The Best American Short Stories (2022)

 Book 97 of my 2023 Reading Challenge

read from September 19 - October 14

The Best American Short Stories (2022)

My Opinion

4 stars

Collectively I liked pretty much all the stories which means my notes are a bit repetitive but as I usually do when reading stories by different authors in the same book, I jotted a few thoughts about each one individually. 

A Ravishing Sun

I could feel the rawness and pain of the story.  When I read the author's note and saw it was a lived pain, it hit me harder that she could write the depression so well.  I hope she's in a good place now.

The Little Widow from the Capital

Well-written, it went in a very unexpected direction.

Man of the House

I felt sad yet hopeful for the future of the characters.

The Wind

Really powerful.

The Hollow

It was fine but I didn't really connect with the story.  The disconnect from reality was intentional and important to the plot but it made it difficult to find anything to latch on to.

Detective Dog

Absolutely engrossing.

Sugar Island

I want to be friends with all 3 of the main characters.  A sweet little snippet of life.

The Souvenir Museum

Really easy to get lost in the story.  The unsettledness of the characters was added by my reading it in the very early hours of the morning after a rough night of sleep.

Post

The story was engaging but also bleak.

Bears Among the Living

It was like hearing a person's inner monologue, random thoughts with enough cohesion to make it clear one person was narrating.

I love the line, "I miss when my future was more interesting to me than my past".

Soon the Light

It was matter-of-fact but also somehow emotional.  One that I was very engrossed in while reading but cannot describe what it was about at all.

Mbiu Dash

I felt sorry and lonely for her.  Abrupt ending.

The Meeting

There was a bleak undertone to the story and it escalated quickly to a surprising ending.

The Beyoglu Municipality Waste Management Orchestra

I didn't understand the parts with the attic and how it had so many contents but the inclination of the character to "rescue" beautiful artistic items from the garbage made perfect sense to me.

The Ghost Birds

A new angle of a dystopian future.  It was interesting to read in the author's note that the roosting of swifts in the chimney of an elementary school is a real thing that happens annually.

Mr. Ashok's Monument

It was fine.  I had to start over a few times because it required concentration to orient myself.

Ten Year Affair

It was unexpected and I'm glad it was never physical.  Her feelings about him at the end made me laugh; it reminded me of being mad at my husband for not apologizing for something he did in my dream.

The Sins of Others

Although this story had a satisfying ending the injustice of the system made me so angry.  It also was a little frightening that it wasn't too much of a stretch of the imagination to picture this happening in real life.

Elephant Seals

Pulling one thread at a time unravels into so many futures.  I like that it kept layering on itself instead of telling the same event in multiple timelines.

Foster

Melancholy but I hope good things happen for the main character.