Customer Reviews

Best New American Voices 2005

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

 

 

I was thrilled and surprised by the diversity of voices in this book, and found myself drawn into the stories from the first to the last, grabbed by the strength of the prose and the excitement of discovering so many new writers. The stories certainly don't seem like they were written by newbies -- they're really strong and moving and wildly imaginative. The best surprise was how much humor there is (especially in "Essay #3: Leda and the Swan," probably my favorite in the book, though it'd be tough to tell for sure). I can't wait to see more from these writers in the future, and to read next year's collection from these editors.

I enjoyed some of the stories in this book, especially "Essay #3: Leda and the Swan" by Eric Puchner. Really, if all of the stories had been as entertaining as Puchner's I would have given this book five stars.

Puchner's offering is the imagined high school essay penned by one Natalie Mudbrook, in analyzing "Leda and the Swan" by William Butler Yeats. In writing this essay Natalie goes out on a tangent and ends up talking about her love and family life instead of the "perverted swans" described by the "mentally ill" Yeats.

Natalies's essay proves to be both hilarious and deeply moving! Her well-placed malapropisms and awkward phrasings generate such countless gems as (in reference to her chain-smoking vegan sister Jeanie) "she lived up to her slut stardom with great success but still slept with a stuffed hippopotamus on a nightly basis" and "she was a human sex appliance with no moral fibers". There are also wonderful descriptions of the boy (and front man for the small-time rock band Salacious Universe) both sisters love such as "his eyes were gleaming in a weird way from the sulfur lights like those reflector things on the pedal of a bike" or "[his] hair was partaking in photosynthesis from the moon". Other wonderful strings of words set special moods such as "It was all very peaceful and beautiful with the janitors talking in Spanish and the imported words floating on top of our heads".

You should be able to find this book at discount book sellers (e.g., Half-Price Books) for about $5.98. At that price, the short story by Eric Puchner, "Essay #3-Leda and the Swan," is more than worth the price of the book. I would almost be willing to pay full price for this anthology just to share this "essay" with my friends.

This volume contains a wide variety of short stories. I found all of them to be well written and interesting. There were some topics that I never would have chosen to read about, had they been in individual books, but this book exposed me to styles and authors that I would have missed if they had not been included in a collection.

I'm late to the party, and haven't read many anthologies, so what do I know? This one is a grand assemblage of stories by some of my favorite writers, including Eric Puchner and Michael Lowenthal. But what I don't like is the bad faith or outright big lie that this series represents. Apparently to be included in the anthology you have to be enrolled in a creative writing MFA program, a card carrying member of the AWP. The series editors don't say what happens to the "good new American voices" who haven't been admitted to such programs. But they don't count I guess. Francine Prose, has it come to this, that you would endorse a product like this farrago with what used to be your good name?

If I were John Kulka or Natalie Danford, I'd be patting myself on the back for a job well done. It's still a travesty that they would have the nerve to title their book BEST NEW AMERICAN VOICES instead of BEST MFA STUDENTS or something with more truth in it. And this series just keeps getting printed year after year as the continued "professionalism" of US writing goes on. Eventually as the trend continues I can foresee the day when no writer will be able to get a book published without a MFA attached to his or her name. Then they'll rev up on the PhD for creative writing. Anything so that their organization can attain hegemony. What other excuse is there for the work Kulka and Danford are doing? They must be getting paid by somebody, if only in cultural capital.

Or maybe they sincerely believe that the best writing of today is taking place on campus and that no one anywhere else has a shot at writing anything good. Otherwise calling your book BEST NEW AMERICAN VOICES is an act of cold-blooded, glistening supergall. I don't care how good the individual writers are, it's disgusting.

There are about short 20 stories in the book. It is an antology of not-yet-discovered writers, so it is a bit un-even. Some, most, writers show some intruiguing talent, while a few stories are a little trite.

Some stories are a bit contorted (there is a story about a guy who talks with chicken and falls in love with a hen), but most of them are very touching short stories. It seems many writers come from different origins, and draw on their experience to craft little stories that ring very true. I enjoyed the story of the Chinese maid in Singapore that returns home after a lifetime away, and who has a hard time understanding what home means. I liked the struggle of the Indian guy in South Africa, with the dog that should protect him. I appreciated the story of the Sri-Lankan mother who would like to raise her children in the tradition of her country, not of her adoptive North Carolina.
Those stories were compelling, not only for their storylines, but also for the quality of the prose, always crafty and creative.

This antology is of the 'best American New Voices', and some of the writers do indeed have their own voice already.

I have not yet read this book, but one of my very good friends, Matt Purdy, wrote "Creatures of a Day" - a short story featured in this book. I have just placed my order for this book. I expect that the other writings in this book are just as good as "Creatures of a Day" and I can't wait to read it!!!

You ROCK Matt!!!!

UPDATE FROM PREVIOUS REVIEW:
I finally finished this book... it IS fantastic! Such talent by all thr writers should not be missed! I liked this book so much I went and bought a copy for my Aunt as a birthday gift and even she couldn't stop talkig about it. One of my favorite stories is the one about the elderly oriental couple who own the garden apartment. I also loved the story "Creatures of a Day" - ofcourse. (I actually got to read that one long before it was published... i still think it is just fantastic.)