EIGHT PLUS ONE: STORIES

Fine craftmanship is the hallmark for Robert Cormier's storytelling abilities. This book is different from his other works. Each short story begins with an introduction that focuses on a different concept for writing. He not only tells the story, the introduction tells how he came up with the story idea. For example, the introduction to the first story focuses on choosing your perspective when writing. The themes of the story are love and the agony of middle age. Mr. Cormier uses the short stories to model his craftmanship for other writers. If you are looking for his usual work, this book isn't like the others and you might want to keep looking. If you are looking for insight into the craftmanship of writing, this is a great book!

A friend had reccomended me 'I Am The Cheese' by Robert Cormier. Not able to find that, I sought my needs in this book, '8 Plus 1', which I found in a second-hand book store.This book was a God send. As I plan to be an author someday, the added introductions to each story were great, and I think I found one of the best hints for my writing career, and showed me where to find ideas.Apart from that, the stories are great. Just what teenagers need these days. I highly reccomend this book.

This is a book that is always well-received by the pupils I teach. It explores relevant issues but doesn't talk at the reader. Instead, we are invited to experience the joys and sorrows of all the characters as they tell us their stories. It isn't as bleak as some of Cormier's others works but there are melancholy undertones in many of the short tales. My pupils love this book as I did too when I discovered it as a bored teenager (or thereabouts). It's a book I can keep going back to and from which I get something 'new'each time . I think there's a little bit of Mike, Holly, Jane and Mr Croft in all of us.

It wasn't the stories themselves that interested me so much as the introductions. I learned some interesting things about Cormier and feel all the better for having read the book. As for the stories, I liked them. They display a Robert Cormier of a very different kind. Yes, he CAN write humor, yes he CAN write happy endings! I have been looking for a weakness but have not yet found one.

Robert Cormier is best known for his starkly realistic and uncompromising novels about the darker side of life. In "8 Plus 1" we see a gentler Cormier, although some of the stories do have their painful parts. As always, Cormier's writing is superb. An added bonus is the introductions he wrote for each story, in which he writes about how a story came to be written or about some aspect of the writing. This book is great bedside reading, and fascinating for the reader who also loves to write. Cormier's insights and family anecdotes make this book a true gem for Cormier fans.