My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead: Great Love Stories, from Chekhov to Munro
Book Review: Unique collection! (no chessiness here!)
Summary: 4 Stars
"Two unexceptional people, for no demonstrable reasons, being exceptionally in love..." the intro essay of Jeffrey Eugenides is very good and memorable in itself in dissecting the great short stories about love.
The other exceptional thing in this collection is its decision to include real classic classics (centuries old), and some recent (Miranda July, et al). And I think all the contemportary authors agreed to have their stories included--albeit they are key stories in their own collections that are still 'active' in the storeshelves--because proceeds from this book all go to charity--the Valencia project by Dave Eggers. In the end, the resulting variety, makes this a truly unique collection.
But in every collection of course, not everything will be sparklingly brilliant. For example. Harold Brodkey is the only one with two stories in the collection, showing that the editor likes him, but both are not compelling. You forget about them after finishing.
Yours, What we talk about, Dirty Wedding, are fantastic.
I only gave four also because of the general gloominess of the collection--in most of the endings and the general feeling and flow of prose.
If you loved this, consider also NOTHING BUT YOU (Love Stories from the New Yorker) edited by Roger Angell. That book is five stars to me, just for the variety of the collection (there's humor, tragedy, even commentary).
Book Review: 4.5 out of 5: Interesting Mix of Stories
Summary: 5 Stars
My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead is a compilation of short stories selected by Jeffrey Eugenides, Pulitzer-Prize-winning author of Middlesex. Above all, Eugenides' collection is thoughtful; these stories span the globe and the centuries, creating a diverse and provocative reading experience. Unlike many story compilations, there are no `dogs' mixed up in this one. Each story is a gem in its own right. But readers should approach My Mistress's Sparrow with caution. Although the ostensible theme of this compilation is love, there's very little here that conforms to our idea of sweet, romantic love. Rather, these stories capture the underbelly of love: the agony of unrequited passion, the uncertainty of moral ambiguity, and the detritus of failed relationships. This collection was released right around Valentine's Day. I feel sorry for the poor suckers who gifted this to their sweethearts, hoping to make a good (and romantic) impression. Book Review: My Mistress's Sparrow Is Dead
Summary: 4 Stars
Love at it's most fragile exsistence. The stories pull you in, build you up and then defeat you for the most part. Good reading when you want a short story to distract you from your everyday life.Book Review: Enjoy the classics and the literary talents of the moment in this beautiful volume
Summary: 5 Stars
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides (MIDDLESEX) edited a Valentine's Day 2008 collection of love stories entitled MY MISTRESS'S SPARROW IS DEAD (the title is derived from the work of Roman poet Gaius Valerius Catullus). The book's cover features an anatomical heart, indicating that this is not your standard Valentine's Day mush. The editor describes the collection as such: "A love story can never be about full possession. The happy marriage, the requited love, the desire that never dims -- these are lucky eventualities but they aren't love stories. Love stories depend on disappointment, on unequal births and feuding families, on matrimonial boredom and at least one cold heart. Love stories, nearly without exception, give love a bad name."
Stories by classic authors such as Anton Chekhov, Vladimir Nabokov, and William Trevor are included, but the collection also includes works by literary talents of the moment like Miranda July and and Lorrie Moore. Love topics include adultery ("How to Be an Other Woman" and "Lovers of Their Time"), forbidden love ("The Moon in Its Flight" and "Spring in Fialta"), and celebrated, ambiguous stories of love such as Chekhov's "The Lady with the Little Dog." There are a total of 27 stories in all - plenty of material to cure any reader's broken heart or fend off thoughts of an affair.
All proceeds from of the sale of this book fund the free youth writing programs offered by 826 Chicago.
Book Review: Just "okay"
Summary: 3 Stars
I got this book from my public library, and have read several of the stories so far. I had already read most of the classics (e.g., "A Rose for Emily," "Lady with the Pet Dog," etc.), so I've been reading the others. I haven't found one so far that I've liked. Based on the preface, I understand that this is not a "happily-ever-after" type collection, and I'm fine with that. But some of these stories paint such a cynical picture of human beings that it seems almost perverse. I mean, in one of the stories, the protagonist is a pot-smoking, drug-dealing teen who masturbates in the basement and then starts having sex regularly with his 14-year old cousin (who, by the way, used to make porn movies for money and thought nothing of it). I'm sorry, but I'd like to be able to identify with SOME aspect of the hero and heroine, and in many of the stories so far, I just can't.
If you want a REALLY excellent collection of short stories that will hold your attention without making you feel as if humankind totally sucks, try Tobias Wolfe's new collection entitled Our Story Begins.
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