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Truthtelling: Stories, Fables, Glimpses by [Lynne Sharon Schwartz]

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Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Truthtelling: Stories, Fables, Glimpses Kindle Edition

by Lynne Sharon Schwartz (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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“A grab bag of realist and experimental stories, each one a treasure . . . Wise, wry, and witty—theses stories in all their stylistic variations are perfect.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A man generously lends his car to his ex-wife, and is bewildered when she not only neglects to return it but makes increasingly implausible excuses for her actions. A neat and orderly clothing store owner is taken in and manipulated by an ailing elderly neighbor. A wife left by her husband for a younger woman is forced to visit the couple in order to see her children—and makes a startling realization about her former spouse.

In these stories and others, including an O. Henry Award winner and a Best American Short Stories selection, National Book Award finalist Lynne Sharon Schwartz presents readers with a cast of indefatigable New Yorkers whose long-established routines are disrupted by mishaps or swerves of fate.

“Meticulously crafted . . . This first-rate collection demonstrates why Schwartz remains an American literary treasure.” —Publishers Weekly

Print length

160 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Delphinium Books
Publication date

October 6, 2020
File size

2572 KB
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Lynne Sharon Schwartz
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lynne Sharon Schwartz is the author of twenty-seven books that include the novels Disturbances in the Field; Leaving Brooklyn, a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award; and Rough Strife, a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pen/Hemingway Award.

Review

"Meticulously crafted. . . . This first-rate collection demonstrates why Schwartz remains an American literary treasure." -- Publishers Weekly

“A grab bag of realist and experimental stories, each one a treasure . . . Wise, wry, and witty—theses stories in all their stylistic variations are perfect.” -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“This excellent writer has the great gift of making even the slightest of domestic situations feel richly alive to the pleasures we allow and the punishments we inflict on ourselves and one another. It is a joy to read this latest collection of her short fictions.” -- Vivian Gornick, author of Fierce Attachments: A Memoir

“These wonderful stories about our need for connection and our sense of alienation are timely and timeless at once. Lynne Sharon Schwartz is a dazzling writer.” -- Hilma Wolitzer, author of Hearts

“This elegant new collection includes some of Schwartz’s most surprising and satisfying short works, demonstrating anew her sustained powers as a writer, through an astonishing 28 books and 40 years.”
-- Alix Kates Shulman, author of Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen

“[Schwartz’s] insights are at once sympathetic and drenched with irony." -- The New York Times on Rough Strife

“Disturbances in the Field seems a more-than-welcome return to a classic idea of the novel... A wonder to read... I can think of no other contemporary writer who writes so well, with such rich sensuality.” -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Wonderful... It goes beyond literature and philosophy to a tough, battered truth.” -- The New York Times on Disturbances in the Field

“A quiet masterwork of late 20th-century American realism.”
-- Kirkus Reviews on Disturbances in the Field

“The book has the architecture of a sonata.” -- San Jose Mercury News on Disturbances in the Field --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08G89C3SM
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Delphinium Books (October 6, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2572 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #1,004,231 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #1,653 in City Life Fiction (Books)
- #2,066 in Metaphysical Fiction
- #2,495 in City Life Fiction (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
18 ratings

About the author

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Lynne Sharon Schwartz

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Lynne Sharon Schwartz (b. 1939) is a celebrated author of novels, poems, short fiction, translations from Italian, and criticism. Her short fiction has appeared in the Best American Short Stories annual anthology series several times. Schwartz lives in New York City, and is currently a faculty member of the Bennington Writing Seminars.

Customer reviews

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Top reviews from the United States

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MarlenaMB

Truthtelling, humor, and whimsy. Masterful.

Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

Masterful stories. What a discovery for me. The author reveals the complexity and contradictions of our humanity. Truthtelling is an apt title. Filled with humor and whimsy too.

Helpful

Sheila Kohler

TERRIFIC BOOK

Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2021

Verified Purchase

So much wit and wisdom and just terrific writing in this book. I highly recommend it.

Helpful

Jena Henry Booklover

Magical

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2020

What a collection of short stories! I feel like a character in a story in this book, “Castles in the Air”. An author, for years he was blessed with a “famously fertile imagination” until suddenly, “he had no ideas at all.” Like him, I am blessed with a wonderful book to review, but I am not sure I have the writing ability to convey to readers how much I enjoyed this book and how it made me feel. The stories of Truthtelling, subtitled “Stories, Fables, Glimpses” blend the realism of everyday situations with the experimentation of creative literary writing. Lynne Sharon Schwartz is a powerful and surprising writer.

