Customer Reviews

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2002 (Pen / O. Henry Prize Stories)

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

 

 

This collection includes the winners of the 2002 O. Henry Prize as well as fifteen or so of the stories short-listed for the awards. I enjoyed all of the stories in the collection though I didn't necessarily like the prize-winners best. Excellent book.

According to the editor of PRIZE STORIES 2002: THE O. HENRY AWARDS, thousands of short stories from hundreds of magazines were painstakingly reviewed in an effort to compile an anthology of the year's best in stort story fiction. This year twenty stories made the list while three of them were voted the best by the jurors Dave Eggers, Joyce Carol Oates and Colson Whitehead. I personally do not agree with the juror's selection of the top short stories, which is a clear indication of how subjectivity is involved in the process of judging literature. What is enjoyable to one person certainly might not be for another. I've been reading this analogy periodically during the past couple of weeks and I finished with mixed feeling. Some stories intrigued me while others were downright uncaptivating. In addition, a couple were so utterly strange that they could be episodes of the twilight zone!

Out of this collection my favorite short story was A.M. Homes' "Do Not Disturb", which is a tale of a husband trying his best to emotionally deal with his bitter terminally ill wife as their marriage falls apart. I also enjoyed Anthony Doerr's "The Hunter's Wife" about how a husband deals with the supernatural powers of his wife in Montana. The reason why I didn't give this book five stars is because I believe that there are more losers than winners in this collection. But don't just take my word for it. Remember that the appreciation of literature is subjective. You just may love it!

A few of these stories were memorable, but last year's edition was better and so is Houghton Mifflin's "Best American Short Stories 2002," which shares three of the stories. Don't worry that one of the judges edits the periodical that published the winning story -- it was one of the few intense stories in this book. Most of the stories are just character and setting studies by authors who added notes like, "I wrote the beginning, and then I didn't know where to go with the story." Apparently, the judges like to read about different people and places, but I don't. I like memorable stories that aren't filled with description, like the best works of O. Henry, which were not character sketches. Irony, still common in short fiction, is almost absent from this anthology.

I've picked up the last few years worth of the Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards, and usually I'm not disappointed, but this year I was. I've read most of volumes Dark has edited, and usually I agree with him on most if not all the stories, but I found this year's selection to be different. There are some good stories in the volume, but most of the stories are mediocre, dull, or just plain bad. But one bad volume doesn't spoil it for me. I still eagerly wait for next year's selection.