Customer Reviews

A Better Angel: Stories

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

 

 

It is common knowledge that Chris Adrian is both a pediatrician and a divinity student, and he somehow manages to pump out some of the most inventive and interesting writing being published today. The short stories in this collection have all been published elsewhere, but together like this one can see a continuity that may have been missed, before.

The stories are:
High Speeds
The Sum of Our Parts
Stab
The Vision of Peter Damien
A Better Angel
The Changeling
A Hero of Chickamauga
A Child's Book of Sickness and Death
Why Antichrist?

The first thing one will notice is that a great deal of these stories deal with the aftereffects of a loved one's death--usually a brother. The characters here react absurdly, sometimes, and silently others, but their reactions always show the absurdity of life after the death of someone you love. In a situation like the death of a brother, is not insanity the most sane of reactions?

Familiar characters to Adrian's universe are present in this collection--Pickie Beecher in "The Changeling" (previously called "Promise Breaker," as published in Esquire), a boy of the Claflin family in "The Vision of Peter Damien," or the quick mention of a Fie in "High Speeds." One could choose to believe that these stories are all happening in a separate universe, but there is comfort, I think, in allowing Adrian his creation.

Fans of The Children's Hospital and especially Gob's Grief will not be disappointed, nor will anyone picking up Adrian for the first time. Be prepared, though, to become just as obsessed with his writing as his characters are with their own unhealthiness.

If you are a serious reader of contemporary short stories or literature -- or just want to read and enjoy one of the most singular writers in this country -- "A Better Angel" should really delight you. The stories in this new collection by Chris Adrian are one of a kind, not what you expect when you begin each one and mesmerizing on their own terms as you get pulled into each one. And the title story is just simply remarkable, the sort of memorable story that makes me want to call friends and say, "I just read the most wonderful short story .... " What a great collection.

received the book on time in great condition.

Thank you

received the book on time in great condition.

Thank you

I really had to struggle whether to rate this a 5 or a 1.

One gets the feeling that Adrian has spent years thoroughly immersed in the writing of Flannery O'Connor. Starting with "A Good Man is Hard to Find," O'Connor points to the horrific inevitable ending of her story, and the reader, more astonished than repulsed, cannot turn his eyes away. And transcending every aspect of the story is O'Connor's relationship to an incarnational God who sometimes views Creation from afar.

I find "Stab" to be the best of Adrian's stories; and in this case his own better angel must have been the late O'Connor whispering in his ear. Within two or three pages, I knew where the story was going, and I couldn't dream of not going along for the ride.

Sometimes, as in "Stab," I would gasp aloud at Adrian's skill as a writer. Moving from O'Connor to another Southerner, Edgar Allen Poe, may I observe that at Adrian's best, every word contributes to the effect of the story -- one that sets a terror in the center of one's heart.

Other stories, it seems to me, are significantly less effective. The artist's craft is too effective by a half. His aim to shock and bring horror seems virtually out of control as one clever and well-crafted phrase follows another.

The stories are so intense that I found I could read only one a week. More than that led to sensory overload.

So, my profound respect to this gifted writer, and, Lord knows, we would all benefit from a true successor to Flannery O'Connor. As a divinity student, Adrian perhaps shares her affinity to a strong interior life, the fruits of which spill over into his writing. I think of her final masterpiece, "Parker's Back," and I hope that Adrian's journey as a writer leads him to similar heights.

You can't read these stories without admiring the author's writing ability. It's definitely more sophisticated than many emerging writers I've read lately. Adrian's prize story is doubtlessly "Scar," but those of weak constitution ought to be warned because it's very shocking. Even though this story has been told before, it was written so well that it made me gasp and even think about shutting the book shut to regain my composure. Some lines, especially the one about the son's dad screaming, really made me just sit back and say, "Wow." The story "Scar" is definitely one that everyone should read. The others, unfortunately, I can't say the same. I was greatly confused as to what purpose they were supposed to have, perhaps they were not supposed to mean anything; I don't know. Many stories involved 9/11 references ("The Vision of Peter Damien" and "Why Antichrist?") and all of them involved the death of a loved one. Some I had to labour through to finish, but it was polished without grammar mistakes and the story "Scar" made this worth the read. Actually, the only mistake I found was that the Ouija board didn't have a "yes" or "no" on the board, the story says that it spelled it out in three arches when it should have only swung over to the corner. Try renting from the library first and if you enjoy it, buy it.

