The Paris Review Book of People with Problems

What else is there to say - the stories in this collection are culled from 30 years of Paris Review archives and are extremely hard to find fault with, and even more difficult not to be moved by. There are a wide variety of stories in here, some by well knowns, some not - each story is different from what you'd expect from the author (Train Dreams, Denis Johnson for example), some are more memorable than others, but that's just my opinion. Despite the title, I don't find the stories overly depressing, or the characters overwrought with problems. Conflict creates good drama, and there's a lot of complex drama here. I believe the Paris Review publishes some of the best fiction out there - this proves it. Not only can they select great work to publish, but they can create an anthology like this - even under "new management". This is fine, fine stuff - dense, dark, language so good it crunches in your mouth. I'll be looking for more PR collections in the future.

The latest Paris Review anthology is timed to coincide with Editor Philip Gourevitch's redesign of the venerable magazine, a staple of avid readers for the last fifty-two years, this volume dedicated to "People with Problems". The cover features the collection behind glass, with instructions to "break in case of emergency". Who can resist these stories, some from George Plimpton's editorial oversight, others chosen by Gourevitch. Authors include Annie Proulx, Rick Bass, Frederick Busch, Denis Johnson and Julie Oringer. Over the years, summer has become synonymous with beach reading, or lit-lite, those few heated months in danger of being swamped by chick-lit and frivolous novels. This anthology is a breath of fresh air, an opportunity to spend a few hours of intellectual stimulation. The new editor, who lobbied enthusiastically for his position, has a vision for Plimpton's seminal magazine, to "publish essential reading". Not only is the fiction carefully chosen in the new Paris Review, but the poetry selections will be fewer, but with more work from each poet, moving "seriously toward poetry portfolios". The editor's intent is clear in the anthology and a hint of the new direction of the magazine. The Paris Review's reputation aside, this volume stands alone, a welcome addition to briefcase or bedside table, as a companion to a solitary meal or a story before sleep, The Paris Review Book of People with Problems is a certain success. Creativity and critical thinking, observations of modern life, both dark humor and drama; the series of Paris Review anthologies offer quality work for those who demand it, a variety of perspectives, the truth in its many disguises. In James Lasdun's "Snow", a young boy awakens to life's realities one snow-filled Christmas, years before he processes the facts he learns on his journey to manhood. Rick Bass offers an exceptional tale in "The Hermit's Story", stepping into the pristine landscape of the Canadian winter, as a female dog trainer returns a man's dogs and they wander, setting the training with the animals in the snowy countryside. They experience the beauty and danger of nature's extremes, touching upon a moment of grace that the woman relates to friends years later, that "ribbons of grace are still passing through and around us, even now, and for whatever reasons, certainly unbeknownst to us, and certainly undeserved, unearned". "The Fifth Wall", by Melinda McCallum, is a shocking expose of the drug culture, a soul-searing foray into drug life, when a methamphetamine-addicted mother allows her child to be used as a pawn, muling drugs to California. Meanwhile, the mother spins out her own private dance of self-destruction. A woman who is "beautiful except for" tells her story in Miranda July's "Birthmark". When her port-wine birth mark is removed by laser, she is beautiful without a caveat, but finds that wish fulfillment is never as wonderful as the anticipation. True to its title, this collection is a