Well…I am going to begin by apologizing to those of you that are not fans of the short story format. I am one of those people. I like short stories but having to read an entire book of them can be difficult to garner enthusiasm to finish the book. This is a lesson learned for me and hopefully I will not introduce another one any time soon.
On a positive note, the short stories were funny! Some more than others but they all had wit, sarcasm, and cynicism…some of my favorite sentiments. If I were to pick a favorite, it has to be “The Rematch”. This story taken from the fable of the Tortoise and the Hare is so well written that you can imagine that this is the follow up to the original Aesop’s Fable The Tortoise and the Hare. Who hasn’t wondered what happened to the Hare after his devastating loss to the Tortoise? I really enjoyed that these two characters let the moment define them for the better and worse. And I like that there is a story of redemption and also that it has a moral. It teaches the lesson that we can be impetuous and cocky but if we learn the lesson we can be redeemed with hard work and concerted effort. This was by far my favorite of all of the short stories.
My other top short stories include “Sophia”, “Kellogg’s” and “Never Fall in Love.” The story of “Sophia” was so cleverly written about a female sex robot. Sophia was perfect in every way and, yet, he didn’t want her anymore once she showed emotion. Currently, human nature does not allow for empathy and we find ourselves isolated by fear of others emotions, which does not allow us to have true relationships. In “Kellogg’s”, my favorite statement is that he loved his parents but “I was a name-brand kid, and I was meant to have a name-brand life.” We all feel like we don’t belong to the family that we grew up with. We feel so different from them but we never act on it because eventually we turn into them. This character refuses to be his parents and acts on his need to be different. I enjoyed “Never Fall in Love” for its brevity and to-the-point message. It is true that once we stop looking for something, it comes to us organically.
Although this is not one of my favorite books, I can appreciate the messages ironically delivered through these extremely short blurbs. It’s not a format that I like and I think some of the messages could have been built into greater, longer stories. I admire the author’s ability to execute the stories but just wish there had been more of a driven plotline or an overreaching lesson captured throughout the stories. Maybe a book of fables?
What did you think of the short story format? Like? Dislike?
Which was your favorite story in the book?
What was your favorite sentiment throughout the book?
Would you have organized the stories differently? How?
Could the author have combined the stories to make one fluid novel? Was there a theme?
Tell me what you thought of this book…even if you hated it!
Ah, where to begin? I am not a short story reader… BUT I really liked this book and thoroughly enjoyed the 65 stories. I also loved how some themes in the stories were intertwined. Specifically, the story of the man with the red shirt. This character resurfaced more than once in the book. I found that enjoyable and clever.
I also liked that each story was individual and stand-alone. Some were funny, some serious, some sweet and touching, but all very different. I really can’t pick a favorite because I enjoyed so many of them.
I found this to be a quick read. Several of the stories were very short (less than a page) so I was able to get a lot of reading accomplished in each sitting. After each story was finished I wanted to keep going and read another.
I’m really glad we read this. It is not something I would have chosen for myself and it gave me an opportunity to try a different book style that I ended up loving. Win-win!
I am so glad you enjoyed it! The shorter stories did make it easy to move through the book faster. I actually read it all on a long flight so it made it easy to start and stop. I am glad that you pointed out the common element (guy in the red shirt)…I think I missed him in a lot of the stories! I need to go back and “see” him! I am also surprised that I chose this book because I wouldn’t normally choose a compilation of short stories. I do still think that B.J. Novak is incredibly funny, witty and sarcastic.
Did you think that a lot of the stories were an exaggerated version of the author? I especially thought it in the story of Sophia. It just seemed like something that a celebrity might consider because relationships in the limelight might be difficult.
Thanks for reading with me Jess!!!!
I did not enjoy this book (sorry!) and it was tough for me to get through it. I do enjoy short stories, but I didn’t find them very funny at all. Most of the stories I thought were pointless and some of them that I enjoyed, ended in a way that I just didn’t like (or didn’t expect, and not in a good way).
I did like the Kellogg, Heaven, and the Las Vegas/Willie stories. Those stood out to me and had some substance for me. I wish some of the other stories had been like these, but I guess it’s just more my interests were met with these.
I do think these were maybe stories that have actually happened to the author or very similar to life events, just elaborated a little. I don’t think there is a favorite sentiment, but I think the recurring theme is definitely someone down on their luck in most of them. I think most of the stories had a high and quickly turned to the low especially towards the end of most of stories. I don’t know if the stories should have been arranged differently, but I do think some could have had more substance and some could have been shorter. Some of the shorter one’s left me wanting more and wondering, but I guess that was the author’s goal???
I don’t think this could have all been blended since it followed so many different people, at so many different times in their lives. Maybe a few could have been blended, but for the most part, I think they were able to stand on their own.
Overall, not an enjoyable book for me, but not every book peaks someone’s interest every time. Can’t wait to start the next one!
I agree that this book was definitely a challenge. It was difficult to keep reading but I was able to finish it and I enjoyed a few of them. But just like you, I really felt like there was a lot left out. There were several stories that needed more substance but I guess its the author’s discretion/prerogative as to how he wants the stories to end. This was definitely not my favorite book either but they can’t all be gems lol. We have to kiss a few frogs before we get to the prince! I totally apologize for this selection…I promise the next one is really good!