Collected Stories

Carol Shields' strength lies in her ability to craft precise descriptions of moments... Her most interesting stories come from the first 2 vollumes, while the last collection felt more experimental and to me, somewhat less enjoyable. But her prose is always a pleasure to savour...

This is a wonderful collection. Each reflective,gentle story pulls you forward with poetic, awe-inspiring detail. A joy at every level.

Carol Shields died of Breast Cancer three years ago, a sad loss of a gifted, wonderful Canadian writer. Collected Stories features several of the most wonderful stories I have read. Her quirky humor comes to life in this wonderful collection. Though the stories may come across as incredibly mundane because it deals with every day, ordinary people, said stories give a wonderful portrayal of characters you can definitely relate to. My favorite stories are "Invitations," "Taking the Train," "Pardon," "Segue," "Fuel for the Fire," and "Our Men and Women." This is a large collection of previously released stories and her last effort before she passed away called "Segue." This is a beautiful collection you won't want to miss. I read The Stone Diaries when it first came out eleven years ago and my impression now is the same one I had when I read the aforementioned novel: Carol Shields was a master storyteller.

From a too-early departed Canadian treasure. Shields could turn a phrase, or take her reader from a wink of an eye to a catch in the throat, like no one else. She was a trickster of a storyteller - start you off slow, comfortable and easy - then wham! Off you'd go into a character, or life, that delights and surprises. The first two lines of "Pardon": On Friday afternoon Milly stopped at Ernie's Cards 'n' Things to buy a mea culpa card for her father-in-law, whom she had apparently insulted. "Sorry," Ernie's wife said in her testy way."We're all out." I love the off-handed humor and grace of the phrase "apparently insulted". This last collection is a departing gift, and should be read accordingly. Each page turned slowly, each paragraph unwrapped and savored, each word read as though it was the last - "part of the bliss they would one day gladly surrender."

The only thing I read by Carol Shields before was the lovely little bio on Jane Austen. So I chose the Collected Short Stories to see what she is all about. I am fascinated. She has this straightforward voice yet likes to also play with your head. Extremely enthralling and delightful. I eat these stories up one after the other like they were fine confections. Never oversweet. Always just the right ingredients of wonder, humour and mystery along with the occassional dash of fantasy. Anyone who has not read Shields should start with this wonderful collection. Immediately!