Customer Reviews

The Art of the Tale: An International Anthology of Short Stories

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm a teacher of a small short-stories course, and it is harder than you'd think to find a collection of short stories that shows true variety. _The Art of the Tale_ is one of those rare ones--it is truly international (most that claim to be are actually feature nearly all-American or all-British writers) and varied in subject (many collections are devoted to a theme--which is fine, but not suitable for my purposes). On top of that, it is HUGE, with over 80 stories, yet lightweight enough to carry around easily, and the price easily beats any other comparable collection. (The last one we used had 1/3 the stories for nearly triple the price.)

And even better, this is not yet another collection of all those "standard" stories that seem to appear again and again in every collection. Halpern did include many great authors, but for the most part he sought out less-well-known stories by those authors, so I can share the joy of discovery experienced by my students.

I use anthologies as a way of discovering new authors. If a particular story is thought good enough by the editor to be included in his anthology, I am encouraged to give it a try. In "The Art of the Tale" I have yet to find a clinker. Halpern has introduced me to authors I have been wondering about and authors new to me, with stories great and good, but always well worth reading.

This anthology is my new back seat book: the book I keep in the back seat of the car so that I always have something to read at the diner or waiting room, or in line at the bank.

I've had this anthology of short stories for quite a few years, and as a college textbook, it still remains about the best in its genre. It's not weighted down by so-called apparatus, those questions editors place at the end of stories to purportedly steer the student into thoughtful considerations of the stories. The selection is at once 'mainstream' yet 'electic.' Many well known authors are represented by lesser known samples of their work. The authors range from the avant-garde (Sorrintino) to the traditional (Hemingway). This mix is excellent for those who want to learn the ways short stories work and the varied strategies authors use to create solid, interesting and sometimes captivating work, there is no better way than comparing stories in terms of style, character development, structure, and sensibility. Recommended for the casual reader and student alike. The title which embodies the word 'Tale' is apt, reminding us of the roots of story telling, and how they begain with the oral traditional.

The book was in better condition than as advertised. I was well please with the purchase and would not hesitate to buy from this unit in the future.

I just purchased my second copy for a friend because I didn't want to give mine up!
This a gem of a book!

Although I haven't yet read all the stories in this collection of international short fiction, those I've read are very good. I don't expect to enjoy all of them, of course, but so far, the stories that I've read are well-chosen and fine examples of literature by authors from many different places in the world. Our book club is using the text, and every two weeks we discuss another two stories. It will keep us busy and happy for a long time! Not only are we enjoying the quality of the works, we are fascinated by the variety of the cultural experiences to which we are introduced.

Great selections of atypical stories--not your average short story textbook. Everyone of them is a winner. Great even for quality reading.

After having to drag my I exhausted mind through a semester of english with this book as our choice reading material, I must say that I've become thouroghly disenchanted with this book's selected stories. This is not only because of the fact that most of these stories pull at your heartstrings but also are on topics that can be easily used as vessels to add depth or substance to story.
I was also disappointed that almost half the selected readings were either from the US or England.

I don't believe that I will ever uncover a more diverse, richly rewarding and profoundly influencing introduction to the higher planes of human endeavor than I have in this single book. The diversity of style from ultra modern to classical is extreme and deadly effective. Intellectual food for will be scarred for life with a painful awareness of the insanely limitless and tenuous boundaries which we think defines our inner psyche from our tangible world, and of the realms within human societies.To attempt to explore the works within this book is taking a major step in gaining an awareness that will only serve to further the cause of mankind, and serve as a weapon against those that would attempt to hold it back

Took pretty long to get to me. Was worn, but not written in or highlighted, which is good.