Crash Diet [Hardcover]

Jill McCorkle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1992

A collection of short stories by the author of Ferris Beach presents a cast of female characters who take matters into their own hands. By the author of Tending to Virginia.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this peppery, potent collection by McCorkle ( Ferris Beach ), 11 memorable women, ranging from high school student to retiree, confide details of troubled relationships. Without fail, their voices, hopes and sorrows hit the mark; it's easy to empathize with them and to uneasily recall moments when our own lives have mirrored theirs. Optimism and sorrow are here in equal measure: the title story's chronic dieter, abandoned by her husband, surprises herself by coping with marital crisis and unwittingly losing weight. The selective, feisty narrator of "Man Watcher" admits that her search for a male partner may be a "snipe hunt," the undeniably odd main character of "Comparison Shopping" learns with dismay that a couple on The New Newlywed Game consider her their "weirdest friend," and the teenage heroine of "Carnival Lights" discovers that the hottest gossip in town is about her boyfriend's mom. In the wrenching "Departures," an inconsolable widow spends time utterly alone in busy airports and malls, and in "Waiting for Hard Times to End," a girl worries when an expected postcard from her freewheeling, fearless older sister fails to arrive. McCorkle imbues her capable women with extraordinary depth and dimension, and she resolves their situations with enchanting grace and wit.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In her first short story collection, McCorkle resumes her remarkable storytelling skills, already demonstrated in four well-received novels: The Cheer Leader (Algonquin, 1984), July 7th (Algonquin, 1984), Tending to Virginia ( LJ 9/1/87), and Ferris Beach ( LJ 9/15/90). Widows, recent divorcees, teenage girls, retired women, and single mothers populate these pages. Each woman imparts to McCorkle's fortunate readers a touching, downright bone-tickling account of her individual struggle in the New South. Despite the variety of voices, any of these women might easily conclude, as does Norlina in "Comparison Shopping," "I feel for the first time that there is a place for me in this world and I no longer need a passport to get there." Highly recommended for academic and public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 1/92.
-Faye A. Chadwell, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 253 pages
• Publisher: Algonquin Books; 1st edition (May 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0945575750
• ISBN-13: 978-0945575757
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #823,657 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars McCorkle always a pleasure, August 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Crash Diet: Stories (Paperback)

Crash Diet reveals McCorkle's strengths as a writer of the New South, which I first enjoyed several years ago in July 7th and Tending to Virginia. It's like I was never gone; her comic style intertwines effortlessly with the truly sympathetic in this collection of short fiction. There are lots of voices here, all of women grappling with changes in their lives that have brought chaos, rather than order. The pieces were written across a span of years and the author's propensity to drop topical references to our disposable culture can be a little distracting when moving from one story to another, as you inevitably pause to recall just when "Falcon Crest" or "The New Newlyweds Game" was hot. But that's just a little itch, and it doesn't date the material.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful Book of Short Stories about women, June 14, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crash Diet: Stories (Paperback)

I usually don't read short stories, but I read a review of this book and decided to take a chance. I'm glad I did. Ms. McCorkle does a wonderful job of portraying various types of women. It is perfect bedside reading.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! This woman can write, August 15, 2001

By 

At Your Service (Hampton Roads, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crash Diet: Stories (Paperback)

I found "Crash Diet" in a pile of books and was intrigued by the title. It was a collection of short stories by a southern writer. Usually, with a collection of stories - there is sure to be a couple that you don't care for - but not with this collection.

Each female protagonist was her own charachter. I felt as though I knew each one of them through Ms. McCorkle's description and characterization. Some funny, some sad - all uniquely interesting.

I highly reccomend this book.