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Points of View: Revised Edition

by James Moffett (Editor & Contributor)

Other authors: Margaret Atwood (Contributor), James Baldwin (Contributor), Toni Cade Bambara (Contributor), Gina Berriault (Contributor), Ambrose Bierce (Contributor)39 more, T. Coraghessan Boyle (Contributor), Rosellen Brown (Contributor), Truman Capote (Contributor), Raymond Carver (Contributor), John Cheever (Contributor), Ralph Ellison (Contributor), Louise Erdrich (Contributor), Charlotte Perkins Gilman (Contributor), Shirley Ann Grau (Contributor), Merle Hodge (Contributor), Langston Hughes (Contributor), Shirley Jackson (Contributor), Henry James (Contributor), Sarah Orne Jewett (Contributor), Francisco Jiménez (Contributor), David Wong Louie (Contributor), Katherine Mansfield (Contributor), Kenneth R. McElheny (Editor), Durango Mendoza (Contributor), Nicholosa Mohr (Contributor), Lorrie Moore (Contributor), Toshio Mori (Contributor), Alice Munro (Contributor), V.S. Naipaul (Contributor), Joyce Carol Oates (Contributor), Frank O’Connor (Contributor), John O’Hara (Contributor), Tillie Olsen (Contributor), Grace Paley (Contributor), Dorothy Parker (Contributor), Ann Petry (Contributor), Jayne Anne Phillips (Contributor), Cynthia Marshall Rich (Contributor), Danny Santiago (Contributor), Irwin Shaw (Contributor), Amy Tan (Contributor), John Updike (Contributor), Alice Walker (Contributor), Eudora Welty (Contributor)

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411760,737 (3.93)9
Since its original publication in 1966, this volume has attained classic status. Now its contents have been updated and its cultural framework enlarged by the orginal editors. Many of the 44 stories come from a new writing generation with a contemporary consciousness, and this brilliant blending of masters of the past and the brightest talents of the present achieves the goal of making a great collection even greater.… (more)
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» See also 9 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 7 (next | show all)
44 short stories from different view points printed between 1922 and 1994 from the most celebrated writers ( )
  betty_s | Sep 15, 2023 |
Excellent anthology that organizes short stories by narrative perspective. Used Irwin Shaw's "'Act of Faith" in conjunction with our reading of Elie Wiesel's "Night" to practice synthesizing ideas and writing thematic statements.

The afterword is also insightful, in that it summarizes the development of the complex individual point of view, with internal voice and conflicts. Basically, Moffett contends that this way of telling a story is very modern and comes from our increasingly individualistic, non-communal society. ( )
  jonbrammer | Jul 1, 2023 |
This was a large collection of short stories that sometimes hit, other times miss. Nevertheless, there are classics here-- as well as other inclusions that touch on the basis of narrative. The entire book formulates itself around points of view and the various ways that they can be used to write, describe, and facilitate the telling of a story. Overall, the small briefs before each section are considerably well-written and allow for deep, meaningful thoughts about the subject matter. Overall, it was a nice collection, and its lessons are not easily forgotten for the savvy reader.

3.5 ( )
  DanielSTJ | Apr 3, 2019 |
Loads of great authors. I read this in high school and I think I'm going to read it again. The stories are substantial ranging from the romantic to the horrific. ( )
  bjeans | Apr 3, 2013 |
This is a valuable book because it works on two levels.

First: It's a solid collection of 44 short stories, sort of a "best of the best" type collection. They were obviously chosen with a great deal of thought. The stories were written between the mid-19th century and the early 1990s, half were written by men and half by women, and the authors come from diverse backgrounds. However, although there is deliberate diversity, the book is still entirely US-centric--only five of the authors are from elsewhere. Further, none of the stories is translated. Representing US diversity, there are Asian-Americans, Latino-Americans, Jewish-Americans, African-Americans, and so on.

An aside here -- I found it interesting how the majority of these stories were about people struggling in dire poverty. Urban poor, rural poor, western poor, Appalachian poor, southern poor . . . if an alien was to read this book, it would believe people living in the United States are a downtrodden bunch!

