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The Best Short Stories 2022: The O. Henry Prize Winners
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The prestigious annual story anthology includes prize-winning stories by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Lorrie Moore, Olga Tokarczuk, Joseph O'Neill, and Samanta Schweblin.
"Widely regarded as the nation's most prestigious awards for short fiction." — The Atlantic Monthly
C ontinuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Valeria Luiselli has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including stories in translation from Bengali, Greek, Hebrew, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Luiselli, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction. AN ANCHOR BOOKS ORIGINAL.
THE WINNING
“Screen Time,” by Alejandro Zambra,
translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell
“The Wolves of Circassia,” by Daniel Mason
“Mercedes’s Special Talent,” by Tere Dávila,
translated from the Spanish by Rebecca Hanssens-Reed
“Rainbows,” by Joseph O’Neill
“A Way with Bea,” by Shanteka Sigers
“Seams,” by Olga Tokarczuk,
translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft
“The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado
“Lemonade,” by Eshkol Nevo,
translated from the Hebrew by Sondra Silverston
“Breastmilk,” by ‘Pemi Aguda
“The Old Man of Kusumpur,” by Amar Mitra,
translated from the Bengali by Anish Gupta
“Where They Always Meet,” by Christos Ikonomou,
translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich
“Fish Stories,” by Janika Oza
“Horse Soup,” by Vladimir Sorokin,
translated from the Russian by Max Lawton
“Clean Teen,” by Francisco González
“Dengue Boy,” by Michel Nieva,
translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer
“Zikora,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Apples,” by Gunnhild Øyehaug,
translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson
“Warp and Weft,” by David Ryan
“Face Time,” by Lorrie Moore
“An Unlucky Man,” by Samanta Schweblin,
translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell
"Widely regarded as the nation's most prestigious awards for short fiction." — The Atlantic Monthly
C ontinuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Valeria Luiselli has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including stories in translation from Bengali, Greek, Hebrew, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Luiselli, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction. AN ANCHOR BOOKS ORIGINAL.
THE WINNING
“Screen Time,” by Alejandro Zambra,
translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell
“The Wolves of Circassia,” by Daniel Mason
“Mercedes’s Special Talent,” by Tere Dávila,
translated from the Spanish by Rebecca Hanssens-Reed
“Rainbows,” by Joseph O’Neill
“A Way with Bea,” by Shanteka Sigers
“Seams,” by Olga Tokarczuk,
translated from the Polish by Jennifer Croft
“The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado
“Lemonade,” by Eshkol Nevo,
translated from the Hebrew by Sondra Silverston
“Breastmilk,” by ‘Pemi Aguda
“The Old Man of Kusumpur,” by Amar Mitra,
translated from the Bengali by Anish Gupta
“Where They Always Meet,” by Christos Ikonomou,
translated from the Greek by Karen Emmerich
“Fish Stories,” by Janika Oza
“Horse Soup,” by Vladimir Sorokin,
translated from the Russian by Max Lawton
“Clean Teen,” by Francisco González
“Dengue Boy,” by Michel Nieva,
translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer
“Zikora,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
“Apples,” by Gunnhild Øyehaug,
translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson
“Warp and Weft,” by David Ryan
“Face Time,” by Lorrie Moore
“An Unlucky Man,” by Samanta Schweblin,
translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell
368 pages, Paperback
Published September 13, 2022
About the author
Valeria Luiselli
35 books2,281 followersValeria Luiselli was born in Mexico City in 1983 and grew up in South Africa. Her novels and essays have been translated into many languages and her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Granta, and McSweeney’s. Some of her recent projects include a ballet libretto for the choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, performed by the New York City Ballet in Lincoln Center in 2010; a pedestrian sound installation for the Serpentine Gallery in London; and a novella in installments for workers in a juice factory in Mexico. She lives in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
September 22, 2022
[4.5 stars, rounded down]
I purchased this collection on a whim while stuck in the ice-cold, bustling halls of Frankfurt Main Station, looking for warmth and comfort in the local bookstore, and I am very glad I did. The lovely Foreword and Introduction by Jenny Minton Quigley and Valeria Luiselli say it best when they point out how a lot of this collection tells stories that sharpen our empathy, that offer a glimpse into the complex life of a stranger. The diversity in the countries of origin of these stories and resulting diversity in style add to this sense of an expanding of horizons, and as somebody who has recently developed a newfound appreciation for the art of translation, the respect and interest this collection (or more specifically: its editors) have for the craft delighted and inspired me. While I did not love every single story in this collection, I always found something that intrigued or gripped me. My personal favourites were “The Wolves of Circassia”, “Apples”, and “Warp and Weft”, the latter two of which featured some of the most moving and striking musings on love, humanity, and death I have come across in a while. My search for warmth and comfort that led me to this collection was finished when I turned the last page.
