Access The Best American Short Stories 2015 Edited By T. Coraghessan Boyle Presented As Mobi

have a theory that has proved true now for at least a couple of years, If a person loves the author who is guest editor for this series, there is a really good chance that person will love many, if not all, of the stories that writer collected for the "Best American Short Stories.
" This was my experience with's by Elizabeth Strout, which was one of the best gathering of stories that I have ever encountered, and true of T, C. Boyle's collection this year. One or two of these I had seen before when they came out in magazines like Malie Meloy's Madame Lazarus" and some authors I was familiar with and enjoyed before like Jess Walter and Elizabeth mcCracken and Louise Edrich.
But there were authors here that I had never heard of before and a few stories that were pretty close to perfect, including Colum McCann's "Sh'kohl," a story so haunting and so compelling I will remember it forever.
After treasuring that story and researching the author, I noticed that he has a brand new collection of stories out with that story in it, and I cannot wait to read it.
I could go on about others in this collection, but I would just say to anyone who is a story person, dig in and savor, . . I read it cover to cover and almost thought each story here was incredible, I love short stories and adore the Best American series and these truly did not disappoint, I loved so many of them but some of my absolute favorites were Moving On, Jack, July, Kavitha and Mustafa, About My Aunt,” and Mr, Voice. Note: This rating reflects the one story I read Shobha Rao's Kavitha and Mustafa, Mini RTC Normally, when I read a short story collection I find some stories I love, some I like, some that are not too bad, and at least one that makes me cringe, but not in this collection.
Editor T. C. Boyle has done a wonderful job of selecting highly readable and enjoyable stories that range from good to wildly fantastic, There's not a humdrum story in the lot, Arranged alpha by author and containing at least one writer I recognized immediately Louise Erdrich, the collection represents a number of literary publications with The New Yorker amp Tin House leading the group.
I found several stories to be of particular note: the amusing "Happy Endings" by Kevin Canty, originally published in the New Ohio the Atwoodlike dystopia, "Moving On" by Diane Cook originally published in Tin House the metaphorical "Jack, July" by Victor Lodato originally published in The New Yorker the suspenseful family saga, "Sh'kol" written by Colum McCann and originally published by Zoetrope: AllStory, which reminded me of Doris Lessing's The Tunnel and the sad family saga, "Thunderstruck" written by Elizabeth McCracken and originally published by Story Quarterly.
Finally, the collection ends with a onetwo knockout punch of suspensefilled dramas that end in welldevised plot twists: "Unsafe at Any Speed" written by Laura Lee Smith and originally published in New England and "Mr.


Voice" written by Jess Walter and originally published in Tin House, If Mr. Boyle'srendition of the collection is representative of this series, then I am excited to read more, This is only the second volume of Best American Short Stories I've read from cover to cover, although I own several and have dipped into them, I enjoyed this book much better than thecollection,

I also really appreciate the notes in the back where the authors talk about how their story came together, I had already read some of the short stories in this collection while others were new to me, I was very disappointed with the selection of stories and found myself wondering how they made it into this book, Perhaps the primary issue is that my taste runs very differently than T, C. Boyle, this year's editor. I'm a fan of his early work but have not been thrilled with his more recent writings, Overall, this year's selection is very disappointing to me, I always enjoy this series of short stories, Starts strong, but peters out just before the halfway point save for two knockout, devastating stories, “Thunderstruck" Elizabeth McCracken and "Madame Lazarus Maile Meloy, The former, concerning a traumatic brain injury, hit close to home the latter, about a man's love for his dying dog, couldn't be further from home but generated an unexpected gut punch.


Other notable picks: "The Siege at Whale Cay" Meghan Mayhew Bergman, "Happy Endings" Kevin Canty, "Moving On" Diane Cook, "The Black Cat" Louise Erdrich, and "Kavitha and Mustafa" Shobha Rao.
I loved this book. Though I rarely read these collections straight through, this book had an incredible mix of voices, Each story grabbed me from the first paragraph, and I was introduced to some writers Id never read before, but will be on the lookout for in the future, This is a book you want to own I checked this book out from the library, but I plan to buy my own copy, Writers like Megan Mayhew Bergman, Justin Bigos, Jess Walter, Diane Cook, and Sarah Kokernot will keep you turning the pages, marveling at these terrific stories, In his introduction to this one hundredth volume of the beloved Best American Short Stories, guest editor T, C. Boyle writes, “The Model T gave way to the Model A and to the Ferrari and the Prius, . . modernism to postmodernism and postpostmodernism, We advance. We progress. We move on. But we are part of a tradition, ”

Boyles choices of stories reflect a vibrant range of characters, from a numb wife who feels alive only in the presence of violence to a new widower coming to terms with his sudden freedom, from a missing child to a champion speedboat racer.
These stories will grab hold and surprise, which according to Boyle is “what the best fiction offers, and there was no shortage of such in this years selections, ”

