The O. Henry Prize Stories 2003

I always look forward to the annual release of this short fiction series. Unlike some of the other anthologies, The O. Henry Prize is judged by a panel of well-known literary writers. In the case of this 2003 edition, David Guterson (Snow Falling on Cedars), Diane Johnson (Le Divorce), and Jennifer Egan (Look At Me) join series editor Laura Furman to compile these twenty noteworthy stories. Two out of the three jurors selected Denis Johnson's novella-length "Train Dreams" as the top story, while the third adored A.S. Byatt's "The Thing of the Forest." These two stories sandwich the other eighteen, although not all readers will be in agreement with the jurors as to which is the best. Anthony Doerr's "The Shell Collector" is a stunning foray into shellfish toxins and the blind man who finds both miracle and curse in them. "Burn Your Maps" by Robyn Joy Leff is a tender tribute to the oddity of childhood and family life. "Three Days. A Month. More." by Douglas Light shows childhood loss through repetition and the confusion of time passing. Alice Munro's "Fathers" explores the strange, influential relationships between fathers and daughters, and the effect they have on the narrator. Most of the stories have a traditional bent, although others, such as Ann Harleman's "Meanwhile," employ inventive storytelling techniques. If these stories share anything, it's their off-kilter yet complete worlds, where the story is found in oddity and the underlying redemption in emotional engagement. Readers will find themselves returning to reread some stories and shrugging off others as "merely" good. All in all, this is an excellent sampling of some of the best short fiction being published today.

I usually run screaming from the room when confronted with the dreaded and often kill-joy title of "short story," but there are a few exceptions. Salinger's NINE SHORT STORIES comes to mind, as do the O'Connor stories. McCrae's THE CHILDREN'S CORNER is another one. And finally, last but not least, THE O. HENRY PRIZE STORIES 2003. While there is truly not a dud in the bunch, some do stand out more than others. "The Shell Collector" is one of my favorites, as is "Swept Away" by that master T.C. Boyle. But there is really no way to get across just how different and great these tales are. Suffice it to say that if you've been disappointed in collections before (I know I have), the 2003 O. Henry won't be in that category. This collection is definitely worth your time.Also recommended: NINE SHORT STORIES by J.D. Salinger, THE CHILDREN'S CORNER by Jackson McCRae

I don't think you can go wrong reading either the O. Henry or the Best American short story anthologies; I read both each year. It's somewhat surprising that they are not more popular, since they expose the reader to a wide variety of the best writers and writings, and since short stories can be easily fit into the busiest of lifestyles, especially plane and train rides.Each anthology attempts to identify the best 20 short stories of the year, but together they prove just how subjective this quest ends up being. This year, 2003, there is only one story that appears in both volumes, Anthony Doerr's "The Shell Collector". Thus, the views and biases of the editors end up determining the final selection - and in fact, this is one of the selling points of the Best American series, which features a different guest editor (a well-known author) each year. The O. Henry volume can rightfully claim to have a more consistent selection process, which produces more uniformity year to year.2003 is the first year that Laura Furman (an author and professor at the UT at Austin - where does she find the time to read all these stories?) is editing the O. Henry series. What are her biases? She is kind enough to state them: she favors stories whose emotional impact is "revealed ... by stress or loss, the twin capitals of the short story's dominion. The peace of daily life, even the dullness of it, is what is decimated in the short story and replaced by the nightmares or sometimes the consolation of understanding another's existence or our own." With this as a prelude, don't expect any light-hearted love stories or comedies of manners.Each of the twenty selections concerns itself with dark subject matter (death in many forms, alcoholism, doomed love affairs, to name a few), yet I did not find the overall effect to be depressing. Rather, I think Furman has succeeded in her mission - these stories do teach the reader about humanity and what it means to be human. My favorite was the aforementioned "The Shell Collector," which is a classically structured short story with easily deciphered symbolism and meaning. Denis Johnson's "Train Dreams," which two of the three prize jurists picked as their favorite (Furman did not want to cite any one story of the 20 as being the overall best), is a fantastic portrait of how the pioneer lifestyle has been affected by modern day inventions and society. I felt these two stories stood above the rest, but I also enjoyed "The American Embassy" (which reminds us how America is viewed by people in many oppressed nations), "Lush", and "Bleed Blue in Indonesia".Everyone who reads this collection will have his/her own favorites. As the editors of the O. Henry and Best American short story series prove, it is impossible not to bring one's own biases to the subjective process of reading and experiencing a story. Enjoy!

I have to admit that I was apprehensive to read THE O.HENRY PRIZE STORIES 2003 because I was disappointed with the quality of short stories in last year's volume. But looking back I am now very glad that I took the chance and purchased the 2003 volume. I'm not certain whether the drastic improvement can be attributed to the resignation of the former editor Larry Dark or simply a better publication year for short stories. Regardless, the 2003 volume of O.Henry stories is definitely worth reading. I took my time reading each story and was always pleasantly surprised when each story's quality did not falter. There are a wide variety of stories included. Some of my favorites include Adam Desnoyer's Bleed Blue in Indonesia, TC Boyle's Swept Away, Evan Connell's Election Eve, Tim Johnston's Irish Girl, and William Trevor's Sacred Statues. Some of the authors are well known (such as TC Boyle, AS Bryant, Alice Munro, etc.) while others are less. However, the variety of authors always proves to be a hidden gem in short story anthologies as it proves a great avenue in discovering new and more obscure writers. Any fan of the short story would enjoy reading this book.

Being a huge short story fan, I was really pleased to pick up such a fine volume. The winning stories are pleasantly varried, which makes the entire book a pleasure to read. I found most stories to be captivating, in an almost-miss-my-subway-stop kind of way. However, there were a couple that didn't quite gain that status in my mind. Among my favourites were "The Shell Collector" by Anthony Doerr, for its intreguing characters and dynamic plot, and "God's Goodness" by Marjorie Kemper, for its realistic simplicity. This is the type of book that makes a great gift, and is definitely one to share around with your friends and family. (Mostly so you can have someone to discuse the stories with, and why would you want to deny anyone a good story?)