The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories

It's a shame that short stories are a somewhat forgotten genre these days, because when they are good (as these ones are), they can contain the joy, profundity and impact of much longer works, without the necessity of hours of time commitment. There are too many first-rate stories in here to make individual remarks practical, but I would offer a general salute to Tobias Wolff, the editor, for making almost uniformly first-rate selections. I've had to pace myself going through the book because almost without exception, each story bears pondering. And in addition to the intrinsic merit of the stories themselves, a volume like this also has the singular advantage of exposing one to many undiscovered authors, greatly broadening one's literary horizons.

I was satisfied with the quality of the product and the accuracy of the advertisement.

"The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories" speaks with the intensity of liquor and fists. It lets loose on the gut of America.Tobias Wolff, one of America's hardest hitting fiction writers, ("The Night in Question: Stories" and "In the Garden of North American Martyrs") has hammered together one of the best collections of modern fiction--far better than any individual "Best of..." collection.If you are drawn, like me, to the intensity and disillusionment present in American literature at the turn of the century (i.e. Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald) this book may be what you have been looking for in contemporary writers. Including such staples of the contemporary cannon as Raymond Carver, Andre Dubuse, Amy Tan, Joyce Carol Oates this book packs in the best of modern short fiction and restores the genre to its former revered status.

Tobias Wollf, himself an excellent practitioner of the short story, does not include a work of his own in this wonderful collection (save a very thoughtful introduction). This is one of the most well edited collections of contemporary short stories on the market. It may be a few years old by now, but most of the "must read" writers, as well as surprisingly good lesser-knowns are included. Raymond Carver and Andre Dubus, sadly no longer contemporary in the strict sense, live on within these pages alongside excellent new voices. Two stories that really stand out for me are John L'Heureux's "Departures," a very deep and moving narrative, and Ralph Lombreglia's "Men Under Water," a beautiful alchemy of the dreams and realities of contemporary life. The selections written by Jamaica Kincaid, Joyce Carol Oates, Tim O'Brien, and Denis Johnson are so well picked, they seem to capture a bit of the authors themselves, as well as a portion of their writing. Because of these atttributes, I think the Vintage Book of Contempory Short Stories is both valuable for personal collections and for use in the classroom. It does the job that all compilations are supposed to, but seldom do, accomplish. It exemplifies the current breadth and depth of this contemporary artform.

Wolff's collection of contemporary American stories serves as an excellent springboard for teaching high school students modern fiction. An excellent teaching tool. And the students enjoy the stories almost as much as the teacher