Guess Again: Short Stories

The author of "Truth Serum," an astonishing memoir of childhood, presents here a collection of short fiction. The tone and voice in these stories are familiar from Cooper's earlier writing. He relates his tales in an introspective but not maudlin manner. Cooper can write about heartbreaking circumstances without self pity, pathos, or mockery. He takes an empathic stance toward all of his characters. The element of recall is ever present. Most of the stories relate an interesting circumstance and contain in the middle a reminiscence of an earlier time that is thematically connected to the present. In this sense, these short stories are similar to the memoirs Cooper has previously written.Some of the stories have outrageously off-beat, humorous premises ("What To Name The Baby," "A Man In The Making," "Hunters and Gatherers"). They are rarely, however, written for out-loud laughs. Rather, they serve to explore human nature and emotional tenor. Cooper is particularly adept at delving into the warmth of romantic ties. His depictions of love relationships ("Exterior Decoration," "Old Birds," "Hunters and Gatherers") convey intimacy succinctly, clearly, and movingly.The painfully raw, embarrassing awkwardness of budding adolescent sexuality is explored in "A Man In The Making." This story begins with a cryptic situation that unfolds into a cringe-inducing event that reveals so much about how alone young adults can be with their erotic impulses. The tenacity of personality, even in the face of deteriorating health, is demonstrated in the tender and clever "Exterior Decoration." Cooper's oft-visited theme of family ties sees endings and beginnings folding into and strenghening one another in "Old Birds." The varieties of domestic arrangements are considered in the highly amusing "What To Name The Baby." This collection of short pieces is a very fine book. If it is not as strong as "Truth Serum," it must be remembered that few books could be. Cooper is a writer whose work is becoming consistently rewarding and rich.

Bernard Cooper's collection of short stories is one of the easiest and funniest reads you'll ever encounter. This is remarkable not because Cooper doesn't have the literary talent. He has it in buckets. What's remarkable is that Cooper's stories, at their core, deal with some rather heartbreaking realities of gay life in America: the ravages of AIDS, homophobia, men and women searching for or creating their identity within a culture that pushes them to the side and says, we are normal, you are not. Cooper tells us of the married Mormon who realizes he's gay but has been counseled by the church's elders to fight these impulses and seek the company of men. He decides to follow his advice and throw a party for every gay male he and his skeptical wife know. A man dying of AIDS decides to add color and style to his neighbors' lives by sneaking out at night and putting up tasteful porchlights, rearranging plants, and painting garage doors and walls. His partner is mortified by this artistic vigilantism and doesn't know how to stop him. Certainly, a couple of the stories are not funny such as "X" where we find a young man numbing his senses with drugs as he recalls his first touch with homophobia.I was surprised to find that I had already read several of these stories in various literary journals over the past several years. Despite this, I enjoyed re-reading them and realized that Cooper is not only a fine writer, he is a master at describig the human condition in such a way that gay or straight readers will identify with the characers on some level. This is a wonderful book.

This collection of stories is a good one. They are able to transcend the conventions of the current time -- ie. they are not quirky or full of sex sex sex, but instead, they work with character and story. Still, with hats off to his more traditional narrative form, the author also is writing about today and the peculiar necessity for hope needed now in this new century. I would recommend this book to anyone who respects good writing but lives within this difficult modern world. The best of both worlds here.

I loved this collection. I picked it up because of the mysterious cover and then followed that impulse forward, reading Cooper's stories as they worked their investigative magic into the souls of his characters. There is something so valuable about work like this that it transcends the normal rhthym and demands of a work-a-day world. I felt both renewed and more in touch with what matters, with the way the world could look to us if we had the keen eye at work in the language of this writer. A deep deep joy here.

Words can't describe how much I enjoyed these 11 stories by Bernard Cooper. I have read all of his other wonderful books (Truth Serum, Maps to Anywhere, & A Year of Rhymes) but this is by far my favorite. This is an exquisite collection of short stories that are so full of passion & humanity. They can be sad and heart-breaking but also very funny all at the same time. In other words, these stories have so many different emotions in them that you can't help but be moved and enjoy them. In "Hunters and Gatherers", a Mormon couple have a party game while hosting a dinner for a few gays that they know. This couple is odd, and what they make their guests do is really funny. I was so touched by "Exterior Decoration" a story that dealt with Ray & Cliff's relationship in the face of AIDS. The story was so heartbreaking yet it was so funny at the same time. Bernard Cooper has a way of bringing out all the emotions you could possible feel, but when you are done reading his stories, you won't feel unhappy, you'll feel very satisfied & fulfilled. I wish I could tell you all about "Old Birds", but I can't! Wait till you read this, it is so funny! When I read this story my parrot was sitting with me, and looking at me like I was crazy, because I was laughing out loud so hard. What a story!!Guess Again is unlike any other book you have read before. It gets my highest recommendation. Make sure you read this great book!!