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Title: All the Days and Nights : The Collected Stories by William Maxwell ISBN: 0-679-76102-0 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 31 October, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: American Bible
Comment: This, like the Bible, is a book of two halves: one long and relatively weighty, the other short and attractively simple.
The first part is Maxwell's collected stories, chosen to represent a period of time stretching from the thirties to the nineties. These all, to varying degrees follow the trademark Maxwell approach of hovering on the edges of fiction and biography. Some (The Man in the Moon, Billie Dyer) appear to be straight non-fiction, while in others the elements of fiction are stronger. All, however, are powerful evocations of the human landscape of Maxwell's childhood, or of the experiences of later life.
The second part of the work is a collection of what Maxwell calls "improvisations": fables or fairy stories which contrast strikingly with his more familiar naturalistic pieces. The connecting thread is his moving clarity of vision. Most of these stories are only a few pages long, but they combine humour and humanity in a way which makes them a permanent part of the reader's mind.
All the Days and Nights is a wonderful book, which for those familiar with Maxwell's longer works offers, in the best sense, more of the same. Or, for those new to the author, the improvisations in particular are an enticing and accessible introduction to one of America's best 20th century writers.
Rating: 3
Summary: Everyday life can be both endearing and boring
Comment: Having been familiar with some of the writings of Maxwell's counterparts at The New Yorker (i.e. Cheever, Updike, Salinger) I was expecting to be periodically impressed while I read this anthology. I did enjoy most of the stories (though not most of the short improvisations). They are best read slowly, by a sensitive reader who likes to look at everyday life. Regretfully, nothing in this book made me whisper "wow."
Rating: 5
Summary: beautiful portraits of ordinary life
Comment: These short stories are best read slowly. They contained lovingly detailed characters, characters that require you to spend the time to get to know them. Maxwell examines some rather ordinary people in their ordinary life struggles. But he does so insightfully and lovingly. The "improvisations" at the end of the book are rather unique, and their genesis (improvised bedtime stories to his wife) mesh perfectly with the themes of the rest of the stories.
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Title: So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell ISBN: 0679767207 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 03 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $10.00 |
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Title: The Chateau by William Maxwell ISBN: 067976156X Publisher: Vintage Books Pub. Date: 07 November, 1995 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: The Outermost Dream : Literary Sketches by William Maxwell ISBN: 1555972640 Publisher: Graywolf Press Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Time Will Darken It by WILLIAM MAXWELL ISBN: 0679772588 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 04 February, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: The Folded Leaf by William Maxwell ISBN: 0679772561 Publisher: Vintage Pub. Date: 01 October, 1996 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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