"Hey," he said, "this is going to sound like a line, but . . . do you maybe want to get out of here?"

He was right. It did sound like a line. And I did want to get out of there.

"Okay," I said.

I disliked him from the moment I decided to sleep with him.

Jess Walter is a fantastic novelist, and it turns out that he's even better at writing short stories.This is simply one of the best collections I have read. It's lousy to like a book so much when it comes to writing a fair and unbiased review because I am biased! This collection is great and a demonstration that a good short story can do more in twenty pages than most novels. In this collection, which is set mainly in Spokane, Washington, a man looks for a suitable retirement home for his father, whose dementia hasn't stopped his womanizing or drinking much at all; a woman returning to Spokane is reminded of the year she was in high school and dating a college student from a wealthy family; a woman sleeps with a movie star even though she doesn't particularly like him or his movies; an elderly man invites a group of young hoodlums into his house; and in the titular story, a young man spending a year in Rome studying Latin ends up working as a translator for an American actor, despite not knowing any Italian. Each story was memorable and so well-crafted, and each one was different from the others. ( )

Jess Walter is one of my favorite writers. I have read every book that he has written and he never fails to deliver a great product. Whether it is a novel or a collection of short stories, he tells good stories with a distinctive style. A lot of what he writes about centers around Spokane where he is from. As with all short story collections, some stories work. better than others. If you have never read any of his books, I suggest you start with Beautiful Ruins but this collection would also be a worthwhile beginning to introduce you to a great writer. ( )

Loved it. Funny, insightful, sweet. ( )

I have rediscovered the beauty of short stories after reading Jess Walter. I was amazed at how his multidimensional characters told wonderful stories with timeless and contemporary themes. I particularly liked the ones that emphasized family relationships, blended families, and multigenerational concerns.

His stories also provide a poignant and painful illustration of the stages of life. I particularly liked his ability to characterize teenage angst and the unique concerns of aging citizens in communities and families that don’t always recognize individual needs. Some of the themes that I will remember are
-Finding protection from unexpected and chance meetings
-Magnificent desolation
-Reinvention of self
-Limited expectations from certain people
-Stereotyping
-Generational shifts
-Universal humanity

The twelve stories gathered here reveal Jess Walter to be a generous, kind-hearted, and sometimes adventurous writer of short fiction. More often than not he has a soft spot for his protagonists, even those whose behaviour might be momentarily questionable. He is willing to explore a wide range of voices and points of view, more or less successfully. And at his best, his stories will bring a smile to your face and possibly even add a bit of warmth to your heart.

The lengthy title story starts off a bit weak, but develops, even as its protagonist develops, into a lovely tale of growth and fellow-feeling. Other stories that I particularly enjoyed include, “Famous Actor,” “Mr. Voice,” and “Town & Country.” But there are no weak stories here. As with his novels, Jess Walter is an accomplished writer, sometimes surprisingly so.

It’s easy to recommend this collection. ( )

Shorts Looking Back & Ahead
Review of the HarperAudio audiobook released simultaneously with the Harper hardcover (June 28, 2022)

[3.75 Average Rating, rounded up to 4.0]
I've previously enjoyed author Jess Walter's romantic fiction Beautiful Ruins (2012) and historical fiction The Cold Millions (2020) and had run across one of these short stories (#12) when it debuted as an Amazon Original in 2018. Overall this was a very entertaining collection of short stories, many of which read as memoirs of people looking back on dramatic events in their earlier lives which ended up dictating their futures. Some of the shorter ones were simple vignettes, some sweet and others so-so. But the more substantial stories all left strong impressions and many had some pretty wacky comic elements as well. This is Walter's 2nd short story collection following We Live in Water (2013).

1. Mr. Voice ***** read by Julie Whelan. A young girl grows up with her wandering mother and eventually with her stepfather Claude, the Mister Voice of the title.
2. Fran's Friend Has Cancer **** read by Eduardo Ballerini. An elderly couple in a NYC restaurant discuss the wife making a trip out west to help the husband's cousin, the Fran of the title. They realize that the young man at the next table is writing notes of their conversation.
3. Magnificent Desolation **** read by Eduardo Ballerini. A 50-year-old divorced Science teacher finds himself attracted to the mother of one of his students who is acting out in his classes and saying the moon landing was faked.
4. Drafting *** read by Julie Whelan. While dealing with her cancer diagnosis, Myra gets back together with her old 'bad boy' boyfriend Boone on a road trip to Seattle.
5. The Angel of Rome ***** written in collaboration with & read by Eduardo Ballerini. In 1993 a young student goes to Rome to study Latin at the Vatican. He ends up in the middle of a movie set and meets an Italian film starlet and a fading American TV actor. Later in life he remembers all these events and returns to Italy with his family. This 2 hour story/novella had an earlier release as an Audible Original The Angel of Rome (September 16, 2021). The latter is currently incorrectly merged with the full collection, as if it were the same complete work.
6. Before You Blow **** read by Julie Whelan. A woman looks back on her late teenage years when she dated a boy in college. A dramatic event with friends reveals his personality to her.
7. Town & Country ***** read by Eduardo Ballerini. A gay son tries to deal with his aging father who has been kicked out of his girlfriend's house due to his libidinous ways. A possible solution is a senior's residence called the Town & Country, which is like a time capsule back to the 1950s.
8. Cross the Woods *** read by Julie Whelan. After a supposed one-night-stand a woman observes her lover teaching her son how to tie a knot in a necktie. Very short but kind of sweet.
9. To the Corner *** read by Eduardo Ballerini. An older man interacts with a group of school kids hanging around on his street corner.
10. Famous Actor *** read by Julie Whelan. A coffee shop worker has a one-night-stand with a 'famous actor' who is going through an existential crisis.
11. Balloons ** read by Eduardo Ballerini. Slacker kid earns allowance money by helping the neighbour across the road. Not much to this one.
12. The Way the World Ends **** read by Eduardo Ballerini. As with story #5, this had an earlier release as an Amazon & Audible Original The Way the World Ends (Oct. 30, 2018 which I rated 4 stars and reviewed as Much Better Than the Title Would Suggest.

I listened to The Angel of Rome: And Other Stories through the Audible Daily Deal from October 16, 2022. The narration performances by veterans Eduardo Ballerini and Julie Whelan were excellent. ( )

Great narration, good characters and story. ( )

This is a silly audiobook send up of self-discovery of an American kid on a study abroad in Italy in 1993. At the outset, it seems there will be plenty for those who have studied abroad to relate to, but the plot quickly turns farcical just a few minutes in as young Jack from Nebraska gets mixed up with a washed up television actor from America and a famous Italian movie star while he studies Latin at the Vatican. Antics follow.

I had hoped to find more of the characteristic complexity and depth I’ve discovered in Jess Walter’s other short stories, which felt absent here until near the story's redemptive end. The outlandish characters, being so far removed from my experience, were hard to relate to. As I'm not a voracious audiobook consumer, perhaps my unfamiliarity with the medium was part of the issue. What kept me listening were Walter's pacing and gift for storytelling and Ballerini’s superb narration skills.

I enjoy Walter's writing. He's a tremendous talent. I'm looking forward to his forthcoming short story collection in which The Angel of Rome is the title track. Perhaps a redo on the written page will prove more satisfying. ( )