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truelizrose's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
casspro's review against another edition
4.0
This collection of short stories was a complete surprise to me. It was given to me by my father-in-law, along with a ton of others, in a duffle bag about a year ago. I had no previous knowledge of Amy Hempel or her writing style. I haven't enjoyed a full collection of stories like this in a long while. Her writing style is very introspective and metaphorical. It was nice to just sit and relax into her words before work or just before bed. Granted, a lot of her stories are set at the beach, or involve dogs, or deal with sad yet independent women. But I enjoy all of those things, so I can't fault her there.
erikbergstrom's review against another edition
3.0
Amy Hempel's Collected Stories represent a list of stories I wish I could've written back in my college creative writing days. Now? Nah. It's like she never really left her MFA behind with some of these. Who reads these kinds of stories now other than MFA students? What are they really trying to say? They just seem like creative writing experiments. Streams of consciousness she went back to edit 100 times and try to make as deliberately obfuscated as possible. With that said... I am in awe! Nobody obfuscates more or better than the master, Amy Hempel.
katel1970's review against another edition
4.0
This was actually 4 of her short story collections combined in one book. It was interesting to see how Hempel developed as a writer over time. The different collections have different feelings to them. I truly loved some of these stories. Beautifully written.
lilyana's review against another edition
4.25
It’s really hard to rate this book, partially because it’s hard to rate any short story collection, but also because I feel like it’s not the kind of book you just read once. For the first couple of stories I felt kind of disappointed, because it felt like they ended before coming to a point, there weren’t any quotes to underline, or concrete meaning to be had. After getting used to her style though, I came to appreciate it. The stories read more like poetry, and there is a lot of room for interpretation. I feel like she writes the way I write, where with the context of her life, the stories would make perfect sense to her and convey that point, but to an outsider who doesn’t share her past experiences, they lack that nuance. After getting about halfway through this book, that didn’t bother me anymore and I actually really enjoyed it. There aren’t too many quotes to highlight, or generalized lessons, but the stories, like poetry, allow you to reflect yourself onto them and take away what you need from them through interpretation. The 4 star rating is not a reflection of the book, which I do believe is a 5 star book, but more a reflection of my first reading of it. This is definitely a book I’ll have to read again, and I think revisiting it will allow me to take a lot more away from it and give a higher rating.
roachmonk's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
helena_handbasket's review against another edition
2.0
I recognize that there is some pretty great writing in these stories, but not one so far has held my interest at all. I read a review, blurb, something somewhere comparing this writer with Raymond Carver, but I don't see it. Reminds me somehow of Barthelme, only not nearly as engaging.
hoodster's review against another edition
2.0
The majority of these are not in fact stories but rather sketches written with an often pretentious style and jaded attitude. Most characters are not people I have ever known or would want to know, and the attempts at humor seem forced and typically fall flat. Overrated product of the New York literary establishment.
joshuamt's review against another edition
4.0
This book compiles several of Amy Hempel's previously released collections of short stories. And many of these stories are very short, averaging a few pages. The first collection cast a spell on me- it reminded me of the first time I read Leonard Cohen's lyrics in an album's liner notes, feeling a thrill as I took in the words. Unfortunately, I felt like Amy Hempel's subsequent stories were a slow descent from that early peak, though there were bits of wonder scattered throughout. Still, beautiful writing.