I purchased this collection on a whim while stuck in the ice-cold, bustling halls of Frankfurt Main Station, looking for warmth and comfort in the local bookstore, and I am very glad I did. The lovely Foreword and Introduction by Jenny Minton Quigley and Valeria Luiselli say it best when they point out how a lot of this collection tells stories that sharpen our empathy, that offer a glimpse into the complex life of a stranger. The diversity in the countries of origin of these stories and resulting diversity in style add to this sense of an expanding of horizons, and as somebody who has recently developed a newfound appreciation for the art of translation, the respect and interest this collection (or more specifically: its editors) have for the craft delighted and inspired me. While I did not love every single story in this collection, I always found something that intrigued or gripped me. My personal favourites were “The Wolves of Circassia”, “Apples”, and “Warp and Weft”, the latter two of which featured some of the most moving and striking musings on love, humanity, and death I have come across in a while. My search for warmth and comfort that led me to this collection was finished when I turned the last page.
November 23, 2023
1- “Screen Time,” by Alejandro Zambra: Interesting look at parenting amid covid, and how a child copes when he's not exposed to TV at all, which I think is a hard decision to implement, but I still applaud.
2- “The Wolves of Circassia,” by Daniel Mason: I'm not sure I totally got the symbolism of that ending, but it's another pandemic story, this time through a caretaker taking care of an old man with dementia and his family.
3- “Mercedes’s Special Talent,” by Tere Dávila: well, that was depressing. a woman suffering from hypochondria and the suffering of her family as well.
4- “Rainbows,” by Joseph O’Neill: I see where the author was going with this story of immigrants in the US and assimilation and idolizing people, but it felt fragmented, and the ending didn't feel like an end at all
5- “A Way with Bea,” by Shanteka Sigers: weird and unnerving and yet wholesome in a way? An unnamed teacher and her inner thoughts about her life and a certain student of hers called Bea, and her occasional concern for her and her wanting not to get involvd.
6- “Seams,” by Olga Tokarczuk: A heartbreaking story of an old man dealing with life after his wife's death and he seems to notice weird things, like the seams on his socks or the color of ink in his pens, and these thoughts overwhlem him completely. It's very sad.
7- “The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado: read earlier this year in "The Best American Short Stories 2022". my review: What a melancholic story. A widow moves into an apartment building in New York coming from the Dominican Republic and her story turns into a folk tale by her neighbours. loved ths sadness in every word. 5 stars (I discoevered that the story is inspired by a latin american nursery rhyme, and I liked that idea)
8- “Lemonade,” by Eshkol Nevo: not going to read this story.
9- “Breastmilk,” by ‘Pemi Aguda: I don't do well with stories about giving birth. also affairs that go unpunished? and the noosiness of family members after the event of birth, like a woman can't have one minute to herself? but still Liked the story and loved the writing style, it feels sharp and intense. I would love to read more from her.
10- “The Old Man of Kusumpur,” by Amar Mitra: felt like a folktale from Bengal, about an old man embarking on a journey to meet the Big Man he heard about who would solve all of his problems. felt a bit out of place amid these stories.
11- “Where They Always Meet,” by Christos Ikonomou: interresting concept, a journalist encounters a woman, who might be telling the truth or she might be lying, and tells her the story of her life hoping she's publish it: that she's stalin's daughter and that she's followed.
12- “Fish Stories,” by Janika Oza: very short yet packs a punch. a family lost a son and a brother, and how the mother and sister deal with this grief.
