Customer Reviews

News of the Spirit (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

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

 

 

For those familiar with Lee Smith's work, some of these stories seem very familiar, like rehashes of themes and ideas from some of her previous works. The mood of this collection is darker than her other collections and the stories seem disconnected. They do not engage the reader as so many of her works do. As a huge fan of Ms. Smith's, (I have read all her work), I was a little disappointed and left a little flat.

Lee Smith has become one of the writers I have learned to count on for a consistantly good tale. News of the Spirit contains some of the best so far. As I read about Alice Scully's scandelous writing submitted to the Happy Memories Club (the writing group in her old folk's home) I could relate. There is the tale of the wild brother "Bubba" invented by a young woman away from home at college and hoping to increase her chances of being accepted by her more worldly roommmates. These and other tales remind us of those we know, the ones we were raised with, the relatives, friends and the "talked about" that come and go. Each Lee Smith character is fleshed out, and becomes alive, she enjoys her characters and exploring the human condition. I hated to see this book end, and found myself turning the pages back to have just a little bit more time.

Lee Smith's collection of short stories explore the "Southernness" of a variety of women from a variety of Southern towns, all of them either rebelling against or conforming to the confines of what it means to be a woman in the South. Smith has the requisite skill needed to elevate her characters above cliché. Filled with humor and compassionate hilarity, News of the Spirit is definitely a worthwhile read, especially for Smith's many fans.

Another example of Lee Smith's wonderful insight into the human condition

I enjoyed all of these stories, but Live Bottomless was my favorite. Lee Smith writes with such ease and it is effortless to read. She completes her short stories so you feel satisfied before going on to the next. In "Live Bottomless" Sarah is a "student of the human soul" - which is how I feel about Lee Smith and how she wrote these short stories, as a student of the human soul. In "Live Bottomless" Sarah has been emotionally and physically abandoned by her parents and went to live with her Aunt in South Carolina, whom she did not know. Her parents eventually came and got her, but by then she had become attached to her new life in South Carolina and the structure this new home had given her.
I recommend this book even if you don't like short stories. All the stories are worth reading.

I am new to Lee Smith, and this collection of short stories is the first book of hers i have read. The story "Live Bottomless" is one of the most engaging, fresh and memorable stories i have ever read. The book is well worth reading on account of that story alone.

Reading the stories in this volume is entertaining, like watching TV. I don't have a TV. I read because I don't like TV. I read short stories because I often find sharp snapshots of crucial life moments.

Not in News of the Spirit. I found elaborate images and scenarios that, having been created, are left to whither with no sense of life force. If you don't like to have your beliefs challenged, this is probably a good choice.

If you're interested in exploring what we feel as we go through life, pick up a Kingsolver book.