There were some absolute gems in this collection that I'm sure I will read again. Of course, there were others that didn't impress me, but that number was quite small. I think it was 3, 4 at the most, out of twenty.
I really loved THE FIREMAN'S WIFE by Richard Bausch, which was basically about a woman who has grown disinterested in her marriage. She even has a bag packed to leave when her husband is brought home with both of his hands severely burnt. At the end of the story, she is doing EVERYTHING for him because it's hard to wipe your own ass without hands, but the reader is left only to assume, she'll eventually leave him.
Richard Bausch has another story in the collection, which is rare for an author to have two stories, but he and Alice Munro do. Richard Ford said he didn't want to penalize a writer for having written more than one good story, which makes sense. If you're looking for the twenty best stories what does it matter two came from the same writer.
THE WIZARD by C.S. GodShalk is another really good one about a boy who sells drugs in a horrible neighborhood, but is a genius. It sounds like he has a photographic memory. He wins a scholarship to a well-respected private school, but the reader is left wondering if he'll be able to attend everyday with all the drama in his life.
Lorrie Moore has one of the strongest stories called YOU'RE UGLY TOO, about a woman is past the age at which most women have been married and sort of gets jealous when her sister announces her wedding date. At the end of the story, the reader finds out, along with the sister, that the main character has a doctor's appointment in which she is probably going to receive some bad news.
PROWLER is awesome, written by Elizabeth Tallent. Another strained husband and wife relationship, who have divorced, but are now fighting over their son. The former husband actually breaks into the ex-wife's appartment. It was so well-written my heart was actually pounding as he was walking around in the empty apartment.
Good, good stuff in this book. A true treasure that I'm happy to say, I own.
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