2024 the best american short stories of the century review

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In THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF THE CENTURY, best-selling author Tony Hillerman and mystery expert Otto Penzler present an unparalleled treasury of American suspense fiction that every fan will cherish. Offering the finest examples from all reaches of the genre, this collection charts the mystery's eminent history from the turn-of-the-century puzzles of Futrelle, to the seminal pulp fiction of Hammett and Chandler, to the mystery story's rise to legitimacy in the popular mind, a trend that has benefited masterly writers like Westlake, Hunter, and Grafton. Nowhere else can readers find a more thorough, more engaging, more essential distillation of American crime fiction.
Penzler, the Best American Mystery Stories series editor, and Hillerman winnowed this select group out of a thousand stories, drawing on sources as diverse as Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine and Esquire, Collier's and The New Yorker. Giants of the genre abound -- Raymond Chandler, Stephen King, Dashiell Hammett, Lawrence Block, Ellery Queen, Sara Paretsky, and others -- but the editors also unearthed gems by luminaries rarely found in suspense anthologies: William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, Damon Runyon, Harlan Ellison, James Thurber, and Joyce Carol Oates. Mystery buffs and newcomers alike will delight in the thrilling stories and top-notch writing of a hundred years' worth of the finest suspense, crime, and mystery writing.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books; First Edition (April 13, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 832 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0618012710
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0618012718
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.2 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.25 x 8.75 inches
Reviewer: Fred Camfield
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A must buy for fans of the authors
Review: Editors are always a little presumptuous when they use a title starting with "The Best..." The editor of this volume has selected 46 American authors from the 20th century, and included one story by each author. He has included some well known novelists like Faulkner, who were not known for writing short stories or mysteries; and excluded some well known mystery writers who are known for writing short stories, e.g., Marcia Muller, Lawrence Sanders, Michael Collins, etc.Some of the stories are crime stories rather than mysteries, i.e., you know who pulled the trigger. It is a good collection of stories (in spite of omissions) starting with O. Henry's "A Retrieved Reformation," originally published in 1903, and ending with Dennis Lehane's "Running Out of Dog," originally published in 1999. In Between there are stories by Dashiell Hammett, Ring Lardner, John Steinbeck, Damon Runyon, Raymond Chandler, William Faulkner, Ellery Queen, John D. MacDonald, Ross MacDonald, Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, Sue Grafton, and many other writers. The short stories can be read in any order, starting with your favorite authors, and can be read at leisure. It includes stories like Cornell Woolrich's "Rear Window," later made into a motion picture.Many of the authors included are best known as novelists. It is necessary to track down their short stories in order to have a complete collection of their work, and that can be difficult as many magazines have gone out of existance, and the stories may or may not be included in anthologies.The collection is a bargain buy with 800 pages of stories. There are short biographical sketches of the authors at the end of the volume. Many of them died young. Jacques Futrelle went down with the Titanic, staying behind after helping women and children into the lifeboats.Most modern authors do not write many short stories. As one author noted, it takes a significant amount of time and intellectual energy to write a good story, and there is very little financial return. Consequently, it is a rare find when you encounter a short story by an established author.

Reviewer: Wombat the Bookworm
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A good read with a broad definition of mystery that yields many gems.
Review: I don't envy anyone tasked with assembling a book like this. You'd want to be original, but you couldn't skip the best things. You'd need to hit many of the major figures while not ignoring minor gems. You'd want to hit every flavor and node.Hillerman and Penzler did a fine job, selecting many moving and startling stories for the collection. Several made me laugh, some made me shiver, some stayed with me for days. At the same time, some seem out of place for tone, others for content. Rather than discuss every story (there are 46, after all), I'll list my five favorite and the five most out of place.Let's start with the out-of-place ones: - "The Comforts of Home" - Flannery O'Connor is a stark story, but isn't strictly a mystery, nor is it pleasant - "Do with Me What You Will" by Joyce Carol Oates feels too ham-handed-- a story about something instead of being a story that makes you think about something - "First Offense" by Evan Hunter has the same problem -- it's too "on the nose" - "An Error in Chemistry" by William Faulkner - tries to be a clever mystery but falls flat. It's also written in a confusing way, revealing details in the wrong order. - "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather feels like a rambling story that isn't really a mystery at all.The five best stories. I'd like to be clear -- there are many great stories in this collection. I'd have no trouble assembling a list of 10 instead of five. But five will do: - "The Dark Snow" by Brendan DuBois seethes with the daily torments of modern life, and challenges the reader to rethink easy dichotomies of good and evil. - "The Terrapin" by Patricia Highsmith is perhaps the most horrifying story of the book, followed in a close second by Harlan Ellison's "The Whimper of Whipped Dogs." - "The Catbird Seat" by James Thurber still holds as one of my favorite stories ever. A tale of petty bureaucracy and orderliness. - "A Jury of her Peers" by Susan Glaspell brings the early 20th century feminism into bright relief, and works wonderfully. - "The Moment of Decision" by Stanley Ellin prods our conscience, asking how we'd act if a harrowing moment presented itself.Overall, a very good read. The anthology takes a pretty broad view of what a "mystery" is, but it can be forgiving since this broad definition yielded so many gems.

