McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories

by McSweeney's Publishing

Book Overview

Michael Chabon is back with a brand-new collection that reinvigorates the stay-up-all-night, edge-of-the seat, fingernail-biting, page-turning tradition of literary short stories, featuring Margaret Atwood, Stephen King, Peter Straub, David Mitchell, Jonathan Lethem, Heidi Julavits, Roddy Doyle, and more Margaret Atwood- Lusus Naturae David Mitchell- What You Do Not Know You Want Jonathan Lethem- Vivian Relf Ayelet Waldman - Minnow Steve Erickson-...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400078741
• ISBN13: 9781400078745
• Release Date: November 2004
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Astonishingly great collection of shorts

At last, a collection of short fiction that spans genres as easily as sliding across a dark, icy lake at midnight, plummeting towards the black void of the thorns that await you at the weedy edges. Michael Chabon has gathered together some of the best writers of the era, and presents them to us as tidbits in this delectable collection. In most of these tales, you will find the lick of the macabre, a scent of titillating sci-fi, and a squeeze of horror that make for the best of short literature. China Mieville's 'Reports Of Certain Events In London' is a fantastic tale of rogue streets (yes, streets!) that roam the cities of the world. Joyce Carol Oates 'The Fabled Lighthouse Of Vina Del Mar' (my favorite) is a sultry, frightening tale of isolation, madness, and strange quivering sea life. Margaret Atwood delves into the bestial heredity of an otherwise sweet little girl in 'Lusus Naturae'. A mysterious doorway taunts the edge of your vision in 'Zeroville' by Steve Erickson. A horrid foretelling of events spurs a man to try and change the future in '7C' by Jason Roberts. Meet a bartender with a gift in Daniel Handler's 'Delmonico'. Live with a household specter in 'The Devil Of Delery Street' by Poppy Z. Brite, and reminisce while deteriorating in Peter Straub's 'Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle'. Probably one of the more prominent attractions to this book is Stephen King's new short, 'Lisey And The Madman', but while giving adequate characterization, the story fell short by being a little too long-winded, a trait of King in his later works. At any rate, with famous names like these, you know you are getting a superb treat. 'Astonishing Stories' is just that, lip smacking fun for anthology lovers. Enjoy!

FIRST TIMER - TURNED FANATIC!!!

This collection of short stories was my first step into the Mcsweeney world, and I mustsay I loved nearly all of what I read. The stories were crafted with careful intricaty which can be quite a challenge in the short story style. A few of my favorite stories... 1) Margaret Atwood's - Lusus Naturae - A short interesting tale about a woman who slowly turns into a vampire and her misunderstaning of how she is and her family and eventually society deal with her. 2) Joyce Carol Oate's - The Fabled Lighthouse at the Vina del Mar This tale grew out of some lost writings of Poe and Oate's an already exquisite author weaves of a gothic tale worth telling and retelling around the campfire. 3) Ayelet Waldman's - Minnow - The most intriguing and superbly written short story I may have ever read. This is an eerie tale about a couple who have a miscarriage and how the mother copes and what she does to appease the crying she hears on the other end of the Baby monitor. I hope you all enjoy the short stories as much as I did!!

Tremendous collection of short stories

In his excellent introduction to "McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories", Michael Chabon decries what one might call the "genre-fication" of modern literature. He quite rightly points out that there is romance in the fantastic, science fiction in the literary, mystery in romance, etc., etc. It is therefore the stated ambition of this collection to gather authors who would otherwise not be lined up side by side, in an effort to blur these distinctions of genre, and introduce the reader to new styles and authors. I am glad to report that the result is spectacularly successful. While there is no connection between the stories, the uniformly excellent writing and passion displayed by the contributors results in a collection of diverse entries that somehow works as a whole. The collection begins with Margaret Atwood's "Lusus Naturae" which immediately captures the spirit of the book with a romantic/gothic/science fiction entry. An ideal first piece, it sets the tone for the subsequent entries. Next is the remarkable David Mitchell with "What You Do Not Know You Want"; a noir-ish mystery with a supernatural twist. Readers of his recent "Cloud Atlas" will particularly enjoy this entry as it definitely echoes the themes and settings of that work. Moreover, like Atwood's entry, this blurring of genres adds to the cohesiveness of the work as a whole. Jonathan Lethem's "Vivian Relf" carries things forward with an enigmatic romance written in a literary style. It is a classic short story, and a good change of pace which keeps the reader on their toes. Next is "Minnow" by Ayelet Waldman which probably had more of an impact on me than any other stories. It would be difficult to go into detail without spoiling the plot, but the themes surrounding parenthood are somehow both disturbing and reassuring at the same time. "Zeroville" by Steve Erickson just might be my favorite entry. His tale of a door hidden across the breadth of cinema, and just what it means, is fascinating and perfectly executed. In "Lisey in the Madman", Stephen King proves that he is still the master of scene setting; no one can make you feel the heat of a noonday sun like him. However, this is also an interesting psychological/supernatural thriller, and if he does flesh it out into a novel (as is suggested) it could prove to be a remarkable work. "7C" blends hard science fiction and romance in perhaps the most original entry in the book. It's rare that quantum physics makes for exciting reading, but author Jason Roberts pulls it off nicely. "The Miniaturist" by Heide Julavits is reminiscent of a "Twilight Zone" episode with all of the macabre scene setting and bizarre conclusion one would expect. "The Child" by Roddy Doyle is an excellent companion piece as it has the same sort of feel, but the motivations are far more vague and the twist at the end definitely leaves open a host of interpretations. "Delmonico" by Daniel Handler offers another nice change o

Mixed Bag of the Good and the...

Like the previous volume Chabon edited, many of the stories seem to miss their aim. Despite claims to the contrary, many of these tales are bogged down by the exact literary trends and pretension that inspired this collection (and the previous) as a reaction against. There are some outstanding stories--Ayelet Waldman's "Minnow", China Mieville's "Reports of Certain Events in London", and Jason Robert's "7C"--that accomplish that thrilling edge-of-your-seat anticipation that inspired so many young folks to become lifelong readers. Many of the other stories are mostly good but seem to not exactly fit into this anthology. I will say that I loved the stories by the inimitable David Mitchell and Jonathan Lethem and would suggest picking up this volume for those alone.

great anthology

The reason I nought this book is Stephen King's "Lisey and the Madman," a novella that is (so the buzz insists, at least) actually an excerpt from a novel King has recently finished but has not decided yet to publish in full. Well, I for one hope that the entire novel is available at some point. This excerpt demonstrates again that King's writing style is simply getting better, without sacrificing a jot of the storytelling skill. The best of the rest of the stories are Jonathan Lethem's "Vivian Relf," Peter Straub's "Mr. Aickman's Air Rifle," and Poppy Z. Brite's "The Devil of Delery Street." But there isn't a bad story in the entire book, making this one well worth a read.