Often I choose the books for this blog through research and recommendation. Today's selection, Truthtelling: Stories, Fables, Glimpses, was sent to me ahead of publication, and I am thrilled to be able to cover a book before it comes out, as that is extremely rare for me. I also do not often cover short story collections, so this was a nice change of pace.
Genre, Themes, History: As mentioned, this is a short story collection, and every story occurs in and around New York City, following various city residents as they live their lives, or attempt to. With 25 stories, a few or as short as a couple of pages, and the longest comes in at 27 pages. Each one focuses on a fairly ordinary person who has either entered into a certain phase of life that has brought about some sort of realization, of they find themselves in a slightly odd situation that they have a hard time reconciling. "Return of the Frenchman" is a shorter story of barely two pages that simply relates a woman's chance encounter with a Frenchman that she first met at a party years before. Then there are slightly longer stories like "I Want My Car," which involves an increasingly confused and agitated man whose ex-wife keeps coming up with reasons not to return the car she borrowed from him. And then there are some stories that go a bit further, such as "Public Transit," in which a woman is concerned for her own mental well-being due to her increasingly erratic behavior while riding public transportation. The collection is all about New York, and all about human behavior in the big city.
My Verdict: I was excited to tackle a short story collection for a change instead of the longer narratives I usually gravitate towards. Naturally, with 25 short stories, there are going to be some that simply are not as engaging as others. For me, there are maybe only four or five of them that stood out, while the others sort of blend in with each other. Some of them were lacking in plot, while others were lacking in resolutions. The stories seemed to simply end, almost with the understanding that the character's lives will continue on as before, and what the reader saw was one snapshot of a less than ordinary circumstance. Fortunately, the standouts really stood out, such as "Career Choice," "Near November," and "Fragment Discovered in a Charred Steel Box." For those that enjoy Schwartz's work, this collection will probably be enjoyable enough, and it is an interesting overall look at society in general through the eyes of a few peculiar people.
Favorite Story: I enjoyed "Career Choice," which involves a woman's plan to marry a wealthy older man, but her surprise comes after her plan succeeds.
Recommended Reading: As I said, I do not read many short story collections. For today, I recommend Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds, which tells stories involving school kids as they head home.
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