The Best American Short Stories 2006 (The Best American Series)

Ann Patchett (Editor), Katrina Kenison (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After 16 years as the series editor, Katrina Kenison takes her gracious and polished leave of this always interesting, often electrifying anthology. Ann Patchett's introduction provides a graceful entry into the main event--the stories. This year, although all stories were published in American magazines and journals, they are set all over North America, with a sprinkling in Europe and Asia as well. There are some extraordinary voices in this collection. Aleksander Hemon's "The Conductor," set in Bosnia and America, and Thomas McGuane's bittersweet "Cowboy" join a masterful narrative of immigration to Canada by Alice Munro, "The View from Castle Rock." In addition to the stories, the editors provide contributor notes; the author, title, and bibliographic information for 100 additional distinguished stories; and a listing of the editorial addresses of magazines publishing short stories. Good story anthologies are like chocolate assortments--many choices of flavor, texture, and density. This year's selected tales are flavor filled, literate, and textually^B complex. As is characteristic of this series, the mix affords a heady treat for lovers of short fiction. Ellen Loughran
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

“While a single short story may have a difficult time raising enough noise on its own to be heard over the din of civilization, short stories in bulk can have the effect of swarming bees, blocking out sound and sun and becoming the only thing you can think about,” writes Ann Patchett in her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2006.

This vibrant, varied sampler of the American literary scene revels in life’s little absurdities, captures timely personal and cultural challenges, and ultimately shares subtle insight and compassion. In “The View from Castle Rock,” the short story master Alice Munro imagines a fictional account of her Scottish ancestors’ emigration to Canada in 1818. Nathan Englander’s cast of young characters in “How We Avenged the Blums” confronts a bully dubbed “The Anti-Semite” to both comic and tragic ends. In “Refresh, Refresh,” Benjamin Percy gives a forceful, heart-wrenching look at a young man’s choices when his father -- along with most of the men in his small town -- is deployed to Iraq. Yiyun Li’s “After a Life” reveals secrets, hidden shame, and cultural change in modern China. And in “Tatooizm,” Kevin Moffett weaves a story full of humor and humanity about a young couple’s relationship that has run its course.

Ann Patchett “brought unprecedented enthusiasm and judiciousness [to The Best American Short Stories 2006],” writes Katrina Kenison in her foreword, “and she is, surely, every story writer’s ideal reader, eager to love, slow to fault, exquisitely attentive to the text and all that lies beneath it.”

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books; 1st edition (October 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061854352X
• ISBN-13: 978-0618543526
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #289,388 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a little dreary, February 16, 2007

By	Alison Rini (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

I was so excited about the 2005 BASS that I ordered this one as well. But as other reviewers have noted, most of the stories in this 2006 edition tend to center around death, which I found a little bit depressing. I highly recommend 2005 however, which had many diverse and attention-grabbing stories.

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best collection in years, January 15, 2007

By	cs211 "cs211" (United States) - See all my reviews

I have been reading the Best American Short Stories anthologies since the 1999 edition, and reviewing them here since 2003, and I do think that this year's edition is my favorite. Perhaps this indicates that the short story form is gaining momentum, which would be a welcome development in world of literature. But more likely it is due to the work of guest editor Ann Patchett who, unlike some other guest editors in the Best American series, has held her personal biases at bay and chosen deserving stories that should appeal to a wide audience, rather than just people like herself.

As always, different people will have different favorite stories, but here are mine:

--"Once the Shore", by Paul Yoon: a haunting story about a woman's quest to understand her imperfect marriage and husband, and the connection she forms with a stranger on the other side of the world, who has his own heartbreak to deal with.

--"Refresh, Refresh", by Benjamin Percy: a somewhat exaggerated yet still realistic portrayal of a small rural community dealing with the impact of military reservist troop activations, and (more importantly) the challenges of people escaping the fate to which they have been born.

--"Self-Reliance", by Edith Perlman: a dreamlike account of a life's final journey.

--"Grandmother's Nose", by Robert Coover: a very creative spin on an oft-told fable, which adds new modern day understandings while also illuminating the core messages of the original version.

Each of these selections demonstrates the short story at its best: powerful ideas and emotions are concentrated and conveyed in a small number of pages through carefully crafted sentences. Each story stands on its own and is by itself a work of art. Were they to be stretched to novel length, they would become diluted and lose their impact. A good short story is so much more than just one chapter of a novel. The short story form is well worth reading and enjoying, and the 2006 Best American Short Story anthology is a great way for new short story readers and old to experience the medium.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars the absolute worst, January 29, 2008

By	[e-mail] "[e-mail]" (Beaumont, tx USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

I can't even remember how many years I've been reading this series. And Patchett, while I've not read much of her work, she is well respected, so I figure it'll be a good collection. But of the 20 stories collected here, 15 of them are really bad. In fact, I'd say only five are worth the paper they are printed on (but I would never even think of including them here): Tartt, Percy, Munroe, Moffett, and the best story of the collection (if you could call it that) by Englander. Bad job Ms. Patchett.