Customer Reviews

The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This anthology was something I stumbled upon in college and completely changed the way I approached reading and writing. The stories are a wide variety and the writers writing about writing is a fantastic resource. This is one of the most precious pieces to my library and a must for any serious reader and writer.

This is such a great book -- one of the most valuable on my shelves. Amy Charters has made wonderful choices here -- she's managed to create an anthology that simultaneously does justice to the classics while remaining hip and accessible. For those who like background information, there's a handy appendix filled with writers either talking about their own work or commenting on a selection in the book.

For those who have not "taken" to short stories, I suggest you consider The Story and its Writer. For teachers, this is simply a great resource -- I use it all the time.

This compilation of short stories was used for my Intro. to the Short Story college course. Our professor only picked out certain stories but I found myself reading unassigned stories myself. Some of these stories are wonderful. My favorite was "The Widow's Son" by Mary Lavin. Some other noteworthy stories: "Hills Like White Elephants" Hemingway, "Girl" by J. Kincaid. Too many more to list, a course book I am actually keeping so I can finish reading it. Usually I can't wait to close them after the course and not see them anymore! :)

Charters has made absoluely wonderful selections for this anthology. Although many of the stories can be considered "southern literature," the book contains an inspiring variety of stories ranging from classic Faulkner to racy Atwood. This is a perfect book for educators or just for anyone who loves to read. With The Short Story and Its Writer, it is impossible to be disappointed.

This is the 6th edition of this great anthology. Even if you have an earlier edition, this one is worth acquiring. With each edition, Prof. Charters drops some short stories and adds others. For example, the 6th edition has about 70 stories that did not appear in the 3rd edition (while omitting a similar number). The story selections are excellent and the author biographies are very informative. The appendices include fantastic commentaries by authors on other authors, and sections on the history of short stories, and on interpreting, writing, and writing about short stories. The used book versions are a steal! If you have any interest in short stories, you won't go wrong with one of Ann Charters anthologies.

This is a very comprehensive compilation of the most important classic short stories as well as some newer stories from today's writers. I thought the book was very well organized, especially with the case files and interviews that accompany several of the stories.

There are a few omissions of some classics but nonetheless I felt it was a very good collection.

A must have if studying Fiction.

My book arrived when it said it would and it was in perfect condition. Thanks.