The Best American Short Stories 2006
Edited by Ann Patchett
Like any collection of various authors and works, this anthology has its highs and lows. What's most surprising is the fact that so many of the so-called "best stories of 2006" are, in fact, rather bland. Though each story has its merits, the collection suffers from a lack of evenness across the board. Some stories leap off of the page and others fade to black as middle-aged soul searching. The collection could have benefited from some thoughtful organization, as well. Though Ann Patchett's notion of the fairness of organizing by last name (in reverse) is well-utilized in larger or more theoretical collections, here it only makes the stories a muddled mass. She has already gone through thousands of stories to select the best; she may as well assign an order to them, perhaps betraying a bit of her own reaction. The collection jumps radically from story to story; occasionally, two like-minded stories will show up next to each other, detracting from their novelty as their similarities overwhelm the reader. Instead of evoking fairness, this lack of meta-consideration bogs the collection down and makes Patchett seem lazy and her choices more arbitrary than they must have been.
The stories themselves, however, are often brilliant and almost always entertaining. "The Ambush" by Donna Tartt and "So Much for Artemis" are the best representatives of the nostalgia set, each revealing something about childhood that is often difficult to articulate and adding verve to an era before my own time. Thomas McGuane's "Cowboy" is a brilliant exercise in voice and point of view, enticing and rewarding once the reader gets the hang of the language. Likewise, Alice Munro's "The View from Castle Rock" transports readers across space and time to an unconventional (yet sufficiently representative) immigrant experience with ease, surprisingly relevant and consistent within its setting. A late great in the collection is "The Casual Car Pool" by Katherine Bell, a story that may suffer from breadth of scope but which nonetheless is fascinating in its look at modern interaction between strangers.
Patchett, though wimping out at the end, has done a good job choosing a broad set of excellent stories to represent 2006 in this storied series. Though the stories can be unnecessarily ambitious (Ann Beattie and Harry Mathews try far too hard in "Mr. Nobody At All"), each one has something to offer the discerning reader. Time will not be wasted in browsing this collection, though it does encourage sporadic jumping around instead of one collective reading experience.
Grade: A-
Edited by Ann Patchett
Like any collection of various authors and works, this anthology has its highs and lows. What's most surprising is the fact that so many of the so-called "best stories of 2006" are, in fact, rather bland. Though each story has its merits, the collection suffers from a lack of evenness across the board. Some stories leap off of the page and others fade to black as middle-aged soul searching. The collection could have benefited from some thoughtful organization, as well. Though Ann Patchett's notion of the fairness of organizing by last name (in reverse) is well-utilized in larger or more theoretical collections, here it only makes the stories a muddled mass. She has already gone through thousands of stories to select the best; she may as well assign an order to them, perhaps betraying a bit of her own reaction. The collection jumps radically from story to story; occasionally, two like-minded stories will show up next to each other, detracting from their novelty as their similarities overwhelm the reader. Instead of evoking fairness, this lack of meta-consideration bogs the collection down and makes Patchett seem lazy and her choices more arbitrary than they must have been.
The stories themselves, however, are often brilliant and almost always entertaining. "The Ambush" by Donna Tartt and "So Much for Artemis" are the best representatives of the nostalgia set, each revealing something about childhood that is often difficult to articulate and adding verve to an era before my own time. Thomas McGuane's "Cowboy" is a brilliant exercise in voice and point of view, enticing and rewarding once the reader gets the hang of the language. Likewise, Alice Munro's "The View from Castle Rock" transports readers across space and time to an unconventional (yet sufficiently representative) immigrant experience with ease, surprisingly relevant and consistent within its setting. A late great in the collection is "The Casual Car Pool" by Katherine Bell, a story that may suffer from breadth of scope but which nonetheless is fascinating in its look at modern interaction between strangers.
Patchett, though wimping out at the end, has done a good job choosing a broad set of excellent stories to represent 2006 in this storied series. Though the stories can be unnecessarily ambitious (Ann Beattie and Harry Mathews try far too hard in "Mr. Nobody At All"), each one has something to offer the discerning reader. Time will not be wasted in browsing this collection, though it does encourage sporadic jumping around instead of one collective reading experience.
Grade: A-
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