The Art of the Tale: An International Anthology of Short Stories (Paperback)

by Daniel Halpern (Editor)
Key Phrases: greasy character, circus proprietor, Miss Bobbit, Uncle Andrew, Giovanni Corte (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Halpern arbitrarily limits his selections to the past 40 years, then throws over them an "international umbrella." Though many of his choices have valueincluding classics by Cheever, Camus, Pritchett, Robbe-Grillet, Moravia, Greene, Borges, Garcia Marquez, and Nabokovthe United States is disproportionately represented, claiming 32 authors of the total 81, and there is only token representation of writers from such countries as Nigeria, Japan, Poland, Peru, Egypt, Spain, India, Denmark, and Israel. Halpern states that he read "the work of more than a hundred story writers." Such a minimal scope is inadequate for a bona fide international anthology, and consequently the collection lacks decisive thematic proportion and editorial purpose. Glenn O. Carey, English Dept., Eastern Kentucky Univ., Richmond
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Eighty-one masterpieces by the world's best writers--a surprising, irresistible collection of short stories from around the world.

Product Details

• Paperback: 832 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books (November 3, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140079491
• ISBN-13: 978-0140079494
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #160,572 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A real find, May 11, 2001

By	David Farnell (Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka-ken Japan) - See all my reviews

I'm a teacher of a small short-stories course, and it is harder than you'd think to find a collection of short stories that shows true variety. _The Art of the Tale_ is one of those rare ones--it is truly international (most that claim to be are actually feature nearly all-American or all-British writers) and varied in subject (many collections are devoted to a theme--which is fine, but not suitable for my purposes). On top of that, it is HUGE, with over 80 stories, yet lightweight enough to carry around easily, and the price easily beats any other comparable collection. (The last one we used had 1/3 the stories for nearly triple the price.)

And even better, this is not yet another collection of all those "standard" stories that seem to appear again and again in every collection. Halpern did include many great authors, but for the most part he sought out less-well-known stories by those authors, so I can share the joy of discovery experienced by my students.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy two, you'll wear one out., December 21, 2005

By	Jefferson D. Bronfeld "always_reading" (Binghamton, New York USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I use anthologies as a way of discovering new authors. If a particular story is thought good enough by the editor to be included in his anthology, I am encouraged to give it a try. In "The Art of the Tale" I have yet to find a clinker. Halpern has introduced me to authors I have been wondering about and authors new to me, with stories great and good, but always well worth reading.

This anthology is my new back seat book: the book I keep in the back seat of the car so that I always have something to read at the diner or waiting room, or in line at the bank.

5.0 out of 5 stars So good I bought 2!, October 23, 2008

By	Lori A. Sanders "TheWebWrangler" (Visalia, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I just purchased my second copy for a friend because I didn't want to give mine up!
This a gem of a book!