Collected Stories Of Lydia Davis (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Soulless stories, lacking heat, heart and blood. As if written by a technical-engineering-report-writing analyst. Or a 1990s version of an AI.Innumerable times Davis uses the continuous present tense (first person, second and third), but rather than drawing in the reader to the story and character's viewpoint, you soon end up thinking - again and again - that these stories are purely exercises in technique, in the mechanics of storytelling. A clever mind dashing them off over a coffee or cup of tea, much in the same way some people whizz through and complete a daily newspaper crossword and then think no more of it.Sadly, I can't think of a single story in this collected edition that made me marvel at the writing either for its virtuosity or for its characters. Depressingly, however, I can think of far too many that irritate for their lack of life and feelings, and absence of any real care or consideration for the albeit rice paper-thin characters.Probably the most disappointing and yet most lauded short story writer I've ever read. Well, that was certainly one of the weirdest books I've ever read in my life. I don't know if I've ever wrinkled my face as much or said "WTF?" out loud as many times while reading a book. This is definitely a must-have book for any aspiring writer to have on their shelves (or any short story aficionado), just to see what kind of crazy shit is out there. Ms. Davis is constantly heralded as someone who is consistently pushing the boundaries of a what a story is or can or can't do, and while that sounds like the kind of generic sentence you'd put in any dumb boring review, in this case it is really true. Oh boy is it ever true.One thing I would like to say is that I highly recommend that you purchase this book and take your time reading it. Dip in and out. Treat it like a really expensive case of hummus in your fridge you don't want to eat too quickly. Don't gorge on it--that's what I had to do, because I borrowed it from a friend and didn't want to be one of those people who take a year to return a book. But in retrospect I regret this and I think what I really should have done was gone out and bought my own copy (which I think I am going to do now anyway). That way I could have really taken my time with it instead of feeling like it was this grim task I had to sit down and confront--"OK, gotta read 50 pages of Lydia Davis now." It got to the point where everything was becoming kind of blurred, the one-sentence punchline stories were getting on my nerves and every time I came across a "long" story (i.e. 6-20 pages long) I would inwardly sigh and think "ok, great, a long piece I get to read for seemingly forever with no conclusion or point in sight." In smaller doses, this would have been less of an issue. The punch-liney, gimmicky stories would have grated on me less. I'm not stupid (LOL, at least I like to think so), so obviously I get that writing stories that have no Centre or Conclusion or Purpose is part of Ms. Davis' Masterplan (translating Blanchot must have really got to her). But imma be honest and say that I couldn't help but uneasily notice that the stories I liked the most were the ones that were the most "traditional"--i.e., the ones with characters and "plots" (however vaguely developed). God, am I really that traditional? Is that all I really want out of life? Characters and dialogue? Lord, and here I was thinking I was a lover of avant-garde and shit. Haha. I mean maybe I still am I guess. Just not in overwhelmingly large doses.Again, I highly recommend this book as a must-have to have on your shelf, just be sure and don't read it in one big chunk!Also in order for my own future reference let me quickly note here the stories I liked the most:From "Break it Down" --> "City Employment" (very Kafkaesque), "Five Signs of Disturbance" (is this a horror story about a woman's descent into insanity?), "French Lesson I: Le Meutre" (a story where the rigid structure makes sense and cumulates in a disturbing conclusion), "Once a Very Stupid Man" (I liked the ending)From "Almost No Memory" (this was probably my favorite book/section in the collection)--> "The Professor" (about a woman who goes on a date with a cowboy student; very funny, almost reminiscent of Lorrie Moore), "Pastor Elaine's Newspaper" (surprisingly moving), "A Second Chance" (one of many stories dealing with aging or invalid parents). I also liked the short stories with fairy-tale, fable-like opening sentences: "When our women had all turned into cedar trees..."; "A man in our town is both a dog and its master."From "Samuel Johnson is Indignant"--> This collection wins the prize for the most WTF stories: "Certain Knowledge from Herodotus"; "Samuel Johnson is Indignant"; "Information from the North Concerning the Ice." I don't even know what to say about these. They're probably the ones that a lot of people will think of as most emblematic of Davis' style.From "Varieties of Disturbance"--> "Grammar Questions" was moving and is another story where the repetitive style worked very well as opposed to just being tedious and boring to read. I also liked "The Caterpillar," very creepy. "We Miss You" is probably one of the best stories in the entire collection. "Mrs. D and her Maids" is also good. "Head, Heart" is posted on tumblr blogs a lot as a poem so I guess that is overall maybe the best intro to Ms. Davis' craycray world.
What do You think about Collected Stories Of Lydia Davis (2011)?
This is thoughtful and intense, brought to you in small easy to read morsels of stories and prose.
—ethan
Very interesting book. Easy to read. The stories are well told and very imaginative.
—Enols
