You've got to read this : contemporary American writers introduce stories that held them in awe

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Title:

You've got to read this : contemporary American writers introduce stories that held them in awe

ISBN:

9780060553586

9780060982027

Edition:

1st ed.

Publication Information:

New York : HarperPerennial, c1994.

Physical Description:

x, 630 p. ; 25 cm.

Contents:

A mother's tale / James Agee ; introduced by Annie Dillard -- Guy de Maupassant / Isaac Babel ; introduced by Francine Prose -- Sonny's blues / James Baldwin ; introduced by Kenneth A. McClane -- The school / Donald Barthelme ; introduced by T. Coraghessan Boyle -- The Aleph / Jorge Luis Borges ; introduced by Oscar Hijuelos -- A day in the open / Jane Bowles ; introduced by Joy Williams -- A distant episode / Paul Bowles ; introduced by John L'Heureux -- The Star Café / Mary Caponegro ; introduced by John Hawkes -- Reflections / Angela Carter ; introduced by Robert Coover -- Cathedral / Raymond Carver ; introduced by Tobias Wolff -- Goodbye, my brother / John Cheever ; introduced by Allan Gurganus -- Gooseberries / Anton Chekhov ; introduced by Eudora Welty -- A Christmas carol / Charles Dickens ; introduced by John Irving -- Pie dance / Molly Giles ; introduced by Amy Tan -- Greatness strikes where it pleases / Lars Gustafsson ; introduced by Charles Baxter -- The interview / Ruth Prawer Jhabvala ; introduced by Jane Smiley -- The dead / James Joyce ; introduced by Mary Gordon.

In the penal colony / Franz Kafka ; introduced by Joyce Carol Oates -- Girl / Jamaica Kincaid ; introduced by Stephanie Vaughn -- The smallest woman in the world / Clarice Lispector ; introduced by Julia Alvarez -- The daughters of the late colonel / Katherine Mansfield ; introduced by Deborah Eisenberg -- Labor Day dinner / Alice Munro ; introduced by David Leavitt -- Spring in Fialta / Vladimir Nabokov ; introduced by Jim Shepard -- The things they carried / Tim O'Brien ; introduced by Bobbie Ann Mason -- A good man is hard to find / Flannery O'Connor ; introduced by Sue Miller -- I stand here ironing / Tillie Olsen ; introduced by Amy Hempel -- Wants / Grace Paley ; introduced by Janet Kauffman -- In dreams begin responsibilities / Delmore Schwartz ; introduced by Tim O'Brien -- The man to send rain clouds / Leslie Marmon Silko ; introduced by Louis Owens -- Helping / Robert Stone ; introduced by Louise Erdrich -- Master and man / Leo Tolstoy ; introduced by Ron Hansen -- Packed dirt, churchgoing, a dying cat, a traded car / John Updike ; introduced by Lorrie Moore -- The flowers / Alice Walker ; introduced by Edward P. Jones -- No place for you, my love / Eudora Welty ; introduced by Russell Banks -- Paper garden / Jerome Wilson ; introduced by Al Young.

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Searching... Stillwater Public Library	FICTION YOU	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

"An exciting new anthology of short fiction chosen by thirty-five of this country's most distinguished and popular fiction writers, You've Got to Read This offers readers an unusually intimate glimpse into how accomplished writers experience literature." "Here are stories that inspired today's leading novelists and short-story writers to embark on their own writing careers, stories that took their breath away and changed them, or the way they responded to literature, forever. Oscar Hijuelos confesses his debt to the great Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, whose brilliant story "The Aleph" inspired him to become a writer himself. Mary Gordon stands in awe of what James Joyce wrought in "The Dead," and wonders how writers who come after him can equal it. Robert Coover writes movingly of Angela Carter and her mysterious story "Reflections," while Kenneth A. McClane says that "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin literally saved his life." "Some of the stories presented here are classics, like Anton Chekhov's "Gooseberries," introduced by Eudora Welty, or Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," selected by Sue Miller. Some are less well known, like Lars Gustafsson's "Greatness Strikes Where It Pleases," introduced by Charles Baxter, or John Updike's "Packed Dirt, Churchgoing, a Dying Cat, a Traded Car," whose beauty stunned Lorrie Moore." "All were critically important to some of our finest contemporary writers - among them Annie Dillard, John Irving, Amy Tan, Louise Erdrich, Russell Banks, Jane Smiley, Bobbie Ann Mason, Tobias Wolff - and their comments about the selections offer fascinating entrances into the stories. For lovers of fiction, You've Got to Read This is a treasure trove, a dazzling collection of stories passionately and imaginatively chosen."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Reviews (3)

Kirkus Review

Writers, it is true, often make lousy critics. But the intense egotism that makes writers sift everything they read through the nooks and crannies of their selves can also make them terrific readers. Writers may not be the most reliable arbiters of taste, but when they love something, they love it well. Hansen (Mariette in Ecstasy, 1991, etc.) and Shepard (Kiss of the Wolf, 1993, etc.) honor the difference between reading and criticism by keeping the introductions in this anthology brief. And while many writers pay homage to classics (e.g., Eudora Welty to Chekhov's ``Gooseberries,'' Mary Gordon to Joyce's ``The Dead,'' Allan Gurganus to Cheever's ``Goodbye, My Brother''), the master/disciple dynamic takes some surprising forms, as when John Hawkes introduces his former student Mary Caponegro's ``The Star Café.'' A generous variety distinguishes these stories, which, refreshingly, are not lumped together according to the race, sexual preference, or gender of their authors, but simply by the love that individual readers have for them.

Booklist Review

Writers are passionate readers because literature is an ongoing dialogue. And you can learn a lot about writers by knowing what they love to read. Editors Hansen and Shepard decided to ask some of their favorite American writers to identify stories that fell into their you've-got-to-read-this category. The end result is an anthology of terrific tales introduced by essays that open windows onto the creative process of 35 top fiction writers. Each story is introduced by the writer who was inspired, intimidated, or moved to extreme emotion on reading it. Here's some examples: John Irving chose "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens; Mary Gordon selected "The Dead" by James Joyce; Oscar Hijuelos acknowledged his debt to Jorge Luis Borges' "The Aleph"; Lorrie Moore was stunned by John Updike's "Packed Dirt, Churchgoing, a Dying Cat, a Traded Car"; Joyce Carol Oates picked Kafka's unforgettable "In the Penal Colony"; and Louise Erdrich couldn't get over Robert Stone's "Helping." This is almost a two-for-one deal for story-lovers: a glimpse into the reading minds of one set of popular and talented authors, together with a selection of outstanding stories by their mentors and peers. (Reviewed October 1, 1994)0060553588Donna Seaman

Library Journal Review

Thirty-five well-known authors introduce their favorite stories in this treasure trove of short fiction. For the reader this is a double delight. The introductions clarify the stories and provide rare insights into the minds of writers and the ways in which they read literature. Many of the stories are classics like "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens and "The Dead" by James Joyce. Others are not as famous: Edward P. Jones introduces "The Flowers," Alice Walker's story encompassing both the loss of childhood and the oppression of a race. Amy Tan tells the reader why "Pie Dance" by Molly Giles is a perfectly crafted story. For Francine Prose, Isaac Babel has created a masterpiece of art in "Guy de Maupassant," while T. Coraghessan Boyle's favorite story is Donald Barthelme's "The School." A list of biographies of the authors completes the volume. Recommended for general collections.-Stephanie Furtsch, Purchase Free Lib., N.Y. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Summary

Reviews (3)

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

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