February 15, 2010

Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules, edited by David Sedaris


This is a collection of short stories chosen by an author I really like. Most of the stories I enjoyed, some I was neutral on, and one was so disturbingly, graphically violent, I almost didn't finish it. But in the end I have a hard time leaving things unfinished. (The story was by Joyce Carol Oates, for whom Wikipedia tells me violence is a theme.)

I liked how thoughtfully Sedaris placed his stories. Katherine Mansfield's The Garden Party (the sole story I'd previously read, and I do love) was followed by a story that referenced it.

The story that impressed me the most was Lorrie Moore's People Like That Are the Only People Here: Canonical Babbling in Peed Onk. It was great. I might look more of her work up, but besides that, I didn't take too much from this collection.

2 comments:

Erin Riley said...

Sedaris recommended Lorrie Moore at the reading, remember? I'll look her up too.

Lydia said...

I had a list of authors from that night that I wrote down while we were standing in line at the bookstore, and she was on it, but I forgot it was because he recommended her.