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The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories (2004)

by Ben Marcus (Editor)

Other authors: Rick Bass (Contributor), Aimee Bender (Contributor), Kate Braverman (Contributor), Mary Caponegro (Contributor), Anne Carson (Contributor)24 more, Ann Cummins (Contributor), Lydia Davis (Contributor), Matthew Derby (Contributor), Stephen Dixon (Contributor), Anthony Doerr (Contributor), Deborah Eisenberg (Contributor), Brian Evenson (Contributor), Mary Gaitskill (Contributor), William Gay (Contributor), Aleksandar Hemon (Contributor), A. M. Homes (Contributor), Jhumpa Lahiri (Contributor), Sam Lipsyte (Contributor), Gary Lutz (Contributor), Padgett Powell (Contributor), Dawn Raffel (Contributor), Mark Richard (Contributor), George Saunders (Contributor), Christine Schutt (Contributor), Joanna Scott (Contributor), Wells Tower (Contributor), David Foster Wallace (Contributor), Joe Wenderoth (Contributor), Diane Williams (Contributor)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2628100,701 (3.47)5
"In twenty-nine separate but ingenious ways, these stories seek permanent residence within a reader. They strive to become an emotional or intellectual cargo that might accompany us wherever, or however, we go. . . . If we are made by what we read, if language truly builds people into what they are, how they think, the depth with which they feel, then these stories are, to me, premium material for that construction project. You could build a civilization with them." --Ben Marcus, from the Introduction Award-winning author of Notable American Women Ben Marcus brings us this engaging and comprehensive collection of short stories that explore the stylistic variety of the medium in America today. Sea Oak by George Saunders Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower Do Not Disturb by A.M. Homes The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender The Caretaker by Anthony Doerr The Old Dictionary by Lydia Davis The Father's Blessing by Mary Caponegro The Life and Work of Alphonse Kauders by Aleksandar Hemon People Shouldn't Have to be the Ones to Tell You by Gary Lutz Histories of the Undead by Kate Braverman When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine by Jhumpa Lahiri Down the Road by Stephen Dixon X Number of Possibilities by Joanna Scott Tiny, Smiling Daddy by Mary Gaitskill Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace The Sound Gun by Matthew Derby Short Talks by Anne Carson Field Events by Rick Bass Scarliotti and the Sinkhole by Padgett Powell… (more)
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Showing 1-5 of 8 (next | show all)
nice stories :) "The Paperhanger" and "Gentleman's Agreement" are possibly my favorite. ( )
  ennuiprayer | Jan 14, 2022 |
Marcus’s enthusiasm for the tradition of storytelling particularly in its less popular shorter form, is intoxicating. Here he assembles a significant collection of stories all working with different materials within varied frameworks of style and themes culminating in conclusions that are, one might say bleak, but also simultaneously a joyful celebration of that bleakness. If the stories share anything in common, then it is a suggestion of possibilities for the human condition that are manifold even when hyper-intimate in scope. And their arrangement, far from being scattershot, has an abstract sense that manages to add up to a beautiful whole. This is what the anthology format was designed for. ( )
  sunil_kumar | Apr 1, 2019 |
Marcus’s enthusiasm for the tradition of storytelling particularly in its less popular shorter form, is intoxicating. Here he assembles a significant collection of stories all working with different materials within varied frameworks of style and themes culminating in conclusions that are, one might say bleak, but also simultaneously a joyful celebration of that bleakness. If the stories share anything in common, then it is a suggestion of possibilities for the human condition that are manifold even when hyper-intimate in scope. And their arrangement, far from being scattershot, has an abstract sense that manages to add up to a beautiful whole. This is what the anthology format was designed for. ( )
  sunil_kumar | Apr 1, 2019 |
Like a lot of collections of varying emotional platitudes and experience, this is no different, and is always hit or miss, and rarely consistently great.

With the exception of an abysmal middle section that spans a couple hundred pages or so, the real meat of this book occurs somewhere at the beginning and the end.

