Short Story Monday
#3. Solid Wood by Ann Beattie - An elderly man and his sister have dinner with the recent widow of his best friend. There are some undercurrents that come to light for the reader as the dinner progresses. I didn't enjoy this one at all. It basically had no plot and, frankly, was boring. There is more to the story than appears at first but I prefer to read and think "wow, that was good" rather than "hmm, I wonder what this means".
#4. Balto by T.C. Boyle - A man and his 12-year-old daughter are on their way to court. This story recounts the events that lead up to the trial. The plot is more involved but any further description would contain spoilers. I was eager to read this story as Boyle is on my list of authors I'd like to read one day and this was my first sampling of his. I wasn't disappointed. This was a compelling story with a fast-paced read. I loved this one.
Man. I miss reading my short stories for Short Story Monday's!! I've been trying to get a copy of Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors from the library, but they are having troubles find a copy for me.
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea of reading short stories periodically. I have a collection of 2006 stories that I haven't opened yet. This might be a good way for me to dive in. :)
ReplyDeleteTC Boyle is different, I'll give him that. I've read one of his books and did like it but it was nothing what I expected! That can be a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out Fingersmith. And oh no! I scored so low on the Readability quiz! My delusions are shattered.
stephanie, Hope they find a copy for you soon. I'm enjoying dipping into the short stories very much.
ReplyDeletejoy, definately sounds like a good idea to me!
carrie, I hope you do get around to Fingersmith, it's a fabulous book.
I picked it up at the library last night and put the movie in my Netflix queue.
ReplyDeleteCarrie, I'm thinking you meant your comment for the Brighty post below this one. I checked my library and they don't have the movie :-( I'd love to see it!
ReplyDeleteI like using short stories to get a feel for an author as well. Much more accurate than blurbs on the cover.
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