The Bottom Line
Here is the master of the genre blessing us once again with an incredible collection of stories. Twenty-one, the perfect hand, are formerly published favorites he has decided to revisit again; the 10 others are new, near perfect, captures of people in relation and conflict.
Pros
- Anything new from Wolff is an addition to our literary cannon
- Every word is sharp, every emotion blossomed, every sentence sincere
- This collection belongs with the works of Chekhov and Hemingway
Cons
- Some people just refuse to read short stories; Wolff can change that perspective.
Description
- Published by Knopf - March 2008
- 400 Pages
- 31 short stories in a masterwork collection: 21 classic works, 10 new stories
- Wolff probes universal subjects including love, passions, loss, family ties, marriage, identity, cultural divides, etc.
- Wolff captures people including single mothers, stranded sons, wounded friends, striving marriages, distant neighbors
Guide Review - 'Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories' by Tobias Wolff - Book Review
Tobias Wolff is worthy to be mentioned among the greats of short story writing. Like Hemingway, his stories often begin in action, immediately capturing the attention. Like Chekhov, his endings break the flow of life and cast a reflection on our own weaknesses and strength. He has a fluid style and voice embedded in the rhythms of 21st American life. He's unobtrusive, yet knowing. He's streamlined in capturing every detail.
In reflecting on why he chose to revisit the first 21 stories in this collection, Wolff addresses the question of whether a story should be revised by an author later in life (he did tweak some of his most revered stories in this collection). Proud and humble, he says "...truth is that I have never regarded my stories as sacred texts." When his work is finished, there will be many who will.
