Book review: The Prussian Officer and Other Stories

The Prussian Officer and Other Stories by D. H. Lawrence. Edited by John Worthen with an introduction and notes by Brian Finney. Recommended. In The Prussian Officer and Other Stories, D. H. Lawrence explores in short story form the themes that dominate many … Continue reading

Book review: The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton

The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton. Highly recommended. I was unaware that Edith Wharton, known for such insightful novels as The Age of Innocence, The House of Mirth, and Ethan Frome (as well as the popular movies these novels inspired), had indulged in writing ghost … Continue reading

Book review: Victorian Love Stories

Victorian Love Stories: An Oxford Anthology edited by Kate Flint. Highly recommended. Coincidentally, I happened to read this collection of Victorian short stories focused on love relationships concurrently with a book of Victorian erotic short stories and George Eliot’s Middlemarch(set earlier in the … Continue reading

Book review: The Collected Stories of Colette

The Collected Stories of Colette by Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, ed., and with an introduction by, Robert Phelps. Highly recommended. According to the introduction, this collection represents 100 stories taken from a dozen volumes published during Colette’s lifetime. They are categorised as “Early Stories,” … Continue reading

Book review: The Way to Rainy Mountain

The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday; illustrated by Al Momaday. Highly recommended. Rainy Mountain, a “single knoll [that] rises out of the plain in Oklahoma,” is an old landmark for the Kiowa people. It is a land of bitter … Continue reading

Book review: American Gothic Stories

American Gothic Stories ed. and with an introduction by Joyce Carol Oates. Highly recommended. In this 1996 anthology, noted American author Joyce Carol Oates collects American tales of horror and/or the supernatural, from an excerpt from Wieland, or the Transformation … Continue reading

Book review: Nothing But You: Love Stories from the New Yorker

Nothing But You: Love Stories from the New Yorker ed. by Roger Angell. Not recommended. Earlier in 2002, I had read Victorian Love Stories: An Oxford Anthology edited by Kate Flint, a wonderful, imaginative anthology that covers the gamut of … Continue reading

Book review: The Stories of John Cheever

The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever. Highly recommended. John Cheever has long had a reputation as the quintessential American writer of the 20th century, and this collection, which he edited, is illustration of why he is a favourite … Continue reading