Among the many highlights in the collection, among them Kate Braverman's hypnotic "Tall Tales From the Mekong Delta", Raymond Carver's "Cathedral" in which Carver actually takes a step toward justifying the hype surrounding often over rated work, Mary Gaitskill's "A Romantic Weekend" a take on sadomasochism that is at once cold and humorous, Barry Hannah's "Testimony of Pilot", Thom Jones' "A White Horse", Robert Stone's "Helping", and John Edgar Wideman's "Daddy Garbage", but the two highest points of the collection, as they would be in any other collection, are Denis Johnson's "Emergency" and Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried". The first, from Johnson's indispensable collection "Jesus' Son", is halucinogenic, unnerving and beautiful. In "Emergency" Denis Johnson reveals his uncanny ability to draw the reader into the fabric of his story to the point where one believes that he is an actual physical observer of the events portrayed. Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" is equally evocative, but in a much more overt and emotional way. O'Brien does a brilliant job of portaying his group of American foot soldiers in Vietnam and his descriptions are so exact that we can't help but feel the fear and emotional strain he describes.

The rest of the collection is strong with a few exceptions. "River of Names" by Dorothy Allison is shallow and not at all up to par with some of her other work. "Darling" by Scott Bradfield starts off wonderfully but ultimately disappoints by overdosing on its own bitter medicine. Even so, there is so much good material in this collection that we owe a great debt to Mr. Wolff for making it so readily available.


Mr. Wolff sure can pick 'em!   March 9, 2001
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Tobias Wollf, himself an excellent practitioner of the short story, does not include a work of his own in this wonderful collection (save a very thoughtful introduction). This is one of the most well edited collections of contemporary short stories on the market. It may be a few years old by now, but most of the "must read" writers, as well as surprisingly good lesser-knowns are included. Raymond Carver and Andre Dubus, sadly no longer contemporary in the strict sense, live on within these pages alongside excellent new voices. Two stories that really stand out for me are John L'Heureux's "Departures," a very deep and moving narrative, and Ralph Lombreglia's "Men Under Water," a beautiful alchemy of the dreams and realities of contemporary life. The selections written by Jamaica Kincaid, Joyce Carol Oates, Tim O'Brien, and Denis Johnson are so well picked, they seem to capture a bit of the authors themselves, as well as a portion of their writing. Because of these atttributes, I think the Vintage Book of Contempory Short Stories is both valuable for personal collections and for use in the classroom. It does the job that all compilations are supposed to, but seldom do, accomplish. It exemplifies the current breadth and depth of this contemporary artform.


Serious literature with grit   March 18, 2001
 7 out of 7 found this review helpful

"The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories" speaks with the intensity of liquor and fists. It lets loose on the gut of America.

Tobias Wolff, one of America's hardest hitting fiction writers, ("The Night in Question: Stories" and "In the Garden of North American Martyrs") has hammered together one of the best collections of modern fiction--far better than any individual "Best of..." collection.

If you are drawn, like me, to the intensity and disillusionment present in American literature at the turn of the century (i.e. Edith Wharton, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald) this book may be what you have been looking for in contemporary writers. Including such staples of the contemporary cannon as Raymond Carver, Andre Dubuse, Amy Tan, Joyce Carol Oates this book packs in the best of modern short fiction and restores the genre to its former revered status.


This book made me realize the power of short stories.   November 19, 1999
 3 out of 5 found this review helpful

Each story was carefully selected. The characters in the stories are amazing and put a humorous spin on dysfunctional situations.


An excellent collection of stories to teach with students   August 3, 1997
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Wolff's collection of contemporary American stories serves as an excellent springboard for teaching high school students modern fiction. An excellent teaching tool. And the students enjoy the stories almost as much as the teacher