The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis
The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis is an event in American letters.
Lydia Davis is one of our most original and influential writers. She has been called "an American virtuoso of the short story form" (Salon) and "one of the quiet giants . . . of American fiction" (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, for the first time, Davis's short stories are collected in one volume, from the groundbreaking Break It Down (1986) to the 2007 National Book Award nominee Varieties of Disturbance.
"Among the true originals of contemporary American short fiction.” —San Francisco Chronicle
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Community Reviews
I don't get it. This seems to be an "emperor with no clothes" situation (sorry - empress). I've had this on my shelf for a while and felt "smarter" knowing it was within arm's reach because EVERYBODY loves Lydia Davis. Well, I don't. And I slogged through 500 pages of this 700-pager hoping its genius would be revealed to me if only I kept going. But it remained beyond my grasp. I'll probably go back at some point and glance at the rest of it because somewhere in my neurotic brain I'll keep thinking, I bet pages 501 forward contain the best ones!
There were three "stories" (loose definition employed here) that I enjoyed. One was called "Jury Duty." Go figure. Maybe because I could relate, both as a court reporter and as someone who has served on a jury. The second was titled "In a Northern Country," which was about an ailing septuagenarian searching for his brother in a strange land.
The third, "Almost Over: Separate Bedrooms," I can recite here:
"They have moved into separate bedrooms now.
That night she dreams she is holding him in her arms.
He dreams he is having dinner with Ben Jonson."
Made me, literally, LOL. Is that wrong?
There were three "stories" (loose definition employed here) that I enjoyed. One was called "Jury Duty." Go figure. Maybe because I could relate, both as a court reporter and as someone who has served on a jury. The second was titled "In a Northern Country," which was about an ailing septuagenarian searching for his brother in a strange land.
The third, "Almost Over: Separate Bedrooms," I can recite here:
"They have moved into separate bedrooms now.
That night she dreams she is holding him in her arms.
He dreams he is having dinner with Ben Jonson."
Made me, literally, LOL. Is that wrong?
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