Reviewer: Gary Griffiths
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Brilliantly Entertaining History of American Fiction
Review: If a Martian landed on Earth and wanted an introduction to American fiction, I can't think of a grander and more efficient means than through "The Best American Mystery Stories of the Century," a blockbuster anthology from Otto Penzler's terrific series of short story collections, edited by the talented scribe of the southwest mystery, Tony Hillerman. This is a treasure chest of timeless gems featuring the giants of American literature, from O. Henry's mastery of irony to Faulkner's smoky southern prose, Willa Cather's somber plain's sensibility, Hemingway's bare-knuckled riffs, Dashiell Hammett's ground breaking noir, to pulp fiction's golden days of Raymond Chandler, James M. Cain, Donald Westlake and Ross McDonald, on to the contemporary terror of Stephen King, Dennis LeHane's street-smarts and about forty-four more gripping tales of murder, deceit, treachery, reproach, dark humor and suspense. Way too many stories to try and pick winners here, and not a loser in the bunch. Most remarkable about this collection is the compatibility of the content given the diversity of the authors: Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King? William Faulkner and Sue Grafton? Flannery O'Connor and Pearl Buck? Pulling together this motley but venerable crew together took some brass, but Hillerman makes it work - brilliantly. A must for any library of fiction - that benchmark volume that will soon be dog-eared and thumb-stained. Bravo!

Reviewer: C. Lampos
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Book club choice
Review: This is the required book for a class I am taking in Chicago. We enjoy reading the stories and discussing them. I find that so many stories makes the book a bit bulky. We have like many of the stories. Some are definately "period pieces", but that is the point. Tony Hillerman is the editor, and he did a good job.

Reviewer: Samuel Barber
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Contents Includes:O. Henry, A Retrieved ReformationWilla Cather, Paul's CaseJacques Futrelle, The Problem of Cell 13Frederick Irving Anderson, Blind Man's BuffMelville Davisson Post, Naboth's VineyardSusan Glaspell, A Jury of Her PeersDashiell Hammett, The Gutting of CouffignalRing Lardner, HaircutWilbur Daniel Steele, Blue MurderBen Ray Redman, The Perfect CrimeJames M. Cain, The Baby in the IceboxJohn Steinbeck, The MurderDamon Runyan, Sense of HumourPearl S. Buck, RansomRaymond Chandler, Red WindJames Thurber, The Catbird SeatCornell Woolrich, Rear WindowWilliam Faulkner, An Error in ChemistryHarry Kemelman, The Nine Mile WalkEllery Queen, The Adventure of the President's Half DismeJohn D. MacDonald, The Homesick BuickRoss MacDonald, Gone GirlStanley Ellin, The Moment of DecisionEvan Hunter, First OffenseMargaret Millar, The Couple Next DoorHenry Slesar, The Day of the ExecutionPatricia Highsmith, The TerrapinShirley Jackson, The Possibility of EvilFlannery O'Connor, The Comforts of HomeJerome Weidman, Good Man, Bad ManJoe Gores, Goodbye, PopsHarlan Ellison, The Whimper of Whipped DogsRobert L. Fish, The WagerJoyce Carol Oates, Do with me what you WillStephen King, Quitters, Inc.Jack Ritchie, The Absence of EmilyLawrence Block, By the Dawn's Early LightStephen Greenleaf, IrisSara Paretsky, Three-Dot PoSue Grafton, The Parker ShotgunDonald E. Westlake, Too Many CrooksJames Crumley, Hot SpringsBrendan DuBois, The Dark SnowMichael Malone, Red ClayTom Franklin, PoachersDennis Lehane, Running out of Dog

Reviewer: Oz Bob
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: "The Best American Stories of the Century" That represents a big claim in a title but one thing I can say is that this book represents really good value for money. The stories contained herein are uniformly excellent and that is my opinion as one who has read a lot of these types of short stories. One of the slight drawbacks of having read so many short stories in this genre is that in a compendium like this one comes across a few stories that have been read before. Never mind I read them again. To make up for this I found a story, "Red Wind" by Raymond Chandler which I had not come across before. I defy anyone to read this story and not agree that Raymond Chandler was a superlative proponent of descriptive prose. As proof I recommend the one paragraph word sketch of a white Russian emigre on page 261 or Part V of the story. Then there is the story "First Offence" by Evan Hunter. How good is that or James M Cain's "The Baby in the Icebox". A decent percentage of the stories are from Female Authors and if anyone thinks women can't come up with splendid plots in this darkish format think again. Try "Ransom" by Pearl S Buck, or "A Jury of Her Peers" by Susan Glaspell. And there is a Cornell Woolrich story originally titled "It Had to be Murder", now known as "Rear Window" thanks to the marvellous film of the story made by Alfred Hitchcock. As I first said really good value for money and maybe I will add to this review after delving more deeply into the book as so many of the stories deserve a second reading.Excellent. Worth the money to find a new Raymond Chandler alone, but so, so much more than that.