The author writes with a straight-forward style, which allows her creative flourish of words and ideas to shine. Many stories begin with an ordinary, everyday occurrence that we all can relate to. But then the story veers off to highlight our foibles, moral dilemmas, desires and weaknesses. My favorite is “The Golden Rule”, which begins, “It started innocently enough. Could Amanda pick up a few groceries- it was raining so hard.” Sounds typical, right? Where will this lead to, you wonder? Most of the joy with these stories is in the journey.

“Near November” is very short, but what a poignant and searing look at 9/11. The shoes that are shown on the eye-catching cover may be from the story “Am I a Thief?”, which is ludicrous and likable.

A story that was published on Angionline in January, 2018 seems like it could have been written this year, 2020. “A Few Days Off” tells of a nameless woman who woke up one morning, decided to stay home from work and ended up remaining in bed for days.

Some of the stories are told in the first person and almost all are stories of a woman. Most of the stories are set in New York City, a place that is made for magic and the unexpected. Each story truly is a fable that will give the reader a glimpse into the private lives and thoughts of others and will awaken the quirks and misgivings we all have. Have you ever felt the urge to take something small from someone’s home as you are visiting? Read “An Impromptu Visit”.

Lynne Sharon Schwartz is a distinguished and acclaimed writer and is the author of twenty-three books. She has taught in many universities and writing programs. This collection of her stories showed me that a writer can be literary and stretch the boundaries of her thoughts, while still giving us a good read with some smiles and wry chuckles. I highly recommend this short story collection, one of my favorites.

Thanks to Meryl Moss Median and Delphinium Books for an advance hardback copy. This is my honest review.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Story Circle Book Reviews

A Short Story a Day

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2020

Lynne Sharon Schwartz's recent collection of short stories in Truthtelling embodies the wit, wisdom, and unique style of storytelling often shared by sages of old wishing to present food for thought to younger generations. Twenty-five stories, hewn of typically New York characters and settings, present humorous, serious, and sometimes fantastically simple fabric-of-life glimpses into what it means to be human in our modern world.

Subtitled Stories, Fables, and Glimpses, a reader may find subtle morals tucked here and there. In "The Middle Child," a mother is confused by a child who continuously hangs out with her own two children, only to realize that this child is hers as well—her middle child, adopted a few years earlier. The comedy of the story is suddenly cut short at the end with a statement by the child hugging her now enlightened mother: "I've been waiting for you for so long..."

In "Breaking Up," we hear an enraged female phone caller bellowing into the phone, "And don't try to talk me out of it. It's over. I'm breaking up with you." The concerned receiver of the call, stating that the caller clearly has the wrong number, repeats this and eventually hangs up the phone. She can't shake wondering what it was all about. Perhaps "...she wanted to be talked out of it, in one of those protracted and agonizing dialogues that after close analysis of recent behavior would end in a reconciliation, each one promising to do better in the future." For days the receiver of the call is plagued by wonderings—even to the point of considering the possibility that someone might actually be trying to break up with her!

Masterfully written, endearingly told, these short stories are a joy to read, realistic endings, surprise twists, and all. A short story a day will keep a reader longing to hear more.

This book was reviewed for Story Circle Book Reviews by Shawn LaTorre.

Helpful

Masterful story collection

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2020

Do not miss this masterful collection of stories and insights into the daily lives of people confronted with their own problems and dreams. Some of these characters will come across as self-absorbed but they will still provoke compassion and a desire to understand them. The best part of these stories is that often the characters makes a decision that is not in their best interest – but yields unexpected results. In “The Pickup, “ a young woman makes a rash decision to get in a car awaiting someone else. In “The Strong One,” a couple copes with the illness of an adult daughter while trying not to let down each other. In the “Middle Child,” a woman coming out of deep depression, discovers a life she can now embrace. In “An Impromptu Visit, “a woman and her daughter, who have auto problems, take refuge from a storm. Once greeted by the gracious homeowner, the woman makes a small rash decision, which echoes in her psyche. “The Tree of Porphyry” tells the story of decision making as if viewed from within a kaleidoscope of choices. In “Faux Me,” a woman considers the choices she never could have made….and where they could take her. In “Am I a Thief”, a woman attending a movie leaves with an unexpected souvenir and ideas for justification. Anyone of these stories could be my favorites, and if I read the collection again, I would surely highlight other ones. This book is a great way to escape into other lives that could almost be yours – if the conditions were right. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this copy to review. Loved it!

Helpful