2024 the best short stories 2023 review
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The prestigious annual story anthology includes prize-winning stories by Jamil Jan Kochai, David Ryan, Kirstin Valdez Quade, Lisa Taddeo, Ling Ma, Catherine Lacey, and Cristina Rivera Garza.
“[A] standout collection . . . . Dazzling performances from some of today’s most exciting writers. . . . This is one of the best fiction anthologies in years.” —Publishers Weekly starred review
Continuing a century-long tradition of cutting-edge literary excellence, this year's edition contains twenty prizewinning stories chosen from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year. Guest editor Lauren Groff has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and emerging voices and including several stories in translation. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Groff, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction. AN ANCHOR BOOKS ORIGINAL.
THE WINNING STORIES:
“Office Hours,” by Ling Ma
“Man Mountain,” by Catherine Lacey
“Me, Rory and Aurora,” by Jonas Eika,
translated from the Danish by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg
“The Complete,” by Gabriel Smith
“The Haunting of Hajji Hotak," by Jamil Jan Kochai
“Wisconsin,” by Lisa Taddeo
“Ira & the Whale,” by Rachel B. Glaser
“The Commander’s Teeth,” by Naomi Shuyama-Gómez
“The Mad People of Paris,” Rodrigo Blanco Calderón,
translated from the Spanish by Thomas Bunstead
“Snake & Submarine,” by Shelby Kinney-Lang
“The Mother,” by Jacob M’hango
“The Hollow,” by ’Pemi Aguda
“Dream Man,” by Cristina Rivera Garza,
translated from the Spanish by Francisca González-Arias
“The Locksmith,” by Grey Wolfe LaJoie
“After Hours at the Acacia Park Pool,” by Kirstin Valdez Quade
“Happy Is a Doing Word,” by Arinze Ifeakandu
“Elision,” by David Ryan
“Xífù,” by K-Ming Chang
“Temporary Housing,” by Kathleen Alcott
“The Blackhills,” by Eamon McGuinness
From the Publisher
Publisher : Anchor (September 12, 2023)
Language : English
Paperback : 432 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593470591
ISBN-13 : 978-0593470596
Item Weight : 10.4 ounces
Dimensions : 5.15 x 0.9 x 8 inches
Reviewer: An American consumer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Outstanding selection of stories this year!
Review: I have read every volume of the Pen/O. Henry Prize collection dating back to 1920. They are a delight to read and a real chronicle of the mood of the times. For the past few years the stories, in my opinion, seemed insipid and superficial. Over the years, certain years have had their lackluster moments, but not to the degree of the past several. Maybe the DEI pendulum had swung too far, and editors were feeling pressured to default to the fringe instead of to the ordinary, or maybe during this period, the fringe became the ordinaryâ¦At any rate, this yearâs stories seem to be about real people once again. In this collection you will find stories of triumph, heartbreak, yearning, and about a world that is as confusing to the character as it is to the reader. This yearâs batch has been a joy to read and experience!If I had to say what this yearâs âthemeâ is, I guess I would say it seems to be about younger people pining over things lost and discovered when they were even younger. Itâs a little strange to think about, but maybe our best new writers are younger people who are just discovering that they can chronicle the human experience through the authenticity of limited experience, rather than through the forced yearnings for inauthentic acceptance that plagued the early pre- and post-COVID world.If nothing else, "The Best Short Stories 2023: The O. Henry Prize Winners" seems to show that we really have moved passed the Pandemic and are wending our ways back into the peculiar reality that encompasses shared existence.
Reviewer: RK
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Missing the punch
Review: Do I think that Lauren Groff is one of our finest short story writers today? Yep. I love, love, loved FLORIDA, except for two stories, which were still a B+, the rest A's. I grade them. Do I think she isn't a great short story selector/editor/picker? Unfortunately, also yes. These stories were weird, dull, and I just couldn't get into them with that feeling of excitement that you get from cracking open a fresh selection of talented writers. The stories were just okay. I stopped reading 1/3 of the way through and skimmed. Highly recommend Florida, though.
Reviewer: tx32f
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Disappointing
Review: After twenty five years of reading this anthology, I can only say how disappointing this collection is. One or two stories were fine, but the majority were muddled and not to my taste. Maybe next year will improve
Reviewer: S. R. Love
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Nice
Review: I havenât read the stories yet, but Iâm sure I will enjoy them.
Reviewer: Robert G Yokoyama
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: I love the diversity of themes and characters in these short stories.
Review: The themes and characters or setting of these short stories appeal to me. My favorite story is "Wisconsin". This is a great story about what a woman learns about her late mother by visiting her former boyfriend in Wisconsin. This is a great coming of age story. I love the humor in the story "Xifu" This story is about the relationship between Chinese woman and the elderly in law she cares for. The humor comes the way this elderly woman complains about her quality of care she receives. "The Commander's Teeth, "Hollow" and "The Locksmith" are about stories with characters employed as a dentist, architect and a lock smith respectively. I love the passion that these characters have for their professions. The meticulous way each character performs their jobs is interesting me. "Ira and The Whale" is another story that stands out. This is a creative story about a gay man trapped in the belly of a whale trying to get out. I have never read a story with this setting and premise before, and I admire the creativity of the author. I really enjoyed all the stories in this book.
Reviewer: author Carolyn V. Hamilton
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Not at all what I expected
Review: I read the first third of the stories in this collection and felt like I must be intellectually lacking in some area of perceived literary excellence. I couldnât subject myself to reading any more!I found the stories to be disjointed and completely unentertaining. One story had dialogue in it, but the formatting for each speaker was included in one big, long paragraph. None of the characters were interesting or relatable.Ernest Hemingway and Shirley Jackson would be appalled!When I tried to return the ebook to Amazon I got the message, âSorry, the item is not valid for return.âJust for the record, I have a BA in Liberal Arts, and am a published journalist.Whatever these stories are trying to say, I didnât get it.
Reviewer: Nancy W. Risio
Rating: 2.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Oblique
Review: Most of the selections are nearly impossible to understand or interpret. This is the sole text for a course and most participant are not pleased with its selection. ( about 23 older adults).
Reviewer: Biff Boffo
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Horrible
Review: Ohmigod, these stories are terrible and demonstrate the total lack of worth of the form as it is currently practiced. It must be remembered that short stories are written by authors for other authors i.e., they serve as scent marking to make colleagues/competitors aware of the existence of the author. As such, they tend to be pretentious and devoid any real craft and this collection lives up to that "expectation." Avoid.
Reviewer: Knghtreader
Rating: 3.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Part of the excitement of reading short stories by a variety of authors is you never know what you are getting. Some of these stories left me cold and some I mulled over long after I had finished reading them. Most fell in between these extremes.