really strong first impression; and not a good one... ( )

Got halfway through the book. I -wanted- to like it,it had a cool cover, it had interesting blurbs on the back, including one from my beloved Lydia Davis. They’re tiny stories, 2 or 3 pages each, which is a style I like from Davis. But I read quite a few of these stories and they just didn’t do anything for me. There were always parts that didn’t make sense, and not in an interesting way, just confusing (at least for me). I tried reading the stories more slowly and to be open to hidden meanings or references- no dice. I’m sure there is some value to this writing, she gets a lot of good reviews. But it doesn’t work for me.

This collection of flash fictions is like conceptual art in language, using the grammar, idioms, stereotypes, etc. we all know, but in unlikely and at times surreal combinations. If you read it for sense, you'll be frustrated; if you read it for pleasure and what it shows about our field of references in language and culture, you may well enjoy it as much as I did. ( )

One day, when I picked this book up to force myself to finish it, I decided to fix myself some lunch. I had shredded chicken breast on top of shredded lettuce. I ate that salad as I read these "stories" and oh my gosh, let me tell you how AMAZING this southwestern chicken was. I used Stubb's Hatch Chile seasoning and cooked it in the crock pot the day before.

It was delicious!!! I'm telling you, this stuff can turn a pile of dog poop into a main course at the French Laundry. I shouldn't be telling you, since it is kind of a little secret of mine, but what the heck. Go get some-- NOW. It's great when used with chicken and pork especially. Friends and family will be so surprised at how tangy and delicious this sauce and seasoning can make your meat. (You won't have to tell them how easy it was!) Let me know how it goes! ( )

This is a concept I find so interesting - a book full of tiny, individual 1-2 page long stories, all unrelated to each other. Some of these are 5 star material, insightful, funny, emotionally rich with genius prose. Others are written in a way that I just didn't understand. 2 pages is not a lot of space to include details, but some were so sparse with them that I found it legitimately difficult to follow the action.

All of these mini-stories had the vibe that they were coming from another time as well - instead of them feeling contemporary, I felt as if they were all taking place in the 50s or 60s. Perhaps that's just Williams aesthetic but I really enjoyed it. Overall, I think I would have LOVED these stories had I seen them as they were originally printed in Harpers and such (in small, individual doses). Reading the collection of them really makes the sub-par ones stand out. ( )