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Reasons to Live (Paperback)

by Amy Hempel (Author) "My heart-I thought it stopped..." (more)
Key Phrases: Dale Anne, Pool Night, Breathing Jesus (more...)

4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

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The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel by Amy Hempel
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Tumble Home: A Novella and Short Stories by Amy Hempel
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Two themes run through the 15 stories collected here: an intense regret at life's missed connections and a sharp, wittily observed sense of what it takes to survive. PW praised Hempel's "many gifts, including her deliciously absurd sense of the trivia we all carry around with us and her comic obsession with animals."
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Hempel's now-classic collection of short fiction is peopled by complex characters who have discovered that their safety nets are not dependable and who must now learn to balance on the threads of wit, irony, and spirit.

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Product Details

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial (July 20, 1995)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060976721
ISBN-13: 978-0060976729
Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (20 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #74,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
My heart-I thought it stopped. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Dale Anne, Pool Night, Breathing Jesus, Esther Fat, Fair Isle, Rancho Libido

New!
Concordance | Text Stats

Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!

Citations (learn more)

This book cites 1 book:

At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom: Stories by Amy Hempel in Back Cover

18 books cite this book:

The Dog of the Marriage: Stories by Amy Hempel in Front Matter, and Back Matter
Stranger Than Fiction: True Stories by Chuck Palahniuk on page 141, and page 142
Hicks, Tribes, and Dirty Realists: American Fiction After Postmodernism by Robert Rebein on page 37, and Back Matter
Demonology: Stories by Rick Moody on page 285
Contemporary American Fiction: An Introduction to American Fiction since 1970 by Kenneth Millard in Back Matter

See all 18 books citing this book

What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	74% buy the item featured on this page: Reasons to Live 4.2 out of 5 stars (20) $12.15
	19% buy The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel 4.1 out of 5 stars (31) $12.48
	3% buy Tumble Home: A Novella and Short Stories 4.0 out of 5 stars (12) $12.35
	2% buy The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao 3.9 out of 5 stars (394) $10.78

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Customer Reviews

20 Reviews

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(0)
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Average Customer Review

4.2 out of 5 stars (20 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another amazing Hempel offering!, March 9, 2005

By	CoffeeGurl (MA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

I knew this would be a great collection when I spotted this at the bookstore. Reasons to Live contains a collection of fifteen wonderful, witty and sometimes poignant short stories that make you think of the loss of opportunities one has in life. Amy Hempel, who also wrote the beautiful Tumble Home, writes with aplomb and insight of a classic writer. My favorite stories are "Nashville Gone to Ashes," "Going," "Pool Night," and "Why I'm Here." Once again, Amy Hempel has floored me with another impressive, beautiful collection. I will definitely give her other books a whirl.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reasons to weep, March 2, 2006

By	Nathan Tyree "Author of Mr. Overby is Falling" - See all my reviews

I first found Amy Hempel in college. A perceptive, smart instructor assigned me "The Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried." It was a shock to the system. For the first time in years words on a page made me weep. I was instantly hooked on Amy Hempel.

This is, I believe, her greatest collection. From first page to last it is an extraordinary look into the human condition. The two real standouts are the aforemention "Al Jolson" and a story called "Nashville Gone to Ashes."

Nashville is about the recent widdow of a veterinarian. Saying it that way seems to short it a bit. Like all of Ms Hempel's stories, Nashville is about human suffering, courage, love, despair and being human.

Read these stories and you will weep.

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20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reasons to read "Reasons to Live", March 27, 2000

By	Erika R. (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

1. Amy Hempel is one of the best kept secrets of modern fiction. 2. The stories say so much without saying too much. 3. The characters earn your compassion. 4. "In the cemetary where Al Jolson" is buried is the greatest short story I have ever read. 5. If you have ever grieved or felt loss, you will relate to these stories.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Prompt and Perfect
The book was received in very good condition and very quickly. I was prepared to wait a few weeks, it came within a few days. Thanks!

Published 3 months ago by Judith Brockway

5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning Collection
After reading this collection, I fell in love with Amy Hempel. I'm a writing student, and her book was on several reccommended reading lists, so about a year and a half ago, I... Read more

Published 7 months ago by Kaitlin L. Oldaker

5.0 out of 5 stars Reasons to read
There are many reasons to read Amy Hempel's superb debut, "Reasons to Live". Here you have five of them:

1- Less Is More: She writes like nobody with fewer words than... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Alysson Oliveira

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you Chuck
I bought this book because it was recommended by Chuck Palahniuk on his website. Reading it you can definitely see that it influenced him in his writings. Read more

Published on July 3, 2007 by Josh White

1.0 out of 5 stars i strike out again!
boy, am i in the middle of a reading slump. a whole chain of dull books have fallen into my hands lately, and this is one of them. Read more

Published on February 2, 2007 by fluffy, the human being.

5.0 out of 5 stars Queen of the short story
Thank goodness for Amy Hempel, egging on those of us who write short stories by constantly keeping her breathtaking prose to under fifty pages. Read more

Published on December 23, 2006 by Raphaela S. Weissman

1.0 out of 5 stars not what i expected
This book was nothing i expected it to be. The stories in them are mostly about nothing. When reading these you keep waiting for the story to begin and then its over before it... Read more

Published on January 17, 2006 by K. Shala

2.0 out of 5 stars Great sentences, poor stories
I picked up "Reasons to Live" based on Chuck Palahniuk's sterling recommendation in his book "Stranger than Fiction. Read more

Published on January 5, 2006 by D. Rahmel

5.0 out of 5 stars .
This book was amazing. I was once reading it in school and my teacher said I should be reading a novel, not a compilation of stories. Read more

Published on January 3, 2006 by C. Tempesta

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointed
Was eager to read this book because Chuck Palahniuk raved about it. Found it rather BORING. I didn't find it stimulating or emotional, as suggested by his recommendation. Read more

Published on October 5, 2005 by LittlePoshBeauty

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