13- “Horse Soup,” by Vladimir Sorokin: each collection must have an absurd weird "what the fuck did I just read" story, and this is that one. first of all, it's very long and it's immersive, it had a promising beginning: a men bumps into three youth on the train and becomes obsessed with watching one of them eat, but that relationship becomes more deformed as time goes by, and I think it must have some underlying message about Russia and politics and food and consumerism, but it got too wacky in the end.
14- “Clean Teen,” by Francisco González: Reading this made me sick. trigger warning for a teacher sexually abusing a teenager. it's heartbreaking seeing the progress of the events and what it does to the mind of the teenage boy
15- “Dengue Boy,” by Michel Nieva: a bit of a dystopian story, about a boy who's half bug and he's tormented by everyone around him. had a very gory ending, but also posed a lot of discussions about humanity, pollution and transformation
16- “Zikora,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: This story felt really ffleshed out, I felt like I really know these characters by the end of it. It revolves around motherhood, family, relationships, a daughter that doesn't understand her mother until she's a mother herself, the decision to have a baby, the experience of Ghanian people in the US. I really need to read a full length novel from this author because it feels really overdue.
17- “Apples,” by Gunnhild Øyehaug: huh. a very meta story, I don't think I've read story more meta than this one. I liked the part aboyt Signe and Sonja the best. but it took some interesting turns for such a short story.
18- “Warp and Weft,” by David Ryan: This was immensely tragic and it made me think of the deaths of all my loved ones. I need to forget this because it really tugged all of my heart strings
19- “Face Time,” by Lorrie Moore: a covid story. brings back all the vivid memories of that horrible times of our life. well written.
20- “An Unlucky Man,” by Samanta Schweblin: read it in the author's collection "Seven Empty Houses". my review: this was really uncomfortable. a pedophile-lolita-type story.
2- “The Wolves of Circassia,” by Daniel Mason: I'm not sure I totally got the symbolism of that ending, but it's another pandemic story, this time through a caretaker taking care of an old man with dementia and his family.
3- “Mercedes’s Special Talent,” by Tere Dávila: well, that was depressing. a woman suffering from hypochondria and the suffering of her family as well.
4- “Rainbows,” by Joseph O’Neill: I see where the author was going with this story of immigrants in the US and assimilation and idolizing people, but it felt fragmented, and the ending didn't feel like an end at all
5- “A Way with Bea,” by Shanteka Sigers: weird and unnerving and yet wholesome in a way? An unnamed teacher and her inner thoughts about her life and a certain student of hers called Bea, and her occasional concern for her and her wanting not to get involvd.
6- “Seams,” by Olga Tokarczuk: A heartbreaking story of an old man dealing with life after his wife's death and he seems to notice weird things, like the seams on his socks or the color of ink in his pens, and these thoughts overwhlem him completely. It's very sad.
7- “The Little Widow from the Capital,” by Yohanca Delgado: read earlier this year in "The Best American Short Stories 2022". my review: What a melancholic story. A widow moves into an apartment building in New York coming from the Dominican Republic and her story turns into a folk tale by her neighbours. loved ths sadness in every word. 5 stars (I discoevered that the story is inspired by a latin american nursery rhyme, and I liked that idea)
8- “Lemonade,” by Eshkol Nevo: not going to read this story.
9- “Breastmilk,” by ‘Pemi Aguda: I don't do well with stories about giving birth. also affairs that go unpunished? and the noosiness of family members after the event of birth, like a woman can't have one minute to herself? but still Liked the story and loved the writing style, it feels sharp and intense. I would love to read more from her.
10- “The Old Man of Kusumpur,” by Amar Mitra: felt like a folktale from Bengal, about an old man embarking on a journey to meet the Big Man he heard about who would solve all of his problems. felt a bit out of place amid these stories.
11- “Where They Always Meet,” by Christos Ikonomou: interresting concept, a journalist encounters a woman, who might be telling the truth or she might be lying, and tells her the story of her life hoping she's publish it: that she's stalin's daughter and that she's followed.
12- “Fish Stories,” by Janika Oza: very short yet packs a punch. a family lost a son and a brother, and how the mother and sister deal with this grief.
