The William Saroyan Reader

I first read the stories in this collection from 1956 to 1961. They are as great as ever with "The Adventures of Wesley Jackson" having a whole new meaning and as beautiful,warm and poetic as always. (Why don't they make a TV series out of Wesley Jackson?) What a great gift idea for Saroyan fans and those who have never had the pleasure of reading one of his stories. The stories were selected by Saroyan himself and there is an introduction by his son Aram. The collection includes some of my alltime favorites such as "The Man With His Heart In The Highlands," and "70,000 Assyrians," and also his Pulitzer Prize winning "The Time of Your Life." (Be sure to read the speech he gave when he turned down the award.) I bought it to take on a trip and it was a fond companion. Well worth the investment. Enjoy!

William Saroyan was a great American author of short stories, short novels, plays and poetry. As an Armenian-American from Fresno, California, many of his stories touch upon that background; but there is much more in Saroyan. He writes about simple, ordinary everyday people (anti-heroes), caught in the grind of every day life. His most outstanding works are presented in this anthology including: "Saroyan Prizes", "70,000 Assyrians", "A Cold Day", "The Living and the Dead", "Finlandia" and "A Writer's Declaration". Every one of these works is existential, pondering love, art, war, peace and prosperity. The characters are your real, everyday people taken out of thier mundane circumstances that most of us face daily. Saroyan's eloquent but essentially simple style makes for easy but reflective reading.

This book does a great job of introducing you to the writings of William Saroyan. His novels, plays and short stories capture life in a succinct style I have never seen repeated. My favorite are his short stories, which I never want to stop reading. In a few pages he brings characters, events and places to life.

If you've never been lucky enough to be exposed to the down-to-earth writing of William Saroyan, you are definitely missing out on a treat. Saroyan's short stories, autobiographical writings, and novels are simple realism, stretched to heart rending emotional height. This book is a fine compilation for a new reader of Saroyan, who, like his California colleague, Steinbeck, doesn't get enough attention these days. Also, this collection contains the wonderful novella, "Tracy's Tiger," an incredible allegorical tale of love and struggle in the postmodern world.