Reviews

The Art of the Story: An International Anthology of Contemporary Short Stories by Various, Daniel Halpern

bernivd's review

I found something better and I’m not the biggest fan of short story collections. 

megantall's review

Moved to Czech Republic

wesleyrose's review

3.0

I had to read six or seven short stories from this anthology to study thematic elements in creative writing in school. I enjoyed the few stories I read enough that I wanted to finish the rest of the book. I thought it was an excellent opportunity to experience writing from across the globe on a variety of subjects. I have always found that anthologies are great for reading little gems from favourite authors, as well as discovering new authors to read.

Of all the authors in this book, [a:Margaret Atwood|3472|Margaret Atwood|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1282859073p2/3472.jpg] was the only one whose work I had previously enjoyed. Some of the short stories that I appreciated in particular in this anthology are A Family Supper, by [a:Kazuo Ishiguro|4280|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1424906625p2/4280.jpg], You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town by [a:Zoë Wicomb|136664|Zoë Wicomb|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1276475490p2/136664.jpg] and The Management of Grief by [a:Bharati Mukherjee|13942|Bharati Mukherjee|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1210967294p2/13942.jpg]. There are several other well-written stories, but if I listed them all, you would be here for a while.

If you’re looking for a variety of stories that hit on a whole bunch of topics and emotions, this anthology is for you. It’s also great for finding new authors; I will be checking my library for some of the authors found in The Art of the Story.

danamiranda's review

3.0

Although this wasn’t really an international anthology given that the selections are mostly English-dominated and represent a limited range of global writers, out of the eighty stories I still loved about twenty. This accounts for the low score, but the anthology should still be read for its top stories:

Margaret Atwood- Wilderness Tips*
Toni Cade Bambara- Gorilla, My Love*
Julian Barnes- Evermore*
T. Coraghessan Boyle- Rara Avis
Peter Carey- The Fat Man in History
Patrick Chamoiseau- The Old Man Slave and the Mastiff
Vikram Chandra- Dharma
Sandra Cisneros- Never Marry a Mexican
Jim Crace- The Prospect from the Silver Hills
Nathan Englander- The Twenty-Seventh Man*
Victor Erofeyev- The Parakeet
Eduardo Galeano- The Story of the Lizard Who Had the Habit of Dining on His Wives
Peter Hoeg- Portrait of the Avant-Garde*
Hanif Kureishi- Intimacy*
Torgny Lindgren- The Stump-Grubber*
Lorrie Moore- Willing
Amos Oz- Where the Jackals Howl
Francine Prose- Talking Dog
Ingo Schulze- The Ring
Graham Swift- Learning to Swim*
Edmund White- Cinnamon Skin
Joy Williams- The Farm*
Jeanette Winterson- The Green Man

* These are must reads, and the top three are Wilderness Tips, The Stump-Grubber and Learning to Swim

dilan11's review

4.0

Very diverse anthology. All the established short story writers in English plus many in translation. Some stories I hate and can't imagine how they were included but most of them I like and some I love. Most of them tend to be on the shorter side even for short stories, not micro fiction, but nothing close to novellas either.