The Last Worthless Evening: Four Novellas & Two Stories [Paperback]

Andre Dubus (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

Andre Dubus has reached that point in the affection and dependence of his readers that argument is always breaking out over which tale or tales are his best. This is the sign of signs in a writer's reputation. It means he's been acknowledged as one of the authentic voices of his generation, a writer to whom readers and critics alike turn to discover how they feel. The four novellas and two stories of The Last Worthless Evening deepen Dubus's hold on his material, and so are bound to lengthen that frequently debated list of his "best" among his advocates.

The range in this new book is greater than in any previous Dubus collection. The novellas begin in the Navy, where two young officers (one white, one black) discover each other on the changing terrain of residual racism; offer shrewd homage to the detective story in Dubus's patented territory northwest of Boston; move on to the life of a suburban girl coming beautifully of age as her mother doesn't; and finish with a magnificent defense of her life and children by a woman who refuses defeat at the hands of her brutal and pathetic husband. The stories tell about a Hispanic shortstop lost among the gringos on a major-league team, and show what happens to an eleven-year-old kid when he meets up with a broken, angry, and decidedly dangerous Vietnam vet who takes him into a local bar for a treat.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The four novellas and two stories in this collection all demonstrate Dubus's belief in the inherent nobility of the individual, the possibility of taking good, moral action on a small scale. And in each, the immediacy and strength of his writing renders the small universal; the reader is drawn into the situations Dubus creates so completely that for the moment, no other world seems to exist. In the thoughtful "Deaths at Sea," a naval officer writes a series of letters home to his wife about his black bunkmate, Willie, and about the burden of responsibility he, as a white Southerner, has always felt for the oppression of blacks. "Rose," every bit as compelling, is the story a woman tells to her bar partner about her silent complicity in her husband's abuse of their children. In all of the narratives, the human, and humanitarian, spirit triumphs over what can only be called the forces of darkness. Moral struggle comes as naturally to these people as good writing does to Dubus (whose last book was Voices from the Moon. His words and characterizations are infallibly right, yet he never abandons good storytelling in his desire to make a point. The majesty of these pieces remains long after the reader closes the book.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

Rose,' by itself, is worth the price of the book; it is the most powerful entry in Dubus's impressive canon. --Time

Product Details

• Paperback: 214 pages
• Publisher: David R Godine (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567920675
• ISBN-13: 978-1567920673
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,223,813 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Andre Dubus (1936-1999) is considered one of the greatest American short story writers of the twentieth century. His collections of short fiction, which include Adultery & Other Choices (1977), The Times Are Never So Bad (1983), and The Last Worthless Evening (1986), are notable for their spare prose and illuminative, albeit subtle, insights into the human heart. He is often compared to Anton Chekhov and revered as a "writer's writer."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars These Stories Will Break Your Heart, Then Mend It, June 8, 2006

By 

Kyle Minor "reader" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Last Worthless Evening: Four Novellas & Two Stories (Paperback)

The Last Worthless Evening is Andre Dubus's least acclaimed collection, but it contains one of his most moving novellas, "Rose," and another fine novella, "Molly," that has been neglected by most readers because it has not been collected in his Selected Stories or Collected Novellas.

I can hardly think of a more adult book than The Last Worthless Evening. It is compassionate, wise, and unflinching in its examination of its characters. I only wish Dubus had stuck around a few more years so we could have more stories like these.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Collection I've Read in A Long Time, May 15, 2008

By 

Joanne Kirschner "JoannaJoannaDanna" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Last Worthless Evening: Four Novellas & Two Stories (Paperback)

This book left me shell-shocked. The writing is so good, the characters so well-drawn . . . really, I am at a loss as to what to say. I read the whole collection in one night. I had read "Rose" earlier, in another collection, and upon re-reading it I was still shocked and moved! I was also moved by "Deaths At Sea". Great stuff all around. Like the previous reviewer, I wish Dubus was still with us to write more stories like these. I do not like to give 5 stars out very freely, and when I love a book I usually give it 4. But this one was different.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A taste of Dubus..., December 27, 2010

By 

Andrew Ellington (I'm kind of everywhere) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Last Worthless Evening: Four Novellas & Two Stories (Paperback)

I've been a fan of Dubus for years. The way that he constructed such richly realized character pieces in small frame like this is effortless. I only wish that he were still alive and able to continue delivering such riveting stories. This collection is not his best, but it is certainly worth a gander, especially for `Land Where My Fathers Died' and `Rose', two tales that will engulf you from start to finish.

Here's a rundown of the stories included in this collection:

`Deaths At Sea' may be my least favorite story written by Andre. While I appreciate the tale he was weaving and the intricate character study he was attempting to unveil (what with a white naval officer sharing a room with a Negro), I felt as though there were elements that didn't ring true or clear for me. I understood the deep-seated guilt and obvious manifestations of `redemption seeking' taking place, but it all boiled down to a series of repetitions and forced connections that I didn't really care for. It became laboriously written, which is not something I'm used to with Dubus, who usually weaves his stories with a sense of detailed breeze. For me, this one just didn't work. `After the Game' is, thankfully, not about the sport but about an ambiguous event that takes place after the game, the locker room, over pizza and beer. I'd love to know the back-story here, so maybe a feature film could flesh it out more (ala `Killings'). While the story, for the most part, remains seemingly bare, Dubus weaves his magic to create an engrossing prose that leaves the reader with much to ponder. `Dressed Like Summer Leaves' tells the story of eleven-year-old Mickey who happens to meet the acquaintance of Duffy, a strange war man wheeling over time spent over seas. The story takes place over a few moments inside a bar, but it is brilliantly layered to do exactly what Dubus does best, illuminate the inner workings of the human mind. Without saying much at all, Dubus allows us to understand these characters and the tragic effects that circumstance has had on their minds, their actions and their eventual futures. Every character here (from Mickey to Duffy to Fletcher to Al) all have a backdrop to their presence that isn't detailed but is subtly highlighted in a way that makes them real to us. In the midst of all these subtly intricate character studies like `Land Where My Fathers Died'; a straightforward murder mystery told from multiple angles that is so engaging and so compelling that I almost wish this were the norm with Dubus. His command of the characters he creates is astounding, and the way he weaves this tale (with needed bite and satisfactory justice) is thought provoking and, most of all, entertaining. Sure, it isn't as deeply precise as his more signature work, but this may be his most enjoyable work in this collection. `Molly' is a coming of age story that revolves around a young girl and her mother. Molly is the young girl, whose father split when she was little. The novella is expertly written, if not a tad repetitive, and it sinks into the mind of this confused young woman as she tampers with love and sex and independence next to a pillar of strength she calls `mom'. Her mother is not perfect and certainly not delicate (as some parents would consider the term) but she understands her daughter and works hard to create a home environment that is nurturing while maintaining an air of realism. The story works well within its realm, and feels very authentic, especially when you consider the protagonist. `Rose' has quite a powerful objective, and that is to evoke heartbreak and compassion for this woman's horrific story of abuse and broken trust. As our narrator retells a story of a woman whom he meets in a bar we are brought into her world slowly but surely. This story has proven to become one of my favorite Dubus stories, for as the meat of the story began to unfold I find myself glued to each passing page. As Rose recounts her story of a tortured marriage, an abusive and horrific man and her struggle to save her children from this monster the reader can do nothing but hope and pray everything turns out better in the end.

There is all is in a nutshell. I hope that this has helped and I hope that it moves you to explore this riveting author, if you haven't already!