13- “Horse Soup,” by Vladimir Sorokin: each collection must have an absurd weird "what the fuck did I just read" story, and this is that one. first of all, it's very long and it's immersive, it had a promising beginning: a men bumps into three youth on the train and becomes obsessed with watching one of them eat, but that relationship becomes more deformed as time goes by, and I think it must have some underlying message about Russia and politics and food and consumerism, but it got too wacky in the end.
14- “Clean Teen,” by Francisco González: Reading this made me sick. trigger warning for a teacher sexually abusing a teenager. it's heartbreaking seeing the progress of the events and what it does to the mind of the teenage boy
15- “Dengue Boy,” by Michel Nieva: a bit of a dystopian story, about a boy who's half bug and he's tormented by everyone around him. had a very gory ending, but also posed a lot of discussions about humanity, pollution and transformation
16- “Zikora,” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: This story felt really ffleshed out, I felt like I really know these characters by the end of it. It revolves around motherhood, family, relationships, a daughter that doesn't understand her mother until she's a mother herself, the decision to have a baby, the experience of Ghanian people in the US. I really need to read a full length novel from this author because it feels really overdue.
17- “Apples,” by Gunnhild Øyehaug: huh. a very meta story, I don't think I've read story more meta than this one. I liked the part aboyt Signe and Sonja the best. but it took some interesting turns for such a short story.
18- “Warp and Weft,” by David Ryan: This was immensely tragic and it made me think of the deaths of all my loved ones. I need to forget this because it really tugged all of my heart strings
19- “Face Time,” by Lorrie Moore: a covid story. brings back all the vivid memories of that horrible times of our life. well written.
20- “An Unlucky Man,” by Samanta Schweblin: read it in the author's collection "Seven Empty Houses". my review: this was really uncomfortable. a pedophile-lolita-type story.
October 1, 2022
Four and a half stars.
"Best of" short story anthologies are generally comprised of work from a particular year that has been selected by the editor and then narrowed to the stories that will be published by a guest judge. In this collection, however, the collection is highly curated by Valeria Luiselli and features specific themes, much of it about the beginnings of Covid, and highlights ten stories in translation from Spanish, Russian, Norwegian, Polish, Hebrew, Bengali, and Greek authors.
There are surprises in mood and tone; a couple of the stories are absurdist and a couple of them are about writing and storytelling themselves. There is an amazing/puzzling/thrilling/grotesque long form story about two characters who meet during the fall of the Soviets (Horse Soup) that I'm not sure I completely understood but was riveted by. And there is new work by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about ghosting and a Covid-set family story by Lorrie Moore. I am inspired to read more of some of these writers' works. This is one of the best anthologies I've read.
"Best of" short story anthologies are generally comprised of work from a particular year that has been selected by the editor and then narrowed to the stories that will be published by a guest judge. In this collection, however, the collection is highly curated by Valeria Luiselli and features specific themes, much of it about the beginnings of Covid, and highlights ten stories in translation from Spanish, Russian, Norwegian, Polish, Hebrew, Bengali, and Greek authors.
There are surprises in mood and tone; a couple of the stories are absurdist and a couple of them are about writing and storytelling themselves. There is an amazing/puzzling/thrilling/grotesque long form story about two characters who meet during the fall of the Soviets (Horse Soup) that I'm not sure I completely understood but was riveted by. And there is new work by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie about ghosting and a Covid-set family story by Lorrie Moore. I am inspired to read more of some of these writers' works. This is one of the best anthologies I've read.
January 31, 2024
As is to be expected with a short story anthology by many different authors, my reaction to the stories was very mixed - some I loved, many made me think, some I didn't understand and some were just really not my bag.
That being said, I don't think you can really go wrong with this collection if you like short stories at all! A very diverse, interesting selection.
(3 stars overall is just because it the collection overall did not grab me as much as my 4-star reads; certain stories in this were easily 4-5 stars.)
In contrast to some other reviewers here, I really liked the contemporary pandemic stories. I think short stories are an excellent way of dealing with the subject, and these were thoughtful and varied explorations of the subject.
