Customer Reviews

PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories 2009

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BOOKLIST REVIEW

The PEN/O.Henry Prize Stories, 2009
Furman, Laura (Editor) May 2009. 464 p. Anchor, paperback, $15.00. (978030780350).

The 90th anniversary edition of this prestigious collection is a must-read for both aspiring writers and devoted short story readers. Selected from among short stories originally written in English and published in an American or Canadian periodical during the past year, this year's prizewinners reflect the increasingly robust, diverse, and international flavor of the genre in general. While familiar literary stalwarts like Paul Theroux ("Twenty-two Stories"), Nadine Gordimer ("A Beneficiary"), Graham Joyce (An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen"), and John Burnside ("The Bell Ringer") are included, the collection is distinguished, as always, by an array of fresh-voiced newcomers such as Caitlin Horrocks ("This Is Not Your City"), L.E. Miller ("Kind"), Manuel Munoz ("Tell Him about Brother John"),and Mohan Sikka ("Uncle Musto Takes a Mistress"). Most illuminating are the authors' own reflections on their stories and incisive essays by jurors A.S. Byatt, Anthony Doerr, and Tim O'Brien on their favorites.

--Margaret Flanagan

KIRKUS REVIEW (March 15, 2009)

Furman, Laura-Ed.THE PEN/O. HENRY PRIZE STORIES 2009

The 90th-anniversary edition of the annual prize awarded in recognition of short stories published in the United States and Canada.Time was, and not so long ago, that the story writers had to be American or Canadian, but the prize has since opened to those writing in English elsewhere. The present collection is broadly multicultural, with a particularly strong showing by Asian and Asian American writers such as Ha Jin, who turns in a smart, fugitive piece about the sex trade; Mohan Sikka, who traverses from light family comedy to bittersweet drama; and Paul Yoon and Viet Dinh, who write, respectively, about the wars in Korea and Vietnam. Indeed, perhaps as a marker of the zeitgeist, many of the pieces touch on war. The strongest of them, selected by two of the three volume judges, Tim O'Brien and A.S. Byatt, opens the book; written by the British novelist Graham Joyce, "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen" is an attention-getting but never showy blend of rigorous military realism with fantasy--but fantasy of the darkest sort. Says the narrator of that story, who has been to the Falklands, Bosnia and now the Persian Gulf: "War is normal. That's why it's a paid job...You don't argue with the Queen. You form up. Move out. Press on." So it is, and with memorable results. None of the other pieces in the book quite matches the power of "Ordinary Soldier," which Byatt likens to the work of Rudyard Kipling. There is a pleasing mix of familiar and emerging voices, with particularly strong showings by the stately Nadine Gordimer and Junot Díaz and, among the latter group of writers, a sensitive piece by Manuel Muñoz on belonging and longing.A solid collection of interest to general readers but especially to aspiring short-story writers, thanks to the judges' end-of-book notes on their choices.

I was hopeful that this year's O. Henry Prize Stories anthology (which adds the PEN organization to its title and support) would be one of the best ever, since I thoroughly enjoyed the first two stories in the volume. Editor Laura Furman tends to gravitate towards stories of dark themes, which can lead to an anthology with less than mass market appeal, and yet the first two stories were very gripping. Alas, over the course of the volume, I felt there were a few duds that reduced my overall rating to four stars.

Different stories will appeal to different people for different reasons. Here are the stories that appealed most to me:

-- Graham Joyce's "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen": surprisingly, I agree with two of the three prize jurists, who selected this story as the best in the collection. It hooks and keeps the reader's interest, works on several levels, and progresses at an even pace from well-grounded reality into schizophrenic madness. It's not quite an all-time classic story, but definitely worth reading.

-- Paul Theroux's "Twenty-two Stories": just as the name would suggest, this short story consists of twenty-two roughly one page stories, each of which presents the germ of an idea that an author could elaborate and build upon to create a traditional length short story. The very interesting thing is how well each of these microscopic stories works on a stand-alone basis - think of them as highly concentrated, distilled stories, such as might be told around a campfire.

-- Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum's "The Nursery": a well-disguised horror story about a mother's suffocating love, and how her attempts at protection backfire.

Stories that I thought not worthy of inclusion: Roger Nash's "The Camera and the Cobra", which I thought lacked depth and meaning; L.E. Miller's "Kind", whose main subject is a deeply flawed woman who unfortunately triggered too many negative memories for me; and Manuel Munoz's "Tell Him about Brother John", which to me was the type of dry, dispassionate short story that only an academic reader could appreciate.

As always, I encourage readers to seek out short story anthologies such as the PEN/O. Henry Prize Stories and the Best American Short Stories as an ideal way to become exposed to a wide variety of authors and quality fictional writing.

Twenty works of fiction, not one of which disappoints, including "Twenty-two [very short] Stories" by my favorite author, Paul Theroux. Added bonus of three essays by seasoned authors A.S. Byatt, Anthony Doerr, and Tim O'Brien on their favorite stories. Most of the chosen writers also penned insights on their own works and sometimes generously offered tips to writers. There is a comprehensive list of American and Canadian periodicals at the back. Congratulations to the editor, Laura Furman, on choosing, presenting and further strenghtening the art of the short story AND her brief history of the Pen/O. Henry Prize Stories included within.

I always wonder what criterion is used to select the stories in these best of the year anthologies. If it's a story full conflict, interesting and believable plot and characters that enables the reader to visit and exotic place (even a suburban bedroom can be an exotic place), and that compels that same reader to suspend disbelief and be carted for the length of the story away from the humdrum of everyday life, then it merits consideration. If it is lackluster and boring, or has an incomplete or fake resolution, it should not. Take "The Order of Things," for instance. It was a coldly narrated story about an uninteresting affair between a reverend of a nondescript flock and a friend. Who cares? The ending was completely fake. I was excited by the inclusion of a Graham Joyce story, since I am a huge fan of his novel, "Requiem," and some other of his books (more so some than others), but I found the Desert Storm I war story, "An Ordinary Soldier of the Queen," ultimately dissatisfying because of the forced and unbelievable, almost nonsensical plot about a genie, of djinn. Again, who ultimately cares. Ha Jin's "The House Behind a Weeping Cherry," had interesting characters and a plot that drove it for a time, but then fizzled into sentimental drivel. Alas, as a short story writer, I am not unbiased, but believe that getting published in the known magazines and best of anthologies is more about politics than talent.

I have been reading short stories since middle school and that means close to 40 year. So I obviously enjoy them. Living in Austin, once a hometown for O'Henry, is one reason this book caught my eye. The range of subjects and themes is quite broad and several of the stories completely mesmerized me! I highly recommend this book - it is available on Kindle so they are perfect for on the go reading, including reading from an iPhone. Thank you Laura Furman!