The William Saroyan Reader [Paperback]

William Saroyan (Author), Aram Saroyan (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 1994

This is the most complete and generous sampling of the first half of an indispensable American writer's career.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

First published in 1958, this reader provides a wide selection of Saroyan's work including whole short stories and selections from plays and novels.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Barricade Books (December 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569800197
• ISBN-13: 978-1569800195
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #972,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Great Intro to a Great Author, September 21, 2000

By 

Eliot Graff (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The William Saroyan Reader (Paperback)

If you've never been lucky enough to be exposed to the down-to-earth writing of William Saroyan, you are definitely missing out on a treat. Saroyan's short stories, autobiographical writings, and novels are simple realism, stretched to heart rending emotional height. This book is a fine compilation for a new reader of Saroyan, who, like his California colleague, Steinbeck, doesn't get enough attention these days. Also, this collection contains the wonderful novella, "Tracy's Tiger," an incredible allegorical tale of love and struggle in the postmodern world.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect intro to Saroyan, February 28, 2003

By 

Raffi Kojian (Yerevan/Orange) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The William Saroyan Reader (Paperback)

This book does a great job of introducing you to the writings of William Saroyan. His novels, plays and short stories capture life in a succinct style I have never seen repeated. My favorite are his short stories, which I never want to stop reading. In a few pages he brings characters, events and places to life.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly strong stories, May 12, 2002

By 

Chelle "Chelle" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The William Saroyan Reader (Paperback)

William Saroyan is a wonderful writer for would-be writers to take a deeper look at. Not because his prose is so wonderful or because his stories are so engaging, but because he states most succinctly what every writer feels. That, though they have plenty of written pages, they feel like they have said nothing at all. And if Saroyan can feel this way and still produce what he has, well, there is hope then.

"Oranges" and "Finlandia" are the stand-out pieces in the collection as far as I'm concerned, though many others have a thought or two that linger. "Oranges" is heartbreaking, a story about a little orphan boy forced to sell oranges on the street corner, a little orphan boy who doesn't know what it is to laugh. And "Finlandia" deals with the idea of time and geography in a very thought provoking and musical manner. Many images and sounds are striking.

I was rather surprised myself that I liked Saroyan's work and ended up keeping the book when I had thought to donate it to a local library.