My favourites:
- A Way with Bea (Shanteka Sigers)
- Zikora (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
- Apples (Gunnhild Oyehaug)
- Dengue Boy (Michael Nieva)
- Screen Time (Alejandro Zambra)
- Face Time (Lorrie Moore)
- Warp and Weft (David Ryan)
That being said, I don't think you can really go wrong with this collection if you like short stories at all! A very diverse, interesting selection.
(3 stars overall is just because it the collection overall did not grab me as much as my 4-star reads; certain stories in this were easily 4-5 stars.)
In contrast to some other reviewers here, I really liked the contemporary pandemic stories. I think short stories are an excellent way of dealing with the subject, and these were thoughtful and varied explorations of the subject.
My favourites:
- A Way with Bea (Shanteka Sigers)
- Zikora (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
- Apples (Gunnhild Oyehaug)
- Dengue Boy (Michael Nieva)
- Screen Time (Alejandro Zambra)
- Face Time (Lorrie Moore)
- Warp and Weft (David Ryan)
May 31, 2023
Really great short stories to keep one sane. Favorites included Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Seams by Olga Tokarczuk, Mercedes’s Special Talent by Tere Davila, and An Unlucky Man by Samanta Schweblin.
November 11, 2022
I wondered whether in the final moments a dying person said, "So this is death," or did they say, "So that was life"? - Lorrie Moore, "Face Time"
Many of these are forgettable, but some are pretty good.
Francisco González's "Clean Teen" is a well-written and depressing story of a privileged woman abusing an adolescent boy from the poor, minority community she teaches in.
Samanta Schweblin's "An Unlucky Man" also deals with child abuse. It's deeply uncomfortable to read, as you watch events unfold slowly from the perspective of a girl who is oblivious to their sinister implications.
Michel Nieva's "Dengue Boy" follows a child with a distressing set of mutations: he's essentially an anthropomorphized mosquito. Stories about growing up different from everyone else - or learning to love a child who is different from what you expected - are a common trope, but this takes it to quite an extreme.
I was happy to encounter Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's name again after reading her story "The Thing Around Your Neck" in another collection. Her entry in this collection, "Zikora", follows a woman who is abruptly dumped from a previously wonderful relationship when she announces that she is pregnant. Among other things, it's a cautionary tale about the importance of explicit, unambiguous communication about anything important.
In Eshkol Nevo's "Lemonade", a woman's shitty husband and the economic stress of the pandemic persuade her to make porn for some extra income. This goes wrong in a disturbing, unanticipated way.
The protagonist of 'Pemi Aguda's "Breastmilk" tries to reconcile her willingness to forgive her husband for cheating and her desire to be as fierce and uncompromosing as her feminist activist mother.
Amar Mitra's "The Old Man of Kusumpur" is a little fable about a man embarking on a dubious religious quest.
Yohanca Delgado's "The Little Widow from the Capital" is told in the first-person plural: the women in a tight-knight community of immigrants from the Dominican Republican pry into the life of a new arrival.
Daniel Mason's "The Wolves of Circassia" made me smile with its sweet friendship between a young boy and his dementia-afflicted grandfather.
Vladimir Sorokin's "Horse Soup" sucked me in with its bizarre setup - a man who derives obscene pleasure from watching others eat. For such a long story, though, I would have liked more to be explained.
(crossposted from https://brokensandals.net/reviews/202...)
August 23, 2023
“When they say something tastes nutty, do we know what nut they mean? Because a walnut tastes nothing like a cashew nut.”
February 27, 2023
For me, the gems in this volume are:
The Wolves of Circassia by Daniel Mason
The Little Widow from the Capital by Yohanca Delgado
Face Time by Lorrie Moore
and especially Breastmilk by 'Pemi Aguda
The Wolves of Circassia by Daniel Mason
The Little Widow from the Capital by Yohanca Delgado
Face Time by Lorrie Moore
and especially Breastmilk by 'Pemi Aguda
April 8, 2023
Beautiful, human, odd, perplexing and real. I’m reminded again how difficult it is to read short stories - the blur, the birth & death of characters every few pages. But this one is worth the trouble. It captures a view of the pandemic world 2020-21 and some of it already sounds like science fiction.