Wow ! Chris Adrian's collection of nine short stories are outstanding. His off beat character's and his choice of subject matter, put me in mind of early Stephen King. For the most part Adrian sticks close to what he is familiar with, children and/or aspects of children who have problems, medical or otherwise.
Adrian also seems to harbor deep feelings around September 11, 2001. He incorporates the events of that day into a couple of his stories and he does this in very intriguing ways. One story in particular comes to mind. The fourth story in the book, titled, The Vision of Peter Damien, takes place in pre-industrial time. A time when people who had seizures or "fits" were thought to bring bad luck to the family and consequently the village they lived in. The boy, Peter, the main character in the story, has visions or "fits". He sees two burning towers, falling people and a huge angel hit the towers. This was perhaps my favorite story in the book.
Adrian's imagination is unique and his writing skill is such that, though I usually am not a fan of the short story, I was totally engrossed in this book.
Good stuff, the stories linger long after one is finished reading them.

This collection of short stories is insanely imaginative. One story unfolds from the perspective of a troubled 9-year-old yearning to bond with his substitute teacher. Another follows the spirit of a dead woman as she shadows the living in a hospital, divining their innermost thoughts. Many of Adrian's stories are darkly humorous, and most of them stretch the boundaries of reality. All of them are full of heart, even if that heart is broken and beyond repair.

Adrian, who is both a pediatrician and a divinity student in addition to a writer, blends the often incompatible medical and spiritual realms to create stories that challenge reality in credible ways. His protagonists inhabit extreme states; they are dying, murdering, possessed by evil spirits, or wallowing in sickness or addiction. Above all, they are interesting. If you're one of those people who believes most contemporary short stories read like class assignments for the Iowa Writers' Workshop, this collection will restore your faith in the power of this literary form.

The book, while cleverly written and engaging, is frustrating on a number of levels. The author clearly has a fascination with themes and imagery of 9/11, and while I do appreciate the strength of such imagery, it grew tiresome. The visceral imagery was potent enough, but through the stories which touched so strongly on this imagery (The Vision of Peter Damien, The Changeling, Why Antichrist),I found myself yearning for the author to move on to a new theme.

The writer easily has a talent for differing styles of writing, and his ability to illustrate a scene is well appreciated. I just wish he would find a new subject to harp on.

While the stories in this book are beautiful and haunting, if you are sensitive to the plight of animals I would recommend you skip this one. The torture, killing and horrible demise of cats seems to be a theme he enjoys. Interesting that a pediatrician and divinity student would have such a morbid view...

I'm not sure how this book ended up on a list of new gay books, because there is very little gay content in this book, and the little there is comes off as derogatory or mocking (students using a Ouija board to ask if their teacher is gay, a hospitalized teenager hiding gay books brought to her by a nurse when she is suspected of being a lesbian, a gay intern who misdiagnoses a patient). These stories are about overly intelligent men and women and boys and girls who have lost siblings and parents and children, yet none of these characters seem to be grieving and trying to heal themselves, unless you count the destructive behavior they all engage in -- and I mean disturbing destructive behavior, like a father chopping his wrist off in front of his son, a girl purposely driving a car into wall with her boyfriend in the next seat, a doctor who steals morphine from his dying father, and a young boy who works as an accomplice to the murder of cats, dogs, a horse and the attempted one of the town sheriff. I'd like to say that the author's writing style overcomes all of his characters' defects -- or at least sympathizes or humanizes them and explains what's going on, but that's not the case either -- one story, about a boy who has visions of 9/11, is totally incomprehensible. I can understand these stories coming from the detached view of a physician, but it is embarrasing that they would originate from a divinity student.