Customer Reviews

The Norton Anthology of Contemporary Fiction (Second Edition)

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

 

 

The editors of this anthology (including Joyce Carrol Oates) selected high-quality, cutting edge stories for inclusion. This anthology provides examples of the finest literary fiction written in the late 20th century. Unfortunately for readers, Norton decided to stop with this edition--which was released in 1988. At over 20 years old, some of the so-called contemporary stories were originally published in the late 1970s. The writing is no less good, but certainly the stories are not contemporary. Shame on Norton for this decision.

What can you say about a fiction anthology that a teacher actually used for a college class? Well, for one thing, you can say that it is probably one of the best representations of contemporary fiction that you can buy at a reasonable price.

There are so many great authors on here, that I don't know where to begin. The editors basically took every great short fiction author, and popped one of their best short stories into this anthology. I've read the whole book cover to cover a couple of times, and it still manages to inspire.

The editors did a good job of selecting stories that represent a broad range of literary styles. Carver's minimalism is represented here, as well as stories from a countless number of his contemporaries. A well rounded collection over all. I think it still might be a little pricey for its size, but it may be well worth it for the present content, regardles.

I was required to purchase this book for a class. The book and the class were very enjoyable. This was one of the few texts that I didn't sell back at the end of the semester.

My Creative Writing professor assigned this book for our class, and we read about two stories a week. However, after reading the assigned story, I found it increasingly difficult to stop at just one. Soon I found myself reading 4 or 5 stories at a time. Different themes and different characters do not stop these many short stories from repeating the same truths over and over again, the truth of human life. I have never read such realistic fiction, fiction that echoed so closely what I feel inside from one day to the next. These stories are honest, insightful, and beautiful, carefully assembled and chosen by Oates and Cassil. If you want an honest picture of life over the last century, buy this book.

This 550-page anthology provides the best introduction to modern short fiction writing available to readers. This is "the textbook" for short story writing.

Contray to what one review said this book is not dull and boring but autual fun and interesting. I recomened this book to people.

I got this book within a week of ordering. I got it just in the right time to start class. I would recommend this seller to anyone!