What follows are little synopses of my top 5 stories. So, if by chance, you happen to have this book in your hands or are able to procure it for cheap, I recommend directing your attention to these five, you know, if chronological reading doesn't work out for you.

1) "The Caretaker," Anthony Doerr (This guy's name keeps on popping up in collections everywhere, his stories usually ahead of the pack; that must mean something. Anyway, a Liberian escapes the civil war in the late 1980s and somehow finds himself ocean-wise, in Oregon.)
2) "Field Events," Rick Bass (A.C., a super massive gargantuan of a person meets a family of "misfits," who attempt to harness his strength in the great American pastime of discus throwing. Touching and among the most honest and realistic stories in the collection.
3) "Sea Oak," George Saunders (A tight-nit family not necessarily tight-nit by choice, struggles through financial ineptitude, as one son dances the night away, and his grandma continues to push him on for the sake of the family, telling him, "Go show your cock!" Dialogue is error-filled, and absolutely perfect.)
4) "Do Not Disturb," A.M. Humes (Woman who is herself a doctor, gets diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her emotionally wayward husband attempts to stick by her side through it all.)
5) "Scarliotti and the Sinkhole," Padgett Powell (Just read it. All attempts at classifying this story or even explaining it will sound like mush. Powell's sense of character and dialogue is uncanny and amazingly frazzled at times, bringing life to every instant.) ( )
  Mifune | Jan 15, 2012 |
Not all of the stories were nearly worth four stars, but as a whole the anthology deserves its stars. In fact, only couple of the stories got me to look for more from the authors: Short Talks by Anne Carson and The Old Dictionary by Lydia Davis. Also Do Not Disturb by A.M. Homes is worth mentioning. But what impressed me in this anthology was the various methods through which all of the stories deal with the anxiety of post modern human - no matter if the method works or not, it's worth exploring the possibilities of language and literature. ( )
  Lady_Lazarus | May 9, 2011 |
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» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Marcus, BenEditorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bass, RickContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bender, AimeeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Braverman, KateContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Caponegro, MaryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Carson, AnneContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Cummins, AnnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Davis, LydiaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Derby, MatthewContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Dixon, StephenContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Doerr, AnthonyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Eisenberg, DeborahContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Evenson, BrianContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gaitskill, MaryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gay, WilliamContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hemon, AleksandarContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Homes, A. M.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lahiri, JhumpaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lipsyte, SamContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Lutz, GaryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Powell, PadgettContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Raffel, DawnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Richard, MarkContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Saunders, GeorgeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Schutt, ChristineContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Scott, JoannaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Tower, WellsContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wallace, David FosterContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Wenderoth, JoeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Williams, DianeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
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"In twenty-nine separate but ingenious ways, these stories seek permanent residence within a reader. They strive to become an emotional or intellectual cargo that might accompany us wherever, or however, we go. . . . If we are made by what we read, if language truly builds people into what they are, how they think, the depth with which they feel, then these stories are, to me, premium material for that construction project. You could build a civilization with them." --Ben Marcus, from the Introduction Award-winning author of Notable American Women Ben Marcus brings us this engaging and comprehensive collection of short stories that explore the stylistic variety of the medium in America today. Sea Oak by George Saunders Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower Do Not Disturb by A.M. Homes The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Aimee Bender The Caretaker by Anthony Doerr The Old Dictionary by Lydia Davis The Father's Blessing by Mary Caponegro The Life and Work of Alphonse Kauders by Aleksandar Hemon People Shouldn't Have to be the Ones to Tell You by Gary Lutz Histories of the Undead by Kate Braverman When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine by Jhumpa Lahiri Down the Road by Stephen Dixon X Number of Possibilities by Joanna Scott Tiny, Smiling Daddy by Mary Gaitskill Brief Interviews with Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace The Sound Gun by Matthew Derby Short Talks by Anne Carson Field Events by Rick Bass Scarliotti and the Sinkhole by Padgett Powell

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