Sudden Fiction: American Short Stories

From Hemingway to Jackson, these authors provide evidence that it doesn't take a lot of words to create immense literary impact. These stories are funny, sad, insightful, odd, and cold - in all the best ways.

~It's a great book to have. You can read it on the subway and chew on a few stories in one transit, or just scan the beginnings and look for what catches your eye, or you can curl up on a rainy day and devour the whole book. It's a great way to meet many writers you've heard of but haven't yet read. The only problem is the editor had this in mind so some writers, I presume, were selected because of who they were not what they wrote. Some pieces are vignettes more than "Sudden Fiction." Conversely, some stories are just marvelous: have no wasted words, tightly woven plots, and compelling characters. These stories are a marvel to see and a must for anyone interested in fiction. It's incredible how much depth is possible in such a short space. If you've ever tried to write this book will impress you with how much the right word is essential. Mark Twain once said "the difference between the right word and almost right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug." Here is lightning-or is it the bug?-bottled up.

I disagree with the previous reviewer's rather disparaging comments: This isn't simply a "bathroom read." For writers, it's a great lesson in economy and brevity. The short-short stories contained within will help any writer realize the benefits of using language with precision.It's also a wonderful read (you don't have to be a writer to enjoy it!) Some of my favorite stories of all time, including Amy Robison's devastating "Yours", and good ones from Grace Paley and Raymond Carver, are here. As with all short-story collections, there's some unevenness in terms of quality--not every story is great. But for the most part, the selections are very well chosen and the contemporaneous pieces (the book was originally published in the mid-1980s) hold up very well in this new millenium.

Nobody seems to agree on what exactly "Sudden Fiction" is but whatever it is, it is becoming the short-attention-span genre of the day. A diverse collection of extremely short stories to enjoy in the bathroom or to inspire your own.