The Coast of Good Intentions: Stories

I bought this collection because Michael Byers was teaching my writing workshop at Oberlin College and I thought I should read his work while he was reading mine. Though I already had great respect for him as a teacher, I now have great respect for him as a writer. The prose is beautifully crafted and his characters are real and engaging. It's a cathartic read and I highly recommend it to anyone who thinks the art of the sentence is dead.

One of the most astonishing debuts I can remember, Michael Byers' book is precisely, deftly observed and brilliantly unfolded. I find it amazing that a couple of other reviewers have called the stories cliched or tedious: I read a lot of fiction, and I can't remember the last time I encountered a new writer whose work seemed so powerful. Byers is wise beyond his years. Read this book!

This is a wonderful collection of short fiction, comparable, I think, to Ford's Rock Springs. There is a depth to this author's writing that is surprising from a person his age. Byers should be around for a long time and we have much to cherish for that.

the emotional range of these is boggling- from gentle longing and the uncertainties of parenthood to what may be revenge, madness... all told with layers of hope, strength and ultimately optimism. perhaps there's hope for all of us.

I have read an advance copy of this book, and I cannot find enough superlatives to describe it. Byers employs an understatement that is both simple and profound. His hands-off storytelling puts the reader in the middle of the emotional and psychological dramas that he creates. His characters are real, and we feel their thoughts as if they were our own. Byers' star is undoubtedly on the rise. This debut is only the beginning of a long and promising writing career.