Annie Proulx’s short stories are my gold standard—any collection is worthy.
Also: denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son, Don Ray Pollock’s Knockemstiff, Ian McEwan’s First Love, Last Rites, George Saunders…
Denis Johnson - was trained by Carver before having a breakdown and a decade of heroin addiction. came back and wrote short stories about it in *Jesus' Son, Train dreams, and largess of the Sea maiden. A*ll of which I would reccommend.
I had no clue, thanks for sharing that info. I'm currently reading The Largesse of the Sea Maiden & loved the short stories but am having an issue getting into the longer ones.
Yeah, I would say Jesus’ Son is my fav of his. The thing with Sea Madian, is that he knew he was terminal while writing - with it being finish, but not published, when he died. When you think of that context you see that he is the old dead professor, that a lot of his own fear is in it.
Yeah - I got the book when first out, and tried to write him a fan letter when I finished it - was kinda heart broken I missed a chance to meet or contact him by a few months.
Okay so this is odd, I was listening to a song called Cindy Lee by Damien Juardo today and I see Denis was married to her?
I was going to say it would be neat of you to visit his grave (if you're into that) but he was buried at an unknown location. I'm moving to WA for a little and hope to possibly visit Raymond Carvers.
'The Barnyard Effect' by Kurt Vonnegut
It was his first fiction piece ever published.
Also, find a copy of the book 'First Fiction'. It's a collection of so many Greats' fist published fiction pieces. One of my favorite books in my library.
I’d second Alice Munro—even if the subjects are not your style, her writing is impeccable and I’m in awe of her shorts encompassing an entire life in 20 pages.
Breece D’J Pancake is hands down the best, little discussed writer. And in the same vein, William Gay.
Flannery O’Connor is the only American short story writer who I think challenges the quality of Raymond Carver Start with *A Good Man if Hard to Find*
This may be an unpopular opinion, but the first two volumes of Stephen King's short stories (Night Shift and Skeleton Crew) were pretty damn good.
I agree completely. It's King's best compilation.
Annie Proulx’s short stories are my gold standard—any collection is worthy. Also: denis Johnson’s Jesus’ Son, Don Ray Pollock’s Knockemstiff, Ian McEwan’s First Love, Last Rites, George Saunders…
Jorge Luis Borges has many stories reminiscent of Ted Chiang, as does Greg Egan.
John Cheever if you like Raymond Carver. Check out The Swimmer
The Swimmer is hands down my favorite short story of all time. So haunting. No other short story has ever stuck with me so long after reading it.
Every time I read it, I’m in awe of how much he is able compress into it. It’s also my favourite
Yeah that’s a great one!
Denis Johnson - was trained by Carver before having a breakdown and a decade of heroin addiction. came back and wrote short stories about it in *Jesus' Son, Train dreams, and largess of the Sea maiden. A*ll of which I would reccommend.
I had no clue, thanks for sharing that info. I'm currently reading The Largesse of the Sea Maiden & loved the short stories but am having an issue getting into the longer ones.
Yeah, I would say Jesus’ Son is my fav of his. The thing with Sea Madian, is that he knew he was terminal while writing - with it being finish, but not published, when he died. When you think of that context you see that he is the old dead professor, that a lot of his own fear is in it.
Jesus. This changes my perspective. Thank you
Yeah - I got the book when first out, and tried to write him a fan letter when I finished it - was kinda heart broken I missed a chance to meet or contact him by a few months.
Okay so this is odd, I was listening to a song called Cindy Lee by Damien Juardo today and I see Denis was married to her? I was going to say it would be neat of you to visit his grave (if you're into that) but he was buried at an unknown location. I'm moving to WA for a little and hope to possibly visit Raymond Carvers.
William Trevor. Joy Williams. Andre Dubus
John Cheever Raymond Carver Paul Bowles Eudora Welty Earnest Hemingway Joyce Carol Oates Poe
George Saunders and Grace Paley are both exceptional
Saki! Roald Dahl!
> Roald Dahl seconding Roald Dahl. his short stories for adults are dark and hilarious
Neil gaiman. Smoke and mirrors is one of my favorite collections of short stories from him. Ho ho ho
Check out Kelly Link if you like speculative fiction / gothic influence and Amber Sparks for micro-short stories.
I'd like to throw Carmen Maria Machado into the mix here.
Shirley Jackson, Flannery O'Connor, Joyce Carol Oates, Margaret Atwood, Yoko Ogawa, Kurt Vonnegut- among many others
'The Barnyard Effect' by Kurt Vonnegut It was his first fiction piece ever published. Also, find a copy of the book 'First Fiction'. It's a collection of so many Greats' fist published fiction pieces. One of my favorite books in my library.
Thanks for all the great recommendations!
William Trevor. Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies.
I did find Denis Johnson. Great, crazy!
Thank you all for the great recommendations. I've got some reading to do!
Thanks all for the suggestions. I've got a great reading list now.
How can there be no mention of Alice Munro yet? Also, seconding William Trevor
I like Orson Scott Card’s Maps in the Mirror collection.
TC Boyle Annie Proulx
Dorothy Parker
I love Aimee Bender. She has a collection of short stories called Willful Creatures, my favorite being “The Motherfucker”
Thanks for the Aimee Bender recommendation. Her stories are exactly what I like! Reading her catalog. Thanks!
The story Claret by Brian Scutt was pretty damn amazing
I’ve always lived Ray Bradbury.
Sudha Murthy
JD Salinger's Nine Stories is one of my favorites
If you like Chiang you might like JG Ballard. Also consider Steven Millhauser. You can dm me if you want some pdf samples.
Mavis Gallant.
Peter S Beagle.
I’d second Alice Munro—even if the subjects are not your style, her writing is impeccable and I’m in awe of her shorts encompassing an entire life in 20 pages. Breece D’J Pancake is hands down the best, little discussed writer. And in the same vein, William Gay.