Mulling over the question of character likability, series editor Heidi Pitlor asks, “Did I like these characters I very much liked reading their stories, as did T, C. Boyle. ” Here are characters who “are living, breathing people who screw up terribly and want and need and think uneasy thoughts, ”  

T. C. BOYLE, guest editor, has published fifteen novels and ten collections of short stories, He won the PEN/Faulkner Award infor his novel Worlds End and the Prix Médicis étranger for The Tortilla Curtain in, as well as theHenry David Thoreau Prize for excellence in nature writing.
His most recent book is the novel The Harder They Come,

HEIDI PITLOR, series editor, is a former senior editor at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, She is the author of the novels The Birthdays and The Daylight Marriage, "The Siege at Whale Cay" by Megan Mayhew Bergman Wow! Beautiful descriptions, The despondency in the characters reminded me of F, Scott Fitzgerald. I like the ambiguity at the end too,

"Fingerprints" by Justin Bigos This story jumped around at such a frenetic pace that it was difficult to really identify who the character were, A son/daughter and a riches to rags alcoholic father,

"Happy Endings" by Kevin Canty A man finds contentment after tragedy through sexy massages, Thought he would form an unhealthy relationship with Tracy, but instead seems to build an unhealthy habit as a john,

"Moving On" by Diane Cook Love and loss in the dystopia! Orwell would approve,

"Bride" by Julia Elliott Weird story that went a hundred places and nowhere all at once, Where should a reader focus: budding relationship sickness ravaging the monastery delusional visions of Christ at the moment of death

"The Big Cat" by Louise Erdrich Well, as Heidi Pitlor says, this guy is not very likeable, but I liked how he related a story.
It was circular, but he came to be put in his place, psychologically at least,

"You'll Apologize If You Have To" by Ben Fowlkes An interesting anecdote in the life of a fighter on a downward slope, The beginning knockout scene was captiviating and the rest of the story followed with levity and a lightness of tone,

"The Fugue" by Arna Bontemps Hemenway What a weird story, . . full of sensate imagery, yet utterly boring in the middle, with a traumatic ending that felt unearned,

"The Largesse of the Sea Maiden" by Denis Johnson Maybe I just don't get it, There were a few poignant bits, but what holds this together as a complete narrative What was this story, other than an old man reflecting on moments of his life Boyle, as editor, seems to favor these sorts of anecdotal collection stories.


"M amp L" by Sarah Kokernot Painful, tender, and honest, This story is about dealing with relationship trauma and coming to terms with the skeletons in one's closet, The future seems dim for M amp L, like their dark past, but this one moment is bright,

"Jack, July" by Victor Lodato Drugs will mess you up, . . I like how the author used some time confusion in this story, There is no narrator as unreliable as a drugaddled one,

"Sh'khol" by Colum McCann The sorrow and sadness of this story seems interrupted by the "happy ending, " It's not quite a feel good tale, but I guess it fits the label "feel better, "

"Thunderstruck" by Elizabeth McCracken Compare and contrast the trauma and reactions experienced in this story to that of the character in "Sh'khol, " This story seemed a bit uneven at first, but I suppose as readers we aren't supposed to know why the girl does what she does, . . the differing reactions of her parents are interesting, and I wonder who is more damagaed by their hopes and dreams being dashed: the mother or the father The inclusion of Helen's thoughts at the end seemed unnecessary, and only put in place to make the story less "crushing.
"

"Motherlode" by Thomas McGuane This was such a boring story until the last page, Dimwitted cowman caught up with inept criminals,

"Madame Lazarus" by Maile Meloy This gets emotional at the end, and even seems earned with the death of the dog, But the beginning was abrupt and the middle seemed contrived, Is that the right word The perspective was a bit hard to nail down at first, old gay French man and the dog his lover got him,

"Kavitah and Mustafa" by Shobha Rao An Indian woman and a Pakistani boy escape a train robbery, Some tense moments. So, what happens next for them

"About My Aunt" by Joan Silber What a charmed life the aunt lived, Very interesting to get the two different perspectives of what one can get out of life at the end of the story,

"North" by Aria Beth Sloss This one reminds me a bit of the Bradbury story with the spaceman who leaves his family and never returns, Same concept, but deeper emotional impact here, Excellent weight of gravity at the end of the story, Quite a woman the mother was, an unsung hero contrasted with the father, I don't think he was selfish, but driven, and she knew there was little she could do to make him stay,

"Unsafe at Any Speed" by Laura Lee Smith I liked this midlife crisis adventure story, It turned out a hell of a lot better in the end for Theo than it could have, but he didn't learn any valuable lesson even though he had a cathartic experience.


"Mr. Voice" by Jess Walter "with my father, " Wow, this is a story that seemed to get a little preachy near the end, but I liked the message it presented nonetheless, Family are the people who love and support you, . . family is not biology and your biology is not a curse, .