Best English Short Stories 1989 - Hardcover

already edited; held from previous week This fourth annual selection of "stories in English by writers not American" is a mixed bag in terms of quality, but not varied enough in country of origin. The British are overrepresented; we do find an occasional Aussie or New Zealander, but nary a Canadian or South African is among the 22 authors here. The more memorable entries include Peter Carey's "A Letter to Our Son," an emotionally resonant account of a father's joy at his son's birth tinged with his fear for the mother's life; Lucy Ellman's funny, inventive existential anecdote, "A Day in the Life of a Sphere"; Angela Carter's " 'Tis Pity She's a Whore," a witty homage to both John Ford the filmmaker and John Ford the Jacobean playwright; and Jonathan Treitel's "A Merican," a meditation on Nagasaki from the point of view of an Americanized Japanese woman in present-day California. Fay Weldon's tale about a graduate student's affair with her professor is engaging, if slight; those by Edna O'Brien and William Trevor suffer from chronic blandness. Still, there are newcomers to watch: Patrick Rogers, Adam Mars-Jones and Adrian Dannat have distinctive voices.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

For their fourth annual compilation, the editors have selected 22 stories written in English by non-American writers. The result is more narrowly British than in previous years though a surprisingly large number feature American settings. J.G. Ballard's "The Secret History of World War 3" is a devilishly funny fantasy on Ronald Reagan's disastrous third term as president. One of the finest selections, Angela Carter's "'Tis Pity She's a Whore," juxtaposes stories by two John Fords: the Jacobean dramatist and the American maker of Western movies. Somehow, it works beautifully. Penelope Lively's "The Five Thousand and One Nights," a playful variation on the Scheherazade theme, is really about storytelling and the nature of fiction. Other stories are by Edna O'Brien, Ruth Rendell, William Trevor, and a host of younger writers. A solid though unexceptional collection.
- Laurence Hull, Cannon Memorial Lib., Concord, N.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.