by Nathan Englander
I abandoned this a few months ago after reading the title story, What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank, but decided to give it another go. I enjoyed but wasn't wowed by any of the stories until Free Fruit for Young Widows, which was absolutely terrifying and heartbreaking.
To write a review about a book full of short stories is always more difficult for me, as it is to write one for a novel. There is the shortness that you get, to get used to the characters and the plot, there is also the problem that it contains a lot of stories, and it is rarely that one is as good ...
I like the way he writes about Jewish/Israeli history & cultural traditions & how they affect people's lives.
I feel like I should give this more stars and that I should have liked it more but, honestly, it just wasn't for me. There was nothing wrong with it, just not to my tastes.
I only read two of the stories, but with reach i felt empty. I felt a huge disconnect between the writers intent and the finished product. I did not, as i usually feel while reading short stories, and emptiness stirred by a desire for more. I did not feel the demand for more.... More dammit. as a wh...
This is my first Englander and I am impressed. He demonstrates great range in these eight stories, from the blazing to the subtle, the good and the bad. Where he's best is hitting the solid middle gray stuff - where you don't know who to root for, whether the actor is in the right or the wrong, whet...
I waffled--4, or 5? One story was a misfire for me, but really just in comparison:"The Reader" had Englander's trademark hints of magic, bit the gloves were threadbare, the sleight of hand somewhat fumbling, the trick itself mostly expected, mawkish, obvious. Every other story was outstanding. Ev...
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