Review
Nostalgic odes to the city are everywhere, but the best thing ever written on the subject is [this book]. -- Darren Reidy, The Village Voice, 31 December 2003
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34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By Neil Roseman
Format:Paperback
Delmore Schwartz has unfortunately been forgotten by most people today, and that is a great shame. (An example of this is that Schwartz's student John Berryman has his own entry in the online edition of Encarta; Delmore does not.) I first came into contact with his work in 9th grade, when a teacher suggested I read the Schwartz poem, "The Heavy Bear Who Goes With Me" -- one of his masterpieces, collected in "Summer Knowledge." Later, around the time I read this book,there was a brief surge in Delmore interest with the publication of Jame Atlas' biography of Schwartz and Saul Bellow's "Humboldts Gift", the title character being based on Delmore. Fortunately, this led to reprinting of much of his work. Sadly, it didn't lead to continued general interest.
The title story alone is reason enough to buy "In Dreams..." The brilliant device of having the main character watching a movie of his parents courtship, is was way ahead of its time. The end of the story will linger in your mind. It's heartbreaking and scary and funny.
Schwartz's work deserves a wider audience. I promise you will not be dissapointed if you take the time to read him. The only poet I know who has both a Berryman "Dream Song" and a Lou Reed song dedicated to him can't be too bad, can he?
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Five of the stories here are flat-out masterpieces ("In Dreams;" "The World is a Wedding;" "New Year's Eve;" "The Commencement Address;" and "The Track Meet"), while the other 3 are extremely well done, if not as wholly satisfying. This collection should be required reading in every contemporary lit. class. It's got everything: all the themes of struggle, frustration and defeat, responsibility, ambition, all the thoughts that men have thought in every age, and captures its era so perfectly and completely I am in awe. Even though the stories are, in some ways similar (especially "In Dreams," "The Commencement Address," and "The Track Meet"), they are utterly original, beautiful, hallucinatory, profound, funny and heartbreaking. Schwartz -- that great voice speaking out against the crowd -- deserves to be heard at last.
14 of 17 people found the following review helpful
By Mary Palmer
Format:Hardcover
I've never had this experience before, or since. It is autumn of 1964. I am a college freshman, sitting on my bed reading the story "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities." My roommate and a few other dorm mates walk into the room and call my name, but I don't hear them, so lost am I in the story. Finally, someone nudges my arm. I look up--and the story, which had been unrolling before my eyes, is gone! I'm back in my college dorm room, no longer in the movie theater in the story. I had not even been aware that I was reading--I was IN the story, I was there, experiencing it, not just reading it--and for a few moments, I didn't know what had happened or where I was. Repeated readings never quite duplicated that first experience, but the story remains very powerful, very moving, very involving.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
strange, disturbing and beautiful
this is my first readingof this author. he reflects the world around him in an unique way. his poetry and his short stories are unique
and it was amazing to read him. Read more
and it was amazing to read him. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Jan R. Schulman
5.0 out of 5 stars
The despair of damaged dreams
As an undergraduate English major/graduate in the 70's, I'm surprised we were never exposed to these compelling, albeit, dark stories. Read more
Published on March 21, 2010 by Michael Jay Sullivan
5.0 out of 5 stars
The minor masterpiece
This collection of stories is a minor masterpiece. As other Amazon reviewers have pointed out Schwartz is not much attended to these days, not much read. Read more
Published on January 19, 2005 by Shalom Freedman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Schwartz's Gift
This collection of stories is graced by two introductions and lives up to every superlative. Irving Howe and biographer James Atlas note for the reader Delmore Schwartz's... Read more
Published on August 22, 2003 by Mary E. Sibley
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant
The best of the stories in here are brilliant. The dialogue is great, as well as the reflective passages. Read more
Published on August 28, 2000
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
This is an absolutely fantastic collection of short storys, each one is so presice and refreshing. I recomend it to everyone. Read more
Published on March 19, 2000 by Chris
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delmore Schwartz: Visionary
It's too bad Schwartz isn't more popular. I find his stories compelling and the characters are fascinating. I must whole-heartedly disagree with the other reviewer of this book. Read more
Published on May 28, 1999
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fine
This is a first-rate collection of short stories. The title story is one of the least successful. Most of the others are rich feasts of character studies.
Published on April 2, 1998
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