The Little Disturbances of Man

by Grace Paley

Book Overview

Whether writing about relationships, sexy little girls, loving and bickering couples, angry suburbanites, frustrated job-seekers, or Jewish children performing a Christmas play, Grace Paley captures the loneliness, poignancy, and humor of the human experience with matchless style in this book of short stories.

"Fresh and vigorous...Mrs. Paley's view of life is her own."--The New Yorker

"The glad tidings from this reviewer's...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140075577
• ISBN13: 9780140075571
• Release Date: January 1985
• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Length: 189 Pages
• Weight: 0.37 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.0" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Delightful, insightful stories

Grace Paley's stories are of a type--somewhat Jewish and feminist--but her style and wit is so sardonic and original that she escapes stereotyping. Whereas some of her collections are uneven, these stories are uniformly droll and wise. "Goodbye and Good Luck" should not be missed.

Classic

This book arrived in good condition as promised, and I'm glad to have it in my collection.

Dazzling control of language

These are stories of real-life love and relationships (ie: imperfect, strange and unexpected - not cheesy or sappy at all). Paley drops the reader into the heart of the character and creates for us a world so vivid, yet so different from what we know, that I felt dizzy the first time I read one of these stories. Her use of language is so perfect it makes me laugh out loud (on the subway) and I enjoy reading any given paragraph over several times. I use this book for inspiration every time I try (in vain) to write something creative myself... check it out!

Utterly Humane; Stylistic Economy

What makes Paley worth reading and important is her language, which is plain, simple english, but the order in which she places the words create sentences that burst with gut-life. Her sentences are like clever, immigrant hands--hard-won wisdom with an untiring lust for life. Most of the stories are set in a New York reminiscent of The Honeymooners, unfortunately due to my age my only point of reference. But ultimately, as the subtitle says, these are clear, gritty stories of men and women at love. This is writing that your mother would understand; and make you glad to be alive.