Shiloh And Other Stories [Hardcover]

Bobbie Ann Mason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 26, 1995

" The stories in Bobbie Ann Mason's remarkable collection read like poetic transcriptions of day-to-day life. With her keen eye and ear for late twentieth-century popular culture, Mason can render a photograph of a brightly lit supermarket or a bit of wisdom from the Donahue show. This special edition of a beloved local author's work includes a new foreword by George Ella Lyon, Kentucky writer and friend of the author.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of those rare writers who, by concentrating their attention on a few square miles of native turf, are able to turn up new and surprisingly wide worlds for the delighted reader." -- New York Review of Books

"Her first collection shows not only how good she can be but how consistently good she remains....Not a single page lags... not one among sixteen stories is less than impressive." -- New York Times Book Review

"Will keep you fascinated and guessing over the course of the whole book." -- Rockland (ME) Courier-Gazette

From the Publisher

The famous collection of short stories that launched Bobbie Ann Mason's career, won the PEN/Hemingway Award for Fiction, and was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the American Book Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 264 pages
• Publisher: The University Press of Kentucky (October 26, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813119480
• ISBN-13: 978-0813119489
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,766,498 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic debut, April 6, 2008

By 

Edward Aycock (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shiloh and Other Stories (Modern Library Paperbacks) (Paperback)

One of the blurbs for Bobbie Ann Mason's writing describes it as being like "type O blood" in that it can be given to anyone. I can't think of a better way to put it. "Shiloh" is a good place to start reading Mason as it was her first collection of short stories, and is a good introduction to her world.

Mason's characters all live in a world that's relatable. The Kentucky of her characters is rapidly changing from its rural past to a world of subdivisions, northerners and industry. As the past rolls away from them, so does their sense of connection.

But it's not just the stories that make Mason notable, it's the way she tells them. When I first read the short story "Shiloh" for a class back in college, I was struck at the present tense and the immediacy of her prose. Many writers since have written in present tense, but few are able to write a story that's as sharp as Mason. Also, I usually don't like the use of similes but Mason's similes are so imaginative that they don't feel overdone.

Some of the stories to pay special attention to in this collection are the title story, "Detroit Skyline 1949," "A New Wave Format" and "Nancy Culpepper." The last story, along with "Lying Doggo" concern the same characters and were reprinted in a collection also entitled "Nancy Culpepper" in 2006, which I also recommend.

I never get tired of reading Mason's stories; the tales of people feeling displaced within their own surroundings are just as relevant in the new century as they were in the last.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a short story master, March 19, 2004

By 

[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shiloh And Other Stories (Hardcover)

Bobbie Ann Mason is one of the modern masters of the short story, and to see why all you have to do is pick up this collection. The stories all have a melancholy feel and are simple stories of rural Kentucky. They do at times tend to be very similar, so it is best to break this collection up with something else. But reading this shows you the skill Mason has with the short story, and why so many students love her work. I especially loved the touching story "Drawing Names."

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable and wonderful!, October 15, 1999

By 

Bruce A. (Sunny Southern California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shiloh And Other Stories (Hardcover)

How can there be no other reviews of this great book? "Shiloh" itself is superb, ranking with "In the Gloaming" and "The Lottery" as one of the three all-time great short stories (in my opinion). A++++