So, I finally got around to this book, “100 Years of the Best American Short Stories.” I’d been meaning to check it out for a while now, and let me tell you, it was quite a journey. I mean, 100 years! That’s a lot of stories.
First off, I had to actually, you know, get the book. It’s not exactly a small book, and it was 752 pages. I decided just to get it from the bookstore. Not the easiest thing to carry around, I must say. But I was excited, so I lugged it home.
Then, I started reading. And reading. And reading some more. I tried to read a few stories every day. The book has 40 short stories. Some days I read more, some days less, depending on how busy I was. You know how life gets. But I kept at it.
The stories themselves? Wow. Just wow. It was like a rollercoaster through American history, I guess. And not just the big events, but the everyday stuff, the way people lived and thought and felt across all those decades. I mean, we’re talking stories from way back in 1915 all the way up to 2015.
There were some names I recognized, like Ernest Hemingway and Alice Munro. I found their stories in this book. And let me tell you, they were just as good as everyone says. But there were also a bunch of writers I’d never heard of before. That was really cool, discovering all these new (to me) voices.
- I remember reading a story by Donald Barthelme and thinking, “What in the world is going on here?” It was so different from anything I’d read before.
- Then there was a story by Jamaica Kincaid that was just beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time.
- And one by ZZ Packer that I still think about sometimes, it was that good.
It took me a while to finish, but I’m glad I did it. It’s one of those books that makes you think, you know? About life, about people, about how much things change and how much they stay the same. If you get the chance, I think this book is worth checking out. Just be prepared to set aside some time for it. It’s a big one, but it’s worth it.