May 1, 2023
enjoyed it overall; a few didn’t connect with me, but Apples, Warp and Weft, and Zikora will stay with me for a long, long time
April 1, 2023
I really loved reading this book; I’ve never read a collection of short stories like this. I loved how each story was vastly different from the next, how global the collection was, how some stories perfectly captured the mood of the early pandemic, and how each wove such a vivid narrative in a short amount of space. Definitely want to read more like this!!
February 20, 2023
So many brilliant and excellent stories. My absolute favorite was Gunnhild Oyehaug's "Apples" for its incredible, dizzying jumps in perspective from character to author to reader. David Ryan's "Warp and Weft" was also very memorable with it's weaving together of so many disparate stories. Others worthy of mention are Samanta Schweblins' "An Unlucky Man," Eshkol Nevo's "Lemonade," Joseph O'Neill's "Rainbows," and Daniel Mason's "The Wolves of Circassia."
May 11, 2023
understand it is a collection of prize winners, but i wish there was more consistency in length and theme. took me awhile to get through this.
enjoyed a few, but couldn’t stay engaged
enjoyed a few, but couldn’t stay engaged
October 20, 2022
Great to read so much work in translation
December 26, 2022
Different, but great. My attention span has been rather short lately, probably because all I do is watch TikTok but oh well. This compilation of stories was perfect for helping that problem and I found that I really do love short stories, sometimes.
The thing about short stories is that sometimes they are very simple and easy to understand but then there are really strange ones and you are left at the end asking like "Wtf did I just read?"
Nevertheless, the one that really stuck out and made reading the whole thing very worth it was "Warp and Weft" by David Ryan. It was about how certain moments can lead to other moments and that people's lives are more interconnected that we know. I appreciated how short but profound it was. Very simple stuff, but what a great message. I highly recommend reading it and its so short and a quick google search will pull the whole thing up.
I don't think short stories get enough credit. I feel like they are, in some ways, better at getting across a message and a lot easier to read for people. I feel like more people would read if they started out reading short stories. Also... a quick way to learn about other people's cultures pretty in depth. A lot of the stories in this compilation were translated from other countries and I thought that was pretty cool. Learned a lot of interesting things in a short span and in short bursts.
The only thing I would say that I don't appreciate about this book of stories is I kind of wish there were little blurbs a the end of the stories in which the authors explained the contents. Some were so obscure I wish I grasped what the stories were about. But I guess that would ruin the point, right?
Fave quote!
“And what is a stranger anyway? Aren’t we all, forever?”
The thing about short stories is that sometimes they are very simple and easy to understand but then there are really strange ones and you are left at the end asking like "Wtf did I just read?"
Nevertheless, the one that really stuck out and made reading the whole thing very worth it was "Warp and Weft" by David Ryan. It was about how certain moments can lead to other moments and that people's lives are more interconnected that we know. I appreciated how short but profound it was. Very simple stuff, but what a great message. I highly recommend reading it and its so short and a quick google search will pull the whole thing up.
I don't think short stories get enough credit. I feel like they are, in some ways, better at getting across a message and a lot easier to read for people. I feel like more people would read if they started out reading short stories. Also... a quick way to learn about other people's cultures pretty in depth. A lot of the stories in this compilation were translated from other countries and I thought that was pretty cool. Learned a lot of interesting things in a short span and in short bursts.
The only thing I would say that I don't appreciate about this book of stories is I kind of wish there were little blurbs a the end of the stories in which the authors explained the contents. Some were so obscure I wish I grasped what the stories were about. But I guess that would ruin the point, right?
Fave quote!
“And what is a stranger anyway? Aren’t we all, forever?”
January 27, 2023
My first real honest dip into reading some short stories- was a neat collection! I’m looking forward to trying some more sci-fi type ones as well vs more realistic fiction. Lemonade, Breastmilk, clean teen, dengue boy, and zikora were some of my favorites.
Read
October 12, 2022Dengue Boy
Apples
Warp and Weft
Zikora
Breastmilk
An Unlucky Man
Face Time
Horse Soup
The Little Widow from the Capital
Clean Teen
...
Apples
Warp and Weft
Zikora
Breastmilk
An Unlucky Man
Face Time
Horse Soup
The Little Widow from the Capital
Clean Teen
...
