Buttered Side Down: Stories

by Edna Ferber

Book Overview

Any one who has ever written for the magazines (nobody could devise a more sweeping opening; it includes the iceman who does a humorous article on the subject of his troubles, and the neglected wife next door, who journalizes) knows that a story the scene of which is not New York is merely junk. Take Fifth Avenue as a framework, pad it out to five thousand words, and there you have the ideal short story.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1514655365
• ISBN13: 9781514655368
• Release Date: June 2015
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 74 Pages
• Weight: 0.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Early Ferber Works a Delight

This slim volume of Edna Ferber's first major compilation of short stories is full of some delightful short stories. Published in 1912, they reveal an American past that has changed in many aspects yet in terms of human relations, some things are timeless. Her insertion of herself as the writer, the strong women's characters, the contrast between the city (Chicago, New York) and the country (Michigan & Illinois for example) and her ironic yet positive twists in her stories make for enjoyable reading almost 100 years later. Wit and pathos mix nicely. My only complaint about this Walking Lion Press version is that two of the stories are edited together - presumably by mistake - in the middle of the book. I believe other editions (mostly print-to-order) have rectified that problem however.