Eleven of William Saroyan's most delightful tales, Fresno Stories springs straight from the source of the author's vision--the archetypal Armenian families who inhabit Saroyan country, in and around Fresno, California.
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SHORT STORIES BY A MASTER,
This review is from: Fresno Stories (New Directions Bibelot) (Paperback)
One of America's most colorful authors, William Saroyan, is remembered for his novels, short stories, and plays. He won early accolades with the 1934 publication of his short story, "The Daring Young Man On The Flying Trapeze." Following this was a play, "The Time Of Your Life," and a novel, "The Human comedy," which was made into a movie. Laced with humor, wisdom and understanding, "Fresno Stories" holds 11 of Saroyan's best - sparkling tales peopled by the Armenian families who lived in and around Fresno, California. Each of his characters bubbles with an exuberance for life, a spontaneity that embraces every moment. In "The Great Leapfrog Contest" Rosie Mahoney, a tough little Irish girl hangs out with the boys. She makes a place for herself by not fighting "girl-style" or crying if she is hurt. Since it was humiliating to be bested by Rosie, most of the boys made way for her, except Rex. Following an argument, Rosie dares Rex to fight. Only the wild and sometimes wacky imagination of Saroyan could carry this challenge to its comical conclusion. These are short stories, but none of them are short on style or reading pleasure. - Gail Cooke
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good to Carry around,
By A Customer
This review is from: Fresno Stories (New Directions Bibelot) (Paperback)
I bought this book of stories before buying "A daring Young Man on the flying trapeze" simply because it was cheaper and I wanted to see if I would like Saroyan that much. Collectively the stories are very good with "The Duel" and "Heart in the Highlands" as my favorites. I liked the book enough to buy "trapeze" and have to admit that the stories and "Trapeze" are on a different level than most of these tales. But this collection while not as good still has enjoyable stories in a small book you can carry around anywhere and read if you find yourself getting bored.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
OK, read it!,
By Manola Sommerfeld (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fresno Stories (New Directions Bibelot) (Paperback)
Well, I lived in Fresno for a while, so I decided to read this little book of short stories. Saroyan is not exactly a pleasant writer. There's a certain anger in his writing that flares up here and there. Besides, some of these stories are rather simplistic in their development, almost too contrived, like the first one, The man with the heart in the Highlands. The repetitious pattern of sentences made this story read like a college assignment. However, I enjoyed "Many miles per hour", a story about two brothers who befriend (and end up adoring) a race car driver. This story alone is worth getting the book. The youngest brother is the narrator, a little guy only 10 years old, and he does such a good job. My other two favorite stories are "Madness in the family" is possibly an autobiographical tale of eccentric relatives, and "A Fresno tale", so funny because it is extremely short and missing an ending.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In 1914, when I was not quite six years old, an old man came down San Benito Avenue playing a solo on a bugle and stopped in front of our house. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Speed Wallace, San Francisco, Rosie Mahoney, Mayor Toomey, Kings River, Kristofor Agbadashian, Masoor Franswah, Rex Folger, Arshaluce Ganjakian, Armenian Town, The Kreutzer Sonata, Roxie Apkarian, Emerson School, Kristofor Under the Bed, New World Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In 1914, when I was not quite six years old, an old man came down San Benito Avenue playing a solo on a bugle and stopped in front of our house. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Speed Wallace, San Francisco, Rosie Mahoney, Mayor Toomey, Kings River, Kristofor Agbadashian, Masoor Franswah, Rex Folger, Arshaluce Ganjakian, Armenian Town, The Kreutzer Sonata, Roxie Apkarian, Emerson School, Kristofor Under the Bed, New World Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
1
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cites this book:
- Water and the Shaping of California by Sue McClurg on page 97, and Back Matter
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