I've called this book a "best-of-the-best" sort of anthology because it has stories by Eudora Welty, Alice Munro, Alice Walker, T Coraghessan Boyle, James Baldwin, Raymond Carver, John Cheever, Amy Tan, Frank O'Connor, Truman Capote, VS Naipaul, Henry James, Katherine Mansfield, etc and so on. However, there are a handful of obscure authors, and some of their stories were very strong indeed. In this category I have to list "My Sister's Marriage," by Cynthia Marshall Rich; "The Circuit," by Francisco Jimenez; "The Passing," by Durango Mendoza, "Doby's Gone," by Ann Petry, and perhaps my favourite, "Inez," by Merle Hodge.

The second level this book works on is as a text book or self-learning tool. The stories are arranged in a purposeful chronological order, and are designed to be read in order (back to front, or front to back, it doesn't matter). They are divided into categories, and there is a short lesson at the beginning of each category. These are:

Interior monologue
Dramatic monologue
Letter narration
Diary narration
Subjective narration
Detached autobiography
Memoir, or observer narration
Anonymous narration--single character point of view
Anonymous narration--dual character point of view
Anonymous narration--multiple character point of view
Anonymous narration--no character point of view

This helps the reader observe and study narrative techniques, and to see how authors use different techniques to best tell their story. After all, how a story is told is often as important as what is told.

Recommended for: Anyone looking for a solid collection of short stories and doesn't mind the strong US-centric flavour. But this book is really great for the reader who wants to sharpen his or her skills and become a more sophisticated and perceptive reader.

Not recommended for: English teachers and people who already know this stuff! Also, readers who've read widely through the short story world will find a lot of repetition in this volume. ( )
2 vote Nickelini | Apr 24, 2012 |
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» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Moffett, JamesEditor & Contributorprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Atwood, MargaretContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Baldwin, JamesContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bambara, Toni CadeContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Berriault, GinaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bierce, AmbroseContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Boyle, T. CoraghessanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Brown, RosellenContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Capote, TrumanContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Carver, RaymondContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Cheever, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Ellison, RalphContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Erdrich, LouiseContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Gilman, Charlotte PerkinsContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Grau, Shirley AnnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hodge, MerleContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Hughes, LangstonContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Jackson, ShirleyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
James, HenryContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Jewett, Sarah OrneContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Jiménez, FranciscoContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Louie, David WongContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Mansfield, KatherineContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
McElheny, Kenneth R.Editorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Mendoza, DurangoContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Mohr, NicholosaContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Moore, LorrieContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Mori, ToshioContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Munro, AliceContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Naipaul, V.S.Contributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Oates, Joyce CarolContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
O’Connor, FrankContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
O’Hara, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Olsen, TillieContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Paley, GraceContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Parker, DorothyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Petry, AnnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Phillips, Jayne AnneContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Rich, Cynthia MarshallContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Santiago, DannyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Shaw, IrwinContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Tan, AmyContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Updike, JohnContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Walker, AliceContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
Welty, EudoraContributorsecondary authorall editionsconfirmed
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This LT work combines the 1995 revised and updated edition, co-edited by James Moffett and Kenneth McElheny, based on ISBN [including 0451628721]. The 1995 edition reportedly omits half of the authors / stories originally collected and adds 29 authors not previously included. Separate LT works combine: (a) the original 1966 edition; and (b) editions that are catalogued on LT, but are otherwise indistinguishable. Please refine combinations where you can, but maintain the distinction between the 1966 original and the 1995 revised / updated editions. Thank you.
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Since its original publication in 1966, this volume has attained classic status. Now its contents have been updated and its cultural framework enlarged by the orginal editors. Many of the 44 stories come from a new writing generation with a contemporary consciousness, and this brilliant blending of masters of the past and the brightest talents of the present achieves the goal of making a great collection even greater.

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