I Thought My Father Was God: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project

For my money, this is the ultimate vacation, read-anywhere, pick-up-and-put-down book. It also has a nearly universal appeal, so it's also the ultimate gift book. Many of these very short, true stories have Twilight Zone-like eeriness to them, and every story gives you something unexpected, whether that is a gut-wrenching poignancy or an episode of laugh-out-loud humor. - Adam

This anthology isn't a well-culled sampling of the finest writing in America, but it never makes itself out to be -- and therein lies its charm. This collection of personal narratives sent in to NPR's National Story Project offers a cross-section of contemporary life experiences -- ranging from war stories and childhood memories to lovesick missives and tales of woe. But what all of the stories have in common is a sincerity that even professional writers often miss, and for that alone I enjoyed this book.

A heavy-handed collection of people's "most profound" dinner-table vignettes. The stories are indifferently told, but the teeth-grindindly obnoxious feature of the anthology is how quickly a sweet story of coincidence becomes an indulgent glorification of sloppy thinking and self-delusion as yet another contributor concludes, "And that's how I know that my sister-in-law watches over me from beyond the grave."

Oh really? And to what does the contributor attribute all the nasty coincidences in her life? The dead sister-in-law's lingering resentment of the time the author said she was fat?

It's ironic that the anthology's weakness should be a love affair with confirmation bias, given that the title story is an account of a child's mistaken show more conclusion (through the coincidence of an overheard argument and a heart-attack) that his father can strike someone dead with a thought. The now-grown-up author shakes his head at how silly he was when he was seven. If only the anthology's editor had shaken his head over how silly the other contributors still are. show less

When Paul Auster was approached by National Public Radio's Daniel Zwerdling about becoming a regular contributer to Weekend All Things Considered, his first inclination was to say no. His wife, however, turned the project around by suggesting that he solicit stories from listeners. In this way the National Story Project was born. The guidelines were only that the stories had to be true and short. He requested stories that "defied our expectations about the world, anecdotes that revealed the mysterious and unknowable forces at work in our lives, in our family histories, in our minds and bodies, in our souls. In other words, true stories that sounded like fiction." Thousand of listeners had stories to tell and 180 of them make up I show more Thought My father Was God, edited by Paul Auster.

Like any collection of stories, some fell flat for me, but others, well many, are simply amazing. The most memorable stories were those having to do with coincidences (coincidentally, one of Auster's recurring themes). My favorite was a very poignant "A Family Christmas".

I had listened to this on audio for the first time ten or so years ago and loved hearing them again. Although they are written stories, I felt they were meant to be heard, not read. Paul Auster reads all the stories and has a wonderful voice. show less

I picked this book up at a library sale- thinking from the title that it would be a novel or true story about a child who thought his/her father was God. I hadn't noticed that the rest of the title, written in smaller print on the cover, And Other True Tales From NPR's National Story Project was really what this book was- a collection of short, true stories from listeners of Paul Auster's interview on the radio. He had asked listeners to send in their stories; of strange coincidences, animals, memories, reflections on the war, all kinds of topics. And so this book was the result- a wonderful compilation of anecdotes. Some were far better than others. Perhaps my least favorite was a 2 page meditation on the joys of a martini 😥 But show more others was more engaging and endearing. There were several stories about childhood friends and enemies and older people. And many about animals, travels, jobs. As another reviewer noted, this is a great book to bring with you if you're going to be waiting for something, like at a bus station or waiting room, or to pick up before bed-then you won't mind being interrupted too much b/c the stories are short. Wonderful little find here. show less

this is wonderful. it's a collection of short (the average is probably a page or so) essays written by people from all over america. (some well written, some not.) true snippets from their lives. things that touched them or moved them or memories they had. and unbelievable coincidences and occurrences. it really shows how connected we are as people, and i loved this book for that. such a great reminder of how this universe holds us, and how, if we're watching, we can see beautiful and amazing things. and beautiful and amazing connections.

You'd think that this would be a collection of a wide variety of stories, a 'tossed salad' or experiences and beliefs & attitudes. ?áWell, not so much. ?áAfter all, most contributors are fans of NPR. ?áAnd they are folks who think they have a story to tell. ?áAnd then Auster selects the ones he likes best. ?áSo, after awhile they start to sound much the same.... ?áI skipped Death and Dreams. ?áI think I found the first section, Animals, most interesting, and the last, Meditations, second most. ?á

Also, these are supposed to be true. ?áWell, even the ones that are most intentionally so, aren't likely to be. ?áMemory plays incredible tricks on us. ?áAnd all the coincidences, like (made-up example:) like losing show more a bracelet on a beach in Delaware the year your childhood friend had the mumps and was quarantined and so couldn't join you there, and decades later meeting the friend at a flea-market as you both were looking at a table of junk jewelry, and there's your old bracelet.... well, there's lots of nonsense like that in the book. ?áNot saying it's never happened, but that story concept only needed to be included a couple of times. ?áAnd did Auster do anything to verify the veracity of these vignettes? ?á

Anyway, Early Arithmetic" by Sandra Waller is worth getting the book from your library to read. ?áI'm off to see if she's written anything else. ?áEven if it's just a blog, I wanna read it." show less