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madtraveler's review against another edition
3.0
A great idea: pull together a bunch of different writers to pick their favorite painting by the chosen artist and make a short story out of it. All decent enough, and a few really good ones.
charshorrorcorner's review against another edition
4.0
In Sunlight or in Shadow has an intriguing premise. Within you will find short stories based upon the paintings of Edward Hopper. One doesn't need to be familiar with Hopper's work to enjoy this book. Each tale is prefaced with information about the author and an image of the painting on which the story was based. These were my favorites:
SOIR BLEU (based on the painting below) by Robert Olen Butler
I'm a horror fan and this story features a creepy clown. How could I go wrong? The best part of this one was the tricky way in which it was told.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS by Craig Ferguson
Yes, you read that right-It's THE Craig Ferguson and he also writes stories in addition to his work on television. This is another case of tricky story-telling and it was superb. One of my favorite quotes in this entire book comes from this story:
"The sea was guilty and quiet like it had just eaten."
THE MUSIC ROOM by Stephen King
What is that thumping from the closet? This tale was just plain fun and even if SK's name wasn't listed, I would know this story was his. Twisted and short, this is an example of the King at his best.
OFFICE AT NIGHT by Warren Moore
Large Marge finally scores herself a job in the big city. I adored this bittersweet tale of a young woman taking on NYC.
NIGHT WINDOWS by Jonathan Santlofer
Featuring a creepy Peeping Tom, (and that's the least of this man's crimes), this is a great tale of a woman's revenge. I have a soft spot for revenge tales and this one is a doozy!
Overall this anthology features not only well known authors, but lesser known authors as well. For the most part it was the lesser knowns that shined the brightest for me. Those, and Mr. Hopper himself, who I've developed a fondness for after reading this book. I would love to view some of his artwork in person, and I'm going to try to do just that.
Highly recommended for fans of diverse short stories and for fans of Edward Hopper!
You can buy your copy here: In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper
*Thanks to NetGalley and Pegasus Books for the free advance review copy in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
SOIR BLEU (based on the painting below) by Robert Olen Butler
I'm a horror fan and this story features a creepy clown. How could I go wrong? The best part of this one was the tricky way in which it was told.
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS by Craig Ferguson
Yes, you read that right-It's THE Craig Ferguson and he also writes stories in addition to his work on television. This is another case of tricky story-telling and it was superb. One of my favorite quotes in this entire book comes from this story:
"The sea was guilty and quiet like it had just eaten."
THE MUSIC ROOM by Stephen King
What is that thumping from the closet? This tale was just plain fun and even if SK's name wasn't listed, I would know this story was his. Twisted and short, this is an example of the King at his best.
OFFICE AT NIGHT by Warren Moore
Large Marge finally scores herself a job in the big city. I adored this bittersweet tale of a young woman taking on NYC.
NIGHT WINDOWS by Jonathan Santlofer
Featuring a creepy Peeping Tom, (and that's the least of this man's crimes), this is a great tale of a woman's revenge. I have a soft spot for revenge tales and this one is a doozy!
Overall this anthology features not only well known authors, but lesser known authors as well. For the most part it was the lesser knowns that shined the brightest for me. Those, and Mr. Hopper himself, who I've developed a fondness for after reading this book. I would love to view some of his artwork in person, and I'm going to try to do just that.
Highly recommended for fans of diverse short stories and for fans of Edward Hopper!
You can buy your copy here: In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper
*Thanks to NetGalley and Pegasus Books for the free advance review copy in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it.*
cdcsmith's review against another edition
4.0
I'm a fan of Hopper and my opinion about his paintings are a lot like Block's, so I was excited to read this collection of short stories. It's cool to hear what kind of ideas other people have when they look at the paintings.
Some of the stories were marvelous and some I didn't care for, but I enjoyed far more of them than not. I think even if I hadn't liked any of them I'd have given it a decent rating just for the ideas people have about the paintings.
Some of the stories were marvelous and some I didn't care for, but I enjoyed far more of them than not. I think even if I hadn't liked any of them I'd have given it a decent rating just for the ideas people have about the paintings.
gingin's review
4.0
I work at a library and one of our regular patrons, that has the same taste in books as me, suggested I read this when he returned it. Boy am I glad that I did. What a treat this book was. I am big lover of short story collections and this one didn't disappoint. Being that these stories were all inspired by different paintings, and were all written by authors of completely different genres, I really loved all the different kinds of stories within this book. One of my favorite things about short story collections is finding a story that I absolutley love by an author I am unfamiliar with. I can then run back to the library and immedietly track down some of their books and dig in!
piratequeen's review
4.0
I love Edward Hopper, because his paintings always tell me a story. Clearly I'm not the only one who feels this way, and when I saw a collection of stories inspired by Hopper's work, I was thrilled. Nor was I disappointed. All of the stories in this volume are interesting and well-written, some of them with quirky humor and other with a dark, twisted flair. My favorites were "Night Windows", by Jonathan Santlofer (beautifully twisted noir), and "Nighthawks", by Michael Connelly. That was the best one by far; it was like reading a Raymond Chandler novel, down to the rain and trenchcoats. Just wonderful.
dickh's review
4.0
As with any book of short stories with different authors, the quality may vary a little, but on the whole the book is terrific with several very creative interpretations of the story behind one of Edward Hopper's paintings.
sg911911's review
4.0
Very interesting to read the stories that each of these paintings inspired. Enjoyed this book very much.
jameseckman's review
3.0
Since there have been movies, art and models inspired by Hopper paintings, a collection of shorts is nothing out of the ordinary. Most of these I would classify as suspense or horror but the Gail Levin piece, a fictional retelling about the neighborhood preacher who stole most of Hopper's early work was an eye-opener. One of the stories I had seen in another collection, but the rest were new to me. An interesting read.
arbieroo's review
4.0
30 postcards of Edward Hopper paintings, all taken from a "major retrospective" exhibition of ~100 works held in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston back in 2007-2008. Alarming to think it was over a decade ago that I saw it! None of these are bad but they further confirm my preferance for landscape and architectural painting over portraiture. I don't think I've come across an American 20th Century realist painter to rival Hopper.
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