Ninety-Nine Stories of God

Here's a great collection of some very brief short stories by a true master of the format. I most enjoy her characters, her humor, and the odd plotlines that she let's her readers in on. As an atheist, I was a little shaky about the whole GOD part of these stories, but I should have known better, Williams has a wonderfully twisted sense of humor that simply doesn't allow for any standard kind of religiosity ... more humor than piety. Some of these stories are only sentences long, others a few pages, at any length, she can shine so brightly in her writing. It's sure to be read many times over the years I have left.

I was hoping for something beautiful and rich—Ninety-nine Stories of God exceeded my expectation. These stories seem to be more about us than about God, in a magnificently humbling way. Williams exposed our finiteness, and our foolishness in the way we re-make God in our own terms. The way her words hang heavy with meaning both when the message is pithy and obvious, and when it is more obscured, is astoundingly brilliant. Despite reading it twice and feeling like I’ve yet to grasp everything this collection has to offer, the writing style is fluid and I could not put it down. This is a piece of true literature; my only disappointment is that I did not discover Joy Williams sooner.

*I received a digital ARC from NetGalley

The use of short form in this book and the choice to put titles at the ends of each piece are effective tools for creating a mosaic effect. The reappearance of the Lord figure serves as a delicate and barely traceable pattern to hold the work together. Each piece read like a little stone, meant to be extremely weighty. Some accomplished this well, but others seemed like trifling pebbles. This is the first Williams I have read, and as such, it felt like a good introduction to a witty and broad writing style.

I have to admit that I feel as though much of the morals and import of NINETY-NINE STORIES OF GOD escaped me. These "stories" (they're more akin to fables and aphorisms) take more to understand than a cursory reading; one day soon I'd like to peruse them again, studying just a few at a time. For now, 3.5 stars — though that might just betray my thematic ignorance.

If one can ignore the extremely high expectations for this collection of short short stories roused by the overexuberant blurbers and accept that there is nothing evident concerning the nature of the divine in many if not most of these stories, one can enjoy this. The collection is a modest success, with a hit rate similar to most story collections. By far the best stories are the ones which bring in God; too many of the others are head-scratchers or simply shaggy dog stories. The book is a two-night read and is a pleasant use of reading time if one doesn't ask the world of it.

Initially fooled by the author's name - I thought this book was by singer songwriter, solo artist, and half of The Civil Wars, Joy Williams - I accepted the offer to read Ninety-Nine Stories of God. Don't take the book blurb too serious. Rather than focusing on the Supreme Being in 99 short stories, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Joy Williams (1944) is indeed "capturing both the absurdity and the darkness of everyday life."

Yes, God is waiting, acting, not showing up at man-made parties, talking and laughing in Williams' fictional plots. Scenes bring the O.J. Simpson case, Kafka and Tolstoy back to life, and among others many down to earth humans, pets, and thoughts. Misunderstandings, attempts to apply etymology and show more hermeneutics, sometimes boring, more often bringing me to laugh and think again. What about the pig who saved a man from drowning? "Would the pig have rescued the man if she had known that he and his companions had just enjoyed a picnic of ham sandwiches? The pig's owner replied that pigs are intelligent, more intelligent than dogs, but they are not omniscient." or "The Lord was asked if He believed in reincarnation. I do, He said. It explains so much. On your last Fourth of July festivities, I was invited to observe an annual hot-dog-eating contest, the Lord said, and it was the stupidest thing I've ever witnessed."

In shorter than regular short fiction, some not more than a couple of sentences, bizarre and provoking thoughts, observations and situations are penned. show less

Once I got over the initial frustration of trying to "make sense" of these enigmatic word sketches, I found them more witty, ironic, and fun. Whimsical. Quizzical. God loves animals. Mind-expanding. My favorite line: "The Lord didn't like enclosures. He was surprised he knew how to create one."