Reviews

Signals: New and Selected Stories by Tim Gautreaux

julius_liu's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

jwtaljaard's review against another edition

hopeful informative lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

4.75

davidscrimshaw's review against another edition

5.0

If you love Tim Gautreaux stories, you'll love these.

And if you don't love Tim Gautreaux stories, you haven't read any yet.

It put me off that this collection has a few of his older stories that I've already read. But it turned out to be totally okay. Because most of the stories in this reasonably fat collection are new. And they're terrific.

And I was glad to read the old stories again.

I love how Gautreaux can put people together and have surprising things come out of their interactions.

wentingthings's review against another edition

like being gripped close to a small flame. male characters navigate fascinating, often stymied inner lives - the women (maybe excepting in "wings") can be more perfunctory. really enjoyed "attitude adjustment" (Father Jim finds not only his face and daily routines but also his thoughts loosened and arranged anew, two years after a snowy collision en route to church), "the furnace man's lament" (a minnesota furnace man circles around the limits of his capacity for charity in his dealings with a young man in his community), "wings" (an outline of loss that is gradually filled in), "good for the soul" (a priest with a predilection for brandy wanders in & out of grace), and "resistance" (an old man finds himself a stranger in a world that has moved on past him, but sees in his neighbours' daughter the possibility to recapture the quiet accord he had with his own father)

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mohawkm's review against another edition

5.0

This longer set of short stories is better than many, with a focus on life in Louisiana, but some spread out across the midwest. In particular, they are about masculinity: not the masculinity shown on TV, but more like reality, decisions made and thought given.

Some are exceedingly dark, "Something for Nothing" will stick with me for a long time and touches on things we don't want to believe about the world. "Easy Pickings" however, is a fun one, full of Louisiana dialect and humor.

rdebner's review against another edition

4.0

An excellent collection of short stories, discovered while traveling in the South.

pearseanderson's review against another edition

4.0

A really high quality collection of stories that straddle the line of Southern Gothic and suburban realism, but always with a fine twist and keg of humor thrown in. Gautreaux writes really well and crafts a wide variety of characters, though mostly cranky old men, who almost always are going about their daily mundane lives until they start a new relationship with someone you wouldn't expect them to, usually through work. Lot of blue collar work in this book, and I loved all of it. Rich in big and small metaphor, plot arcs, and smiles I'd say. Damn long, and some at the end I wasn't as friendly towards, but generally a real stellar book here.

hejeffers's review against another edition

4.0

I really enjoyed this short story collection, though some of the characters start to feel redundant. Definitely better reading a few at a time rather than all at once.

sarahc3319's review against another edition

3.0

Tim Gautreaux stories are like old friends. Familiar, kind of goofy at times, poignant at others.

sjmerrill's review against another edition

4.0

A nice collection. There were some definite standouts (“Welding With Children, “What We Don’t See in the Light,” and “Sorry Blood” were my favorites) but it ran a little long—there were a few stories that could’ve been cut. Still, great voice and I loved the (mostly) Southern, blue-collar point of view. Felt like every other narrator was a furnace repairman, a bug man, or a welder. Right up my alley.