middle aged couples in the late seventies. The narrator of the story is one of the few who fave remained faithful to their partners though this seems to be more because of his absorption in his hypochondria than for any moral scruples.
Of the other stories, The Waterworks deserves mention because it was later adapted into an episode in the novel [b:of the same name|207874|The Waterworks|E.L. Doctorow|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320505189s/207874.jpg|1215119]. It is the most individual member of this collection, being the only one with a setting in a past not within living memory. It also seems less real than the other stories, as Doctorow tries out a rather different voice.
The general standard is nevertheless high, as might be expected from Doctorow. He doesn't have so much to say in the short story form, with the result that the collection is a little purposeless; but each story is exquisitely crafted.
This collection, one novella and six short stories, is connected because all its contents are written in the first person and read as though they are selections from autobiographies. (The plural is because they are mutually contradictory, even though they share details and anecdotes.)
The title story is the novella, and is a memoir of the New York literary scene, all about the marital difficulties of middle aged couples in the late seventies. The narrator of the story is one of the few who fave remained faithful to their partners though this seems to be more because of his absorption in his hypochondria than for any moral scruples.
Of the other stories, The Waterworks deserves mention because it was later adapted into an episode in the novel [b:of the same name|207874|The Waterworks|E.L. Doctorow|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320505189s/207874.jpg|1215119]. It is the most individual member of this collection, being the only one with a setting in a past not within living memory. It also seems less real than the other stories, as Doctorow tries out a rather different voice.
The general standard is nevertheless high, as might be expected from Doctorow. He doesn't have so much to say in the short story form, with the result that the collection is a little purposeless; but each story is exquisitely crafted.
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