The O. Henry Prize Stories

I have been reading the annual O Henry Awards for about 10 years now and look forward every year to its publication. The new editor changed the date it's published as well as the format a few years ago (the top three winners had been the first three stories in the collection with an introduction written by a judge, but now they are mixed in with the judges thoughts at the end of the collection) Although I didn't like this change at first, this idea actually let me, the reader, decide which short story I thought was best without knowing which ones the judges chose. I also enjoyed the inclusion of a short blip from each author about what inspired/influenced them for this particular story. Again, these were listed at the end of the entire collection. All in all, a wonderful reading experience. I recommend it to everyone who loves a good story and who enjoys a variety of topics and styles - which can easily be found in this collection of works from various prize-winning authors.

In her second year editing the O. Henry Prize Stories, Laura Furman once again demonstrates a preference for stories of a tragic, dark nature. "Mudlavia", the first story in the book, concerns a boy's broken family and a life-threatening disease. It is followed by stories whose subject matter is apparent from their titles: "The Brief History of the Dead", "The Golden Era of Heartbreak", "The Hurt Man". Other stories in this collection include "Desolation", "Snowbound", and "The Drowned Woman". So, if lighthearted entertaining reading is what you seek, you are advised to look elsewhere. If, however, you want to read well-written short stories of substance, which are actually not as depressing as one might fear, then I definitely recommend the 2005 edition of The O. Henry Prize Stories. My favorite story in this year's collection is Ben Fountain's "Fantasy for Eleven Fingers", an exceedingly well-crafted story about the tribulations of an unusually endowed pianist caught up in the religious and political hostilities of turn-of-the-20th century Europe. The story reminds us that, try as we might, we cannot completely separate art and beauty from the gritty realities and problems of the world. Other favorites of mine include the aforementioned "Mudlavia" by Elizabeth Stuckey-French, and Edward P. Jones' "A Rich Man", which also appeared in the 2004 Best American Short Stories anthology. Each of these stories is entertaining and captures the reader's interest, while at the same time conveying important ideas and observations about the human condition. The 2005 edition of the O. Henry Prize Stories has four stories in common with the 2004 Best American Short Stories collection. Both anthologies contain stories published in 2003, but the O. Henry Prize Stories folks skipped 2004 and are now two years off in their numbering scheme. Given that the 2006 edition (covering stories published in 2004) is not due until May of 2006, it appears that Laura Furman and company are falling further behind in their reading. I hope they can catch up, as I enjoy both anthology series. If you can read only one, choose the Best American Short Stories if your tastes tend towards more popular writers and slightly lighter fare. Choose the O. Henry Prize Stories if you are seeking a more complete examination of the dark side of human affairs.

This year's prize anthology is dedicated to Anton Chekhov, the father of the modern short story. Even though none of these stories can be considered a masterpiece, they are all indebted to Chekhov's legacy of an unflinching look at human psychology. Although some of these stories are found in The Best American Short Stories 2004 ("What You Pawn, I Will Redeem" by Sherman Alexie; "A Rich Man" by Edward P. Jones: "Grace" by Paula Fox; "The Tutor" by Nell Freudenberger), most are different, making this anthology a good companion to the other. Many of these stories are about divorce and parental abandonment, often from the child's point of view. "Mudlavia" by Elizabeth Stuckey-French tells of a boy with what the doctors think is rheumatoid arthritis. He and his mother travel one summer to a spa where they are introduced to a world outside their own. Meanwhile, the boy's father remains at home and is seen by one of the boy's closest friends (who writes to him) with his beautiful "cousin." "The Tutor" is also about the loss, both psychological and real, of a parent, although the themes and emotions run in much more complicated directions. American Julia is in Bombay, living with her father after her mother moved out and hoping to escape to college. Zubin, an American and British education Indian, tutors her for her SATs, and through their relationship, teaches her other essentials things about life. The protagonist of "The High Divide" by Charles D'Ambrosio is a boy living in an orphanage who is befriended by a "public school kid" and his family. The boy, who has lost his father to mental illness, witnesses his friend's own loss as they hike to the High Divide. One of the more imaginative stories is Kevin Brockemeier's "The Brief History of the Dead," a story about what could only be called limbo: an entire city of dead people that is neither heaven nor hell - it's just a city. As new dead people arrive, they tell of a virus that is wiping out the earth's human population. These mass deaths begin to change the dynamics of the city in a cryptic, unpredictable way. "Desolation" by Gail Jones is one of the less traditional narratives, with its thematic fragments. With only six out of twenty stories from The New Yorker, this anthology highlights some top-rate fiction from the best literary journals such as The Threepenny Review, Southwest Review, and Michigan Quarterly Review. While stories from Harper's and The Atlantic Monthly are also included, this year's selection veers more away from the commercial publications than in recent years. Readers looking for a sampling of some of the best stories published today will find an uneven but polished collection.

A collection that is easy to read but hard to put down. For those who have little time on hand, these short stories will captivate you just as much as full length (whatever that means) fictions, but are in the meantime much less consuming. A good diversity in styles, both with respect to form and content. Bonus: a composition of short biographies for each author at the back of the book, which introduces the readers to other work by these authors -- a good place to go for additional reading recommendations.