Things that Fall from the Sky

I loved Kevin Brockmeier's novel, The Brief History of the Dead when I read it a couple of years ago. The writing was so descriptive that I felt cold when I read the descriptions of Antarctica. The storyline itself, about the afterlife, was fascinating and well-developed. I knew that I wanted to read more by Brockmeier.

For me, Things that Fall from the Sky, an earlier collection of Brockmeier's short stories, didn't quite match the elegance and depth of The Brief History of the Dead. However, Brockmeier's precisely descriptive writing continues to shine through. Consider these first two lines of "Apples":

"The fall of my thirteenth year was a time when all the important events in my life seemed to cluster together like bees. On the same show more sun-bright afternoon that I won the school spelling bee, my parents sat across from me in the living room and told me that they no longer loved each other, and a great gray ocean of wishlessness filled our house."

So much about the narrator is revealed in those two sentences. I would have read this collection for no other reason than to enjoy Brockmeier's writing.

But the storytelling itself is also top-notch in many of these stories. The storylines are unusual, creative, surprising. Brockmeier pulls in elements of fairy tales in some (like "A Day in the Life of Half of Rumpelstiltskin," a story whose whimsy is evident from just the title). In others, he describes situations that are utterly original. For example, "The Passenger" describes an entire society on an airplane. Each of the 11 stories is unique, demonstrating Brockmeier's range.

After reading The Brief History of the Dead, I was in awe of Brockmeier's writing. Things that Fall from the Sky shows that Brockmeier is as talented at writing short stories as he is at novels. show less

Amazing stories. I particularly liked A Day in the Life of Half of Rumpelstiltskin, Apples, The Ceiling, and The House at the End of the World. Beautiful writing and stories full of characters that are so real and so three dimensional that you feel like you can almost reach out and touch them or speak to them.

I really love Kevin Brockmeier’s writing. In fact, I’d probably go as far to say that his short story “The Ceiling” would make my list of the Ten Best Short Stories Ever. It’s a bold statement and I am prepared to back it up.

I recently read the Things That Fall From the Sky, a collection of Brockmeier’s short stories and I was stunned. I can’t remember the last time I read a collection of stories from one author that was this uneven. It’s really surprising to find incomprehensible garbage next to really beautiful and original stories.

Read the rest:
http://www.iwilldare.com/2008/04/05/things-that-fall-from-the-sky/

I think these are lovely stories - there are certainly lovely images and metaphors in some of them. And I suppose they're poignant, and/or perceptive, and/or (possibly) inspirational. But I just didn't 'get' them. Couldn't even read them all. Don't feel as if I can honorably rate the collection. Oh well.

Although I found this to be less consistent than his more recent work, this collection still contained many gems.