October 8, 2022
Mixed bag here. I didn't enjoy the pandemic stories here really at all. I don't know if it's too soon — or rather I think that while the pandemic itself is interesting we haven't really found a way to write about it in a way that is interesting for us who lived through it. My favorite stories were most often the works in translation. I loved that Luiselli focused on works in translation and diversity of perspectives and literary traditions when editing. I was definitely exposed to a lot of different writers and ways of storytelling in this collection, which was enough to make it a worthwhile read.
January 7, 2023
My favorite story in this book is Horse Soup. There are a couple stories in this collection that I loved that made me give it three stars, but overall, I was disappointed with the collection. A lot of the stories were about Covid, which is a reality, but I didn’t want to read about it so much. I also was confused because I realized that all of the stories were originally published in 2020-2021, not 2022. So that was weird to me.
January 8, 2023
“And in this moment, she stands there in the garden, a tree in waiting, something that will grow, blossom, bear fruit, lose fruit, lose her leaves, be covered in snow, etc., with an astonishing patience and the peace that is particular to apple trees.” - from Apples
“It is a worthwhile life. It is a worthwhile body, too.” - from Rainbows
“Time before him, she forgets it now, like this dream, in waking.” - from Warp and Weft
“love had to feel like hunger to be true” - from Zikora
“It is a worthwhile life. It is a worthwhile body, too.” - from Rainbows
“Time before him, she forgets it now, like this dream, in waking.” - from Warp and Weft
“love had to feel like hunger to be true” - from Zikora
September 8, 2023
Someone please tell me what on Earth ‘Horse Soup’ was about because Google certainly won’t…
July 8, 2024
I liked many of the stories in this book, and appreciated the cultural variety, as well as the intro detailing how the stories are chosen, and the history of the prize. I'll probably read the compilation for 2023 next time I'm in the mood for great short stories.
One unexpected benefit of the book was the sampler platter of new voices. Because most authors in the book have also published full length novels, it was a great way to find new authors I really like! I really liked Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's short story in this collection, and picked up her novel Americanah right afterwards, which I'm really enjoying.
One unexpected benefit of the book was the sampler platter of new voices. Because most authors in the book have also published full length novels, it was a great way to find new authors I really like! I really liked Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's short story in this collection, and picked up her novel Americanah right afterwards, which I'm really enjoying.
December 3, 2024
4.5 just bc I enjoyed most of these! Discovering a new love for short stories with this one. My favorites include (in order of appearance):
1. The Wolves of Circassia by Daniel Mason
2. Mercedes’s Special Talent by Tere Dávila (transl. by Rebecca Hanssens-Reed)
3. Rainbows by Joseph O’Neil
4. Little Widow from the Capital by Yohanca Delgado
5. Breastmilk by ‘Pemi Aguda
6. Where They Always Meet by Christos Ikonomou (transl. by Karen Emmerich)
7. Clean Teen by Francisco González (SAD SAD SAD)
8. Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (my top fave ❤️)
1. The Wolves of Circassia by Daniel Mason
2. Mercedes’s Special Talent by Tere Dávila (transl. by Rebecca Hanssens-Reed)
3. Rainbows by Joseph O’Neil
4. Little Widow from the Capital by Yohanca Delgado
5. Breastmilk by ‘Pemi Aguda
6. Where They Always Meet by Christos Ikonomou (transl. by Karen Emmerich)
7. Clean Teen by Francisco González (SAD SAD SAD)
8. Zikora by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (my top fave ❤️)
October 11, 2022
It was really interesting to read short fiction from so many of my favorite authors- and to have so many works in translation in this edition. Some of the stories will stick with me for quite some time! I did not really enjoy the pandemic stories, though I can understand their inclusion. I found the works in translation to be the most varied and interesting of the bunch. 4 stars for keeping me guessing and reading, and for the diversity of voices.
March 31, 2023
I always find the short story genre a hit-or-miss reading experience. I understand that the structure of such short fiction needs to be tight, resonant in terms of its message to the reader and usually a single plot, yet I find the inconclusive nature of much short storytelling to be frustrating. I like a neat, tidy ending, whether it be a happy or tragic one. I often find the resolutions of prize-winning short stories to be unsatisfactory, perhaps highlighting an amateur writer way of thinking.
