The Book of Other People

The Book of Other People is a compilation of twenty four character sketches by a group of talented writers, some established, some up and coming. What originally drew me to this book was the fact that it was a Zadie Smith project; she had instructed each contributor to write a short story centered around a new character. It was a unique idea that offered endless possibilities. And that's what happened; The Book of Other People presents a snapshot of the diverse world we live in. There's everything from imaginative young boys to snotty rich women, from judges to voice actors. Not to mention the giant and the monster. There weren't any constraints on format (except, they were all put into the same font, Smith reveals in the introduction), so you have the occasional graphic short story, comic book strip and illustrations. For me, the concept of the book was what really won me over. The stories themselves were decent, some better than others. "Puppy," by George Saunders, is a story about a dog that manages to bring together two opposite families, making you sympathize with both. David Mitchell's "Judith Castle" was an interesting take on how internet dating can become just plain sad. And Vendela Vida's "Soleil" gives you just a glimpse inside a love triangle that leaves you begging for more information. I was slightly disappointed with two of my favorite authors, Jonathan Safran Foer (again, another story about immigrants in America) and Nick Hornby (Posy Simmond's illustrations were good, though, just not the idea of an author progressing through life and constantly changing his image). All in all this a interesting piece of literature, but don't except any sense of cohesion connecting the stories, or for them all to be of the same quality.

The premise behind this anthology is simple. A group of contemporary authors having fun, each contributing a short story about a fictional character, with proceeds going to a named charity - 826 New York. This charity is dedicated to helping children develop their creative and expository writing skills. There are 23 contributing authors, from the United States, England, Ireland, Haiti and further afield, and the vastly different stories showcase their different styles of character development and description. Editor Zadie Smith is herself the author of three books, and also contributes a story for this anthology. I thought that some of the stories were absolutely brilliant, but quite frankly, I didn't understand quite a few of them, and one or two were way beyond my limited comprehension skills. I have no doubt that fans of great literature will enjoy this book more than I did, but it's only fair that I warn the casual reader that it isn't always easy sailing. The first story, "Judith Castle" by David Mitchell of the UK is by far my favorite - a tale of love and loss that certainly isn't all it appears to be at the beginning of the story. This one belongs in my "brilliant" category. There are also two stories done in graphic format, and some that aren't about human characters. For the sake of simplicity, I list below the stories in two categories - "Stories for Everybody" and "Stories for the Literati" Stories for Everybody: 1. Judith Castle, by David Mitchell 2. Justin M. Damiano, by Daniel Clowes 3. Gideon, by ZZ Packer 4. Hanwell Snr, by Zadie Smith 5. J. Johnson, by Nick Hornsby & Posy Simmonds 6. Lélé, by Edwidge Danticat 7. The Liar, by Aleksandar Hemon 8. Judge Gladys Parks-Schultz, by Heidi Julavits 9. Soliel, by Vendela Vida 10. Roy Spivey, by Miranda July 11. Cindy Stubenstock, by A. M. Homes 12. Theo, by Dave Eggers Stories for the Literati: 1. Frank, by A.L. Kennedy 2. Gordon, by Andrew O'Hagan 3. Jordan Wellington Lint, by C. Ware 4. Magda Mandela, by Hari Kunzru 5. The Monster, by Toby Litt 6. Nigora, by Adam Thirlwell 7. Puppy, by George Saunders 8. Rhoda, by Jonathan Safran Foer 9. Perkus Tooth, by Jonathan Lethem 10. Donal Webster, by Colm Tóibín 11. Newton Wicks, by Andrew Sean Greer I would recommend this book to students of literature, who will enjoy analyzing each author's method of character development, and to people far more literate than myself. I also applaud the editor for organizing this project for a good cause. Amanda Richards, March 16, 2008

There's something for everyone in this wonderful collection. Most stories are just very enjoyable, while several are true standouts -- I found Judith Castle to be truly hilarious, and Lele to be truly poignant. Any further recommendation might just pre-prejudice anyone intending to dip into this wonderful book.

Quite an eclectic little collection from some of the who's-who in the literati scene these days. Sure, it's a little uneven, but that's to be expected in a compilation of works by such an almost-wacky variety of authors. Loved some stories, disliked others, was frankly baffled by a few as well. Will definitely seek out some of the contributors' other works. All in: good stuff.