Scribners Best of the Fiction Workshops 1997 (Scribner's ... (ISBN 068483314X)

inner peace gained through night time reading:
I've started something. I work at a book store and we always have a bunch of discounted books in the front. One of the books was this one. I picked it up thinking for $2.99 I was getting a glimpse into the short story I have never tackled. Every night I read one story from one of the three (I bought the other two years '98 and '99) and every night I fall asleep feeling completely at peace. I go along on the journey with the characters and my internal conflict is solved as theirs are solved. It's a lovely feeling. I highly recommend this and the other two Scribner's books for the writers, readers, and non-believers who want inspiration, humanity and understanding.

Simply the best book of short stories I've ever read:
First, know that I've read more than a thousand short stories and I have an awful habit of skimming non-dialogue parts. That said, Scribner's Best of the Fiction Workshops 1997 is extraordinary -- and I read just about EVERY word. Really. Each story is powerful in its own right -- rich with detail and characters you "know." These are everyday people experiencing tragedy, loss, and just trying to get by. Several of the stories focus on people with disabilities (mental as well as physical), and many of the characters are trapped. Very '90s, but very realistic. After reading each story, I actually had to sit and rest for a while before going to the next one. In most short-story collections, you find one or two clunkers. Not so with this book! I'm on my second reading, and am liking it even more. If you like short stories, or if you write short stories, you must buy this book. You must.

Not the strongest in the series, but some notable entries:
Many of these stories are set in the San Francisco Bay Area, so particularly if you are from the area, you'll want to pick this book up. At their best the stories tackle uncomfortable subject matters (heroin addiction amongst the privileged and formerly successful, and child-by-child accidental murder) in clear and concise writing. At their worst the writing is muddled and the themes a mystery (if someone can explain the train story, I'll give you a dollar). Still, if you'd like some light reading by your bed on a week's vacation, this is worth buying.

Blame It on the Editor:
One must hope that there are better writers in the over seventy-five Masters programs listed as participants at the back of this volume. The stories selected are almost universally dull with characters that while real, lack nuance. The prose in most of the stories is functional, but never lyrical, and there is not one original idea in the lot. Even the titles, excepting "A Few Fish and Anonymous Spaniards," are completely lacking in imagination. If this is the best our universities have to offer, then the outlook is truly dismal. The blame thus belongs to Ms. Hoffman, a writer of some imagination and skill, but apparently a terrible reader based on this volume and her effort as editor of The Best American Short Stories 1994, the weakest of the series in decades. Hoffman apparently finds interest in stories that are closer to sketches and offer few delights of language or plot. It is as if Ms. Hoffman endeavored to find future stars that were sure to glimmer none too brightly