Ireland

by William Trevor

Book Overview

William Trevor's Last Stories is forthcoming from Viking. William Trevor has long been hailed as one of the greatest living writers of short fiction. These nineteen stories--selected by Trevor himself from The Collected Stories and After Rain --capture the nuances of rural and middle-class life in the Ireland he knows so well. Here are its people, their lives driven by love, faith, and duty, surviving in a culture that blends tradition with transformation...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140277595
• ISBN13: 9780140277593
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: Penguin Adult Hc/Tr
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Truly impressive themes, but too tragic

I'm reading this for my colloquium class and have enjoyed the most of it, except that the stories are so tragic or rather gloom. You have to go out of your ways and make up an awkward reference to humor, usually a black one, too. But besides, I thought his writing style is impressive and the themes, beautiful and unique. Beyond the Pale, definitely counts as one of the most outstanding story, for Trevor shocks the reader with unexpected point of view. I guess you can say having Milly as the narrator was funny because she was smug and intellectually indifferent, but the reader don't get the humor in it unless he/she reads it more than once. Revelation of bitter truth and viciousness of the story's last paragraph will overwhelm the reader more than the humor. I personally like Malamud or Flannery O'Connor better because they weren't as serious into misery and grief. They were, but they managed to introduce humor with those elements, so the reader wasn't deserted by the tragedy that makes the face frown. However, I give Trevor four stars because I think his writing style is awesome. It's detail-oriented, things like whiskey and whisky, and unpredictable. You don't know who is going to be on the center stage until at least the middle of the story. Then, the narrator starts to dominate whether he is on the center stage or not, and he usually is not, blocking as well as providing maybe more interesting things that are going on. Impressive!!

Truly impressive themes, but too tragic

I'm reading this for my colloquium class and have enjoyed the most of it, except that the stories are so tragic or rather gloom. You have to go out of your ways and make up an awkward reference to humor, usually a black one, too. But besides, I thought his writing style is impressive and the themes, beautiful and unique. Beyond the Pale, definitely counts as one of the most outstanding stories, for Trevor shocks the reader with unexpected point of view. I guess you can say having Milly as the narrator was funny because she was smug and intellectually indifferent, but the reader don't get the humor in it unless he/she reads it more than once. Revelation of bitter truth and viciousness of the story's last paragraph will overwhelm the reader more than the humor. I personally like Malamud or Flannery O'Connor better because they weren't as seriously into misery and grief. They were, but they managed to introduce humor with those elements, so the reader wasn't deserted by the tragedy that makes the face frown. However, I give Trevor four stars because I think his writing style is awesome. It's detail-oriented, things like whiskey and whisky, and unpredictable. You don't know who is going to be on the center stage until at least the middle of the story. Then, the narrator starts to dominate, whether he is on the center stage or not on which he usually is not, blocking as well as providing maybe more interesting things that are going on. Impressive!!

A contemporary master of the short story

This is a fine introduction to the short fiction of William Trevor, focusing on the most Irish of his stories--and more accessible than his imposing Collected Stories. Trevor has always been a confident writer. His stories have such a logic to them. They seem not have been invented at all. Perhaps this is why they are so affecting. The best stories include "The Ballroom of Romance," the classic "Theresa's Wedding," "The Paradise Lounge," and my two favorites, "The Piano Tuner's Wife" and "Honeymoon in Tramore." Trevor is a giant of the form.