The Best Creative Nonfiction: (1) (Paperback)

by Lee Gutkind (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. This anthology, an offshoot of the journal Creative Nonfiction, kicks off an annual series drawing together the best representatives of a fertile (if ill-defined) genre still struggling for recognition. In his introduction, Gutkind tries to clarify the subject, a seeming "contradiction in terms," but the pieces speak for themselves, blending precise research and astute observation with flavorful, fascinating narratives. Carol Smith, a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, contributes an account of "The Cipher in Room 214," a 1996 female suicide found in a downtown Seattle hotel who left behind no clues as to her identity; Eula Biss details powerfully her experience with chronic illness by riffing off the 0-10 scale on which her doctors ask her to rank her pain. Most pieces are first-person, memoir-style accounts-writers include a former stripper, a fatally ill man, a narcoleptic and a prosopagnosic (a woman who can't recognize faces)-but a smattering of profiles include an insightful Poets & Writers piece by Daniel Nester on notoriously over-creative nonfiction writer James Frey. Happily, Gutkind reaches several steps beyond the literary journal scene-blog excerpts turn up, and a piece on the secret language of hackers (or "h4ck3rs") comes from John McPhee's Princeton University creative nonfiction class-to find a wide range of topics and styles; though some selections are stronger than others, the richness of the "real" makes the anthology work as a cohesive whole.
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Product Description
Narrative nonfiction at its cutting-edge best from writers at the cusp of recognition and fame. Lee Gutkind, proclaimed the "Godfather behind creative nonfiction" by Vanity Fair, along with the staff of his landmark journal Creative Nonfiction, has culled alternative publications, 'zines, blogs, podcasts, literary journals, and other often overlooked publications in search of new voices and innovative ideas—essays and articles written with panache and power.

"The Truth About Cops and Dogs," by Rebecca Skloot, describes a vicious pack of wild dogs, preying on the domesticated pets of Manhattan. Monica Wojcik's "The w00t Files," for the chic geek crowd, comes directly from John McPhee's famous Literature of Fact workshop at Princeton, a launching pad for famous young writers. Daniel Nestor, of McSweeney's and Bookslut, explains James Frey, while the very overweight Michael Rosenwald becomes a Popular Science nearly nude centerfold in a quest for knowledge about high-tech diagnostics.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (July 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393330036
• ISBN-13: 978-0393330038
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #409,010 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting new material, January 24, 2009

By	David J. Campbell (Faribault, MN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Best Creative Nonfiction: (2) (Paperback)

Lee Gutkind continues to find great new and interesting non-fiction writers.

At first I thought I might be reading pieces done by college level writing classes. No way! These are polished extremely well written stories with a tremendous amount of variety. Often they are a bit of the authors own experiences and how others were part of the impact.

Every author has a wealth of experience and these samplings are examples of their coming into their own.

5.0 out of 5 stars These Pieces Really Define Creative Nonfiction, January 13, 2009

By	Nancy A. Jackson "constant reader" (Monroe, MI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Best Creative Nonfiction: (2) (Paperback)

Lee Gutkiond, who pulled together this remarkable collection, says the following in his introduction:

"Creative nonfiction gives the writer more artistic freedom -
not in regard to the truth, but in constructing the story." (p. xi)

These tales are all based on the recounting of events through the lens of the teller; as such they bring in the writer's point of view, her descriptive take and her interaction with the characters involved. The first vignette I read, "Badlands: The Story of a Competitive Eater," got me hooked immediately. Check out "The Woot Files" on how our Internet slang derives from gamers back in the days of Atari -- or "The Answer That Increasingly Appeals," on a mother's search for the appropriate tribute to her daughter on the occasion of her daughter's Bat Mitzvah. All the emotions that accompany great fiction accosted me here, in the flights that the authors took from the facts to works of art.

It's a superb book that highlights a new genre. Try it - even if you don't love it, someone you love will.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for creative nonfiction writers, July 3, 2008

By	Dennis Fleming "Author: She Had No Enemies: A... (New York, NY and St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

The art of creative nonfiction, whether memoir, or personal essay, or journalism, is, in my opinion, is growing while the art of literary novel is shrinking. The stories contained in this compilation are powerful experiences not only because of the form in which they are presented, but by the fact that they are true experiences. I believe that for most people films are replacing the novel. The general public is drawn to reality based TV. Genre fiction will always have a large audience because the books are easy to digest, quick reads, and fun. Literature is demanding and people don't want to take the time to wade through the complexity of a modern day Moby Dick (if there were one).

With creative nonfiction shorts, I get the literary gratification I look for in 5-25 page shorts that are well written, thought provoking, and entertaining. I don't know where you can get better writing than this compilation by Lee Gutkind, the authority on this art form.

If you haven't tried this form of literature, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 1