Many of the stories in this collection do not end with a definite conclusion. For me, they leave too many unanswered questions, which affects whether I'm left with a lasting message, and for many of these stories, I was not.
Ten of the twenty stories in this collection are in translation. Of these, translated from Spanish, Polish, Bengali, Norwegian, Greek, Russian and Hebrew, my favourite is that of Samanta Schweblin called An Unlucky Man. I enjoyed reading the author's explanation of its personal and political nature and her aim to show that 'without the reader's fears and prejudices, this story wouldn't work.' It reminded me of a scene from Dani Shapiro's latest novel Signal Fires.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's story Zikora and 'Pemi Aguda's story Breastmilk stand out from the crowd. Interesting since they address the same topics of motherhood and childbirth. The imagery and 'grittier and more realistic' description of birthing a child presented beautifully in both of these stories appealed to me.
A number of the stories deal with the Covid-era. They are current and engaging with fresh representation of what will become interesting historical documentation of this century. A collection of stories all more closely tied to the central pivot of the pandemic might have worked more strongly than having them dotted amongst other stories with no mention of Covid-19.
Many of the stories in this collection do not end with a definite conclusion. For me, they leave too many unanswered questions, which affects whether I'm left with a lasting message, and for many of these stories, I was not.
Ten of the twenty stories in this collection are in translation. Of these, translated from Spanish, Polish, Bengali, Norwegian, Greek, Russian and Hebrew, my favourite is that of Samanta Schweblin called An Unlucky Man. I enjoyed reading the author's explanation of its personal and political nature and her aim to show that 'without the reader's fears and prejudices, this story wouldn't work.' It reminded me of a scene from Dani Shapiro's latest novel Signal Fires.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's story Zikora and 'Pemi Aguda's story Breastmilk stand out from the crowd. Interesting since they address the same topics of motherhood and childbirth. The imagery and 'grittier and more realistic' description of birthing a child presented beautifully in both of these stories appealed to me.
A number of the stories deal with the Covid-era. They are current and engaging with fresh representation of what will become interesting historical documentation of this century. A collection of stories all more closely tied to the central pivot of the pandemic might have worked more strongly than having them dotted amongst other stories with no mention of Covid-19.
April 23, 2023
Lot of really good stories here! my faves were Face Time, Warp and Weft, Dengue Boy, Fish Stories, and Mercedes’s Special Talent.
There were some I couldn’t even stomach getting through a few pages of due to the way they were written. Could be due to translation for some, others I probs just realllyyyy didn’t jibe w the writing style. Still a good book!
There were some I couldn’t even stomach getting through a few pages of due to the way they were written. Could be due to translation for some, others I probs just realllyyyy didn’t jibe w the writing style. Still a good book!
April 17, 2023
some of the stories were incredibly poignant and well written, some were just fine, and some were honestly just weird... not to sound like goldilocks right now with my 3 categories, but this anthology was honestly rather discordant and had no clear flow to it
January 20, 2024
I would consider this a 2.5 (half) as it is so eclectic in its stories; but I specifically enjoyed Screen Time by Alejandro Zambra, Apples by Gunnhild Øyehaug, Face Time by Lorrie Moore, and An Unlucky Man by Samanta Schweblin. (Check trigger warnings!)
August 14, 2024
این مجموعه متشکل از یه سری داستانهای برگزیده جایزه اوهنریه و داستانهایی داره از نقاط مختلف دنیا و این خیلی خوب و جذاب بود برام. خوندن داستان از کشورهایی که به صورت عادی و معمولی ممکنه سراغ داستانهاشون نریم. موضوعات بعضی داستانها درمورد کرونا بود و خوندن روایتهایی از تجربه همگانی جهانی مون جذابیت ویژه ای داشت. ترجمه ی بعضی داستانها واقعا ناامید کننده بود؛ مثلا استفاده از ترکیبهای عجیب و نا آشنایی مثل بوی نمناک به جای بوی نا و ... این کتاب یه بازبینی هم برای غلط های تایپی لازم داشت. .
July 19, 2023
A 4.5 probably, some great stories but maybe too many stories. Overall average rating is 3.87 so I gave it 5 to bump it up
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