Crash Diet

What a great writer Jill McCorkle is. I started on the short story collection to see if I liked her work, and now I'm looking forward to reading Ferris Beach and some of her novels. Crash Diet's stories have a southern flavor, but they aren't overdone caricatures. A wonderful collection of stories by a very talented author.

I found "Crash Diet" in a pile of books and was intrigued by the title. It was a collection of short stories by a southern writer. Usually, with a collection of stories - there is sure to be a couple that you don't care for - but not with this collection.Each female protagonist was her own charachter. I felt as though I knew each one of them through Ms. McCorkle's description and characterization. Some funny, some sad - all uniquely interesting. I highly reccomend this book.

I loved the many stories in this book. The protagonists are all female, but they are of different ages, situations and dilemmas. Jill McCorkle shows a lot of humor and wisdom in telling their stories.

Crash Diet reveals McCorkle's strengths as a writer of the New South, which I first enjoyed several years ago in July 7th and Tending to Virginia. It's like I was never gone; her comic style intertwines effortlessly with the truly sympathetic in this collection of short fiction. There are lots of voices here, all of women grappling with changes in their lives that have brought chaos, rather than order. The pieces were written across a span of years and the author's propensity to drop topical references to our disposable culture can be a little distracting when moving from one story to another, as you inevitably pause to recall just when "Falcon Crest" or "The New Newlyweds Game" was hot. But that's just a little itch, and it doesn't date the material.

The women featured in these short stories are wonderfully strong, deep, resonant characters. I was impressed with the author's range--she is masterful and moving with everyone from confused teenage girls to lonely elderly widows. Each of these stories is a gem. I loved this book and recommend it highly.