Customer Reviews

Collected Stories of Louis Auchincloss

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I have never really understood why the work of Louis Auchincloss does not enjoy greater popularity. It may have to do with the relatively narrow social and geographic context in which he develops so many of his plots and characters. Putting aside those arguable limitations, however, few American authors - and no lawyers I can think of - write with such precision or insight. Auchincloss exploits the descriptive depth and wealth of written English, and it is a delight to read. While I have enjoyed many of John Grisham's stories, their appeal certainly does not stem from the obvious quality his prose. It is difficult to imagine Grisham using a word like "machicolated" with the unfeigned and unpretentious ease of Auchincloss. Not every story in this collection is great, the standard Auchincloss achieves in most of his writing, but enough of them are to make this book well worth the reader's time.