The Complete Short Stories of Thomas Wolfe

A man of enormous size and ambitions, Thomas Wolfe was a novelist and not a short story writer. Wolfe's editors and agent cut out parts of his epic sized manuscript and had them published as stories in various outlets. Readers of Wolfe's novels will recognize a few of the stories since they often appeared as chapters in his books. While admittedly not a short story writer, Wolfe's talents make this collection worth having. Wolfe fans can take pleasure that some of his abandoned novels appear as stories here (for example his "Hound of Darkness" idea shows up as "Prelude to America" in this collection). While some of the reviewers may balk at Wolfe's use of stereotyping, some of the works here, including a number of pieces bashing Nazi Germany, may help salvage Wolfe's reputation. The most powerful and finest crafted story in the collection offers a cold, condemning look at a lynching. With excellent introductions by James Dickey and Francis Skipp, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to a great and unfairly neglected writer.