When I finished this and tabulated my ratings of the individual stories, I was surprised to find that it came out to an average per story of only 3.37When I finished this and tabulated my ratings of the individual stories, I was surprised to find that it came out to an average per story of only 3.37. Because I enjoyed so many of these immensely. I guess the aggregate rating was skewed downward by a few stinkers and a few mediocrities.
So I'm giving it 4 stars.
Because I figure, in the big scheme of things, what's the loss if you spend 20 minutes of your life reading a short story that turns out not to be too good, compared to the gain of spending 20 minutes reading a story that might stay with you you forever.
Here's my 1-5 star ratings of the individual stories, for whatever it's worth:
5 stars ------- Jenny The epizootic Hundred-dollar kisses Guardian of the person Girl pool Mr. Z.
4 stars ------- While mortals sleep Money talks
3 stars ------- $10,000 a year, easy The humbugs
2 stars ------- With his hand on the throttle Ruth Out, brief candle Tango
This story is great ... if you start reading it, there's no way you're going to stop.
But if you're like me, you'll be frustrated as hell by all the lThis story is great ... if you start reading it, there's no way you're going to stop.
But if you're like me, you'll be frustrated as hell by all the long and drawn-out (and super-corny and sappy, I might add) subplots and interludes that make this thing run to almost 900 pages and do nothing for the plot except to slow it down. ...more
This is so delightful. I finished a full listen-through last night, and now today my copy of the text came in by ISL, so I'm going to give it a read-tThis is so delightful. I finished a full listen-through last night, and now today my copy of the text came in by ISL, so I'm going to give it a read-through to see if I missed anything, and after that, I think the recording will be all I'll ever need and I don't envision myself getting tired of it anytime soon!...more
I read this some time during my Hemingway period, when I was 18, 19, 20, and 21. I thought I wouldn't remember much of it, but in fact it's all very fI read this some time during my Hemingway period, when I was 18, 19, 20, and 21. I thought I wouldn't remember much of it, but in fact it's all very familiar still after all these years. Also, I'm enjoying it....more
This is an excellent book by an excellent historian and writer. There's nothing new or groundbreaking here (well, it was published 20 years ago, but IThis is an excellent book by an excellent historian and writer. There's nothing new or groundbreaking here (well, it was published 20 years ago, but I mean I don't think there was anything new in it then, either), but it's a great survey history of education in the United States in the 20th century, and of lots of other things in 20th century American history, too. Well organized, well told, and very readable (even occasionally riveting in some places, believe it or not). ...more
I loved the chapters narrated by the fictional Richard Nixon. Unfortunately, that's only about half of the total of this book, maybe even a little bitI loved the chapters narrated by the fictional Richard Nixon. Unfortunately, that's only about half of the total of this book, maybe even a little bit less, and the rest was a bunch of drivel as far as I'm concerned, couldn't abide it at all. I also found the Uncle Sam character extremely tedious, especially when he was speaking. So, in a nutshell, I guess I overall hated this book, but loved the Nixon-narrated chapters, enough to make me persevere through the whole book just so as not to miss any.
P.s. This book also kept making me think about The Book of Daniel by E.L. Doctorow, and what a great book that was. I hope I gave that 4 or 5 stars. ...more
**spoiler alert** This collection has six stories. One of them, "The Old System," was magnificent and Saul Bellow at his best. I loved it, and am stil**spoiler alert** This collection has six stories. One of them, "The Old System," was magnificent and Saul Bellow at his best. I loved it, and am still thinking about it. The rest are ok. ...more
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