I Sailed with Magellan

I suppose I would love this book even if I weren't a Chicagoan. The characters are so richly crafted, and the action poignant yet well paced. Perhaps the most heartbreaking story is "Blue Boy," with its message in the final paragraph so lushly written I took a sharp intake of breath before reading it again--aloud. An interconnected series of short stories, not everything meshes, especially "Breasts," which takes a side trip... Read Full Review

stuart dybek is a gifted writer who truly understands the short story. His characters are full of life and wonderfully human. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys great writing.

This is timeless fiction of the highest order, on a level with the finest contemporary writers from Stephen Dixon to Philip Roth to Bliss Broyard. Dybek writes with depth, precision and deep feeling; this is the work of a lifetime sketching out a milieu (the Chicago Polish workingclass community) with loving, compassionate and haunting details. James T. Farrell and Nelson Algren were the pioneers of Chicago fiction, but Dybek... Read Full Review

A fan of Dybek's work for years, I looked forward to the publication of his third book. As I sit at my computer to write this bit, my new kitten, Gus aka Pooky, follows with deftness and alertness each letter as it appears on the screen. Right now she's affixed upon the little AOL symbol in the upper right hand corner that rotates and fades and reappears while I'm online. Gus/Pooky notices with enthusiasm the nuances in... Read Full Review

I especially liked the stories in the first half of this book, those that focus on main character Perry, a boy growing up in a Polish neighborhood on Chicago's Southwest side in the 1950s. They are deeply felt, wonderfully detailed, highly realistic and with excellent characters. Toward the middle are a few stories more "poetic" in style that appeal to me less. The last stories return to the old neighborhood and again, the... Read Full Review