Customer Reviews

The Burning House

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

 

 

This is the best book Beattie has written (that I have read, anyway.) The stories in this collection are not all brilliant, but the title story blew me away (read the speech given in the final pages. Wow!)and there are six or seven at that same level. I'm talking about totally original fiction, here, not merely "good" stories; no one else writes stories like Beattie when she is at her best. And at her best, her fiction was as distinguished as anyone's in the early 80s. Read this collection and her novel FALLING IN PLACE.

Ann Beattie's The Burning House is one of the definitive collections of short fiction available today. Beattie's sparse, witty prose defines the minimalist trend of the seventies and eighties, and her characterizations are dead on. This collection inspires, charms, devastates, and all-around entertains--and it's not a long collection. Do yourself a favor: buy The Burning House and read it.

i enjoyed reading this collection. i like the way beattie sets up her stories, introduces her characters and such. i also like how she describes things. they mostly seem original and highly readable. most of the characters are in there 30s, some divorced, some with kids. they just seem very masterful. if was a professor i'd use the word "craft" or something. most a melancholic tone; full of life and wonder. i liked all of these stories, about 6 or 7 very much.

With a possible exception of the second one, all the stories in this book lack narrative energy. the characters are dull and single-dimensioned, and the plot ,if detectable, suffers from a lack of any creativity. Do not buy this book.