The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories [Unknown Binding]

Product Details

• Unknown Binding
• Publisher: Vintage (2006)
• ASIN: B002KHE3G8
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Unfinished Artist and Other People, January 18, 2009

By 

jd103 (Yellowstone) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories (Paperback)

(What's this?)

There are people whose life in the arts resembles any other job--think of someone playing the same role in a soap opera for 40 years, or the author of formulaic best sellers--and there are people whose creativity is a deep and intense part of who they are, leaving them always torn between their art and the people they're closest to.

These stories are mostly about the second type of people. And the stories do a great job of displaying them, making me think of actors, writers, and artists I knew 20-30 years ago, but that kind of realistic intensity and self-absorption won't go down easy for all readers.

There are a couple tiny bits of what seems very bad writing here--as much as I tried, I can't imagine how a person can be trapped under the back wheel of a car which came to rest on its top (is she wrapped in between the tire and the fender?)--but overall this is high quality atmospheric work.

I most enjoyed the three stories which are told from a male point of view which is something I think Martin excels at (though it might also indicate a lack of identification with female characters on my part). I haven't followed her recent work, but I loved her early novel Alexandra which is also a haunting work told from a man's perspective.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Portraits of the artist as a hung man, February 16, 2009

By 

Cecil Bothwell "Author of "Whale Falls: A... (Asheville, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories (Paperback)

(What's this?)

If you are inclined to favor the short story to avoid commitment to longer works, don't pick up this book. It will not be put down. Valerie Martin offers up six splendid tales that explore lives driven by artistry. The protagonists cannot escape their art and narratives are rich with unexpected detail and nuanced relationships. Love and jealousy (both amorous and artistic), bad habits and brilliance, insecurity and triumph, rabbits and cats and an owl all move across her stage.

Most of the loves are stressed and some are broken, but unlike the emptiness in Nothing Right: Short Stories, Antonya Nelson's recently released collection which also explores romantic failure, the characters here evoke the reader's deep concern. Martin is author of the Orange Prize winner, Property, which I have not read. I will.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely brilliant, June 28, 2006

By 

Katherine Kelly "kthrnklly" (Mandeville, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Unfinished Novel and Other Stories (Paperback)

these stories were the first encounter i have had with valerie martin. by doing the unthinkable, i judged this book by its cover and was immediately taken in by it. every story was as engaging as the next. i was actually sad when it was over! the title story is incredibly captivating with all its twists and turns. a collection of truly engaging and fascinating stories, you'll devour it in one sitting!