I recognized some of these stories from Russo's other books like Straight Man.

Russo has a unique writing style that often features relatable characters and engaging plots. In Straight Man, for example, the protagonist is a college professor dealing with various absurd situations.

The stories I recognized seemed to share similar themes and tones. There was a touch of humor, a hint of irony, and a deep understanding of human nature.

It was interesting to see how Russo reused certain ideas and developed them in different ways. It made me appreciate his creativity and his ability to tell a good story.

Overall, recognizing these stories from his other works added an extra layer of enjoyment to reading this particular piece. It was like reuniting with old friends and seeing how they had grown and changed.

A collection of outstanding short stories is presented here, written in Richard Russo's lyrical descriptive prose. The majority of the stories are rather good. However, by a significant margin, the best one is the title story, "The Whore's Child". It centers around an elderly nun who enrolls in a fiction writing class. Instead of penning a fictional story, she chooses to write about the story of her own life. When the instructor attempts to explain the difference to her, she remarks, "My whole life has been a lie". As a result, she tells her tale in weekly installments. She was born to a prostitute and at a young age, was placed in a convent school. There, due to her status as a whore's child, she endured abuse and mistreatment from both the other students and the nuns. It is a distressing, yet all too frequently told, account of abuse by those who are supposed to safeguard the children entrusted to their care. What is even more perturbing is that these individuals are often priests and nuns. This exceptional story, on its own, makes this book a must-read.

This is a concise book composed of short stories that revolve around challenging childhoods and marriages.

Two of my personal preferences are "Monhegan Island" and "The Mysteries of Linwood Hart." In "Monhegan Island," a man sets out to face the lover of his deceased wife. He never held affection for her, yet he becomes enraged upon learning that she had an annual affair with a painter. The painter's studio is filled with numerous paintings, many of which depict his wife. One painting, in particular, reveals a great deal.

"Linwood Hart" is about a child attempting to lead his life while maneuvering through the ruins of his parents' marriage. "Joyride" is another story with a similar theme. "The Whore's Child" tells the tale of a nun who comes to terms with her father's betrayal when she enrolls in a short story course.

I truly relished this collection. If you watched "Nobody's Fool" starring Paul Newman many years ago, you caught a hint of Russo's talent. He is indeed one of the finest American writers.

Russo's writing is truly meant to be relished and savored. I often forget this crucial aspect and attempt to rush through his works. However, then I remember and go back, taking my time with each and every word and phrase. And it is in this process that I am deeply moved.

As I was delving into this collection of stories, some brief and others not so short, I found myself becoming increasingly overcome by the morose and beleaguered sensibility that Russo's work is frequently steeped in. But then I recalled the adage, "slow down, you move too fast." Although these stories generally lack the slapstick observational humor that I so adore in his writing (and which serves to lighten the woeful nature of some of his observations), they are filled with a sense of wistfulness. They are truly lovely gems. But if you choose to read them, it is better to do so slowly and savor every moment.

And, of course, the last story had me in tears. Just like your guitar gently does, or as young boys and baseball often do. Here are a few comments on each story, along with some lengthy quotes:

1. The Whore's Child - An ancient nun joins a creative writing class and pretends she is writing fiction. Russo's introduction to the story pairs humor and despair beautifully: "Sister Ursula belonged to an all but extinct order of Belgian nuns who conducted what little spiritual business remained to them in a decrepit old house purchased by the diocese seemingly because it was unlikely to outlast them."

2. Monhegan Light - Many years after his wife's death, Martin sees her through the eyes of her former lover and finally realizes how much he squandered. But first, there is a slice of that wicked observational humor regarding his wife's sister, whom he loathes: "Of all the things that Joyce's sort of woman said about men, Martin disliked the he-just-doesn't-get-it riff most of all. For one thing it presupposed there was something to get, usually something obvious, something you'd have to be blind not to see. And of course the reason you couldn't see it -- as women were happy to explain -- was that you had a dick, as if that poor, maligned appendage were constantly in a man's line of sight, blocking his view of what women, who were not similarly encumbered, wanted him to take notice of, something subtle or delicate or beautiful, at least to their way of thinking. If you didn't agree that it was subtle or delicate or beautiful, it was because you had a dick. You just didn't get it."

3. The Farther You Go - A man finally realizes the true depth of his wife's understanding of him. It is a strange, but ultimately beautiful, journey. Literally.

4. Joy Ride - The most depressing of the lot. It is a child's first-person experience with his parents' dysfunctional relationship.

5. Buoyancy - A sad, confused tale of a long and passionless marriage that ends with sunshine and unicorns. And you are made happy. But only after a lot of confusion and sadness.

6. Poison - If you have read much of Russo, you probably know about his rage at the poisoning of the rivers and streams in his hometown by a chemical company due to the usual corporate greed. While all of Russo's writing never seems too far from his own experiences, this one is particularly and sadly close to the bone. The poison of the title refers both to the actual poisoning of the town he grew up in and the poisoning of his relationship with a boyhood friend who is also a writer and whose rage exceeds his own. I suspect Russo is both characters.

7. The Mysteries of Linwood Hart - Ten-year-old Linwood Hart, who has been described by school personnel as "possessing an active interior life," which all those trained in edu-speak correctly translate as "he doesn't pay attention." His father is a jerk (nicknamed "Slick"), but sadly, his mother can't quit him. Here is a lengthy passage that puts you into Linwood's first-person perspective and one that I have to admit I greatly identified with:

Someone asks him, what do you think you are? Special?

"Lin understood that this was a rhetorical question whose answer was supposed to be "No," even though most of the time, he thought it might be "yes." It was hard to imagine that all of his personal thoughts had already been thought. When he lay on his stomach in the grass and watched an ant climb up one side of a blade and then down the other, his truest sense of things was that in the world's long history, no one had ever witnessed this exact event, and he couldn't help feeling special to have done so. Why shouldn't his thoughts be special, too? What if he was right to think them, even if no one else had?

For instance, why shouldn't inanimate objects be capable of desire? Take leaves. They wanted to dance, didn't they? He understood that it was caused by wind, of course, but this didn't explain why they didn't all get up and dance with each new gust, instead of just certain ones. Leaf A would rise and do its jig while Leaf B, right next to it, wouldn't even stir. The ones dancing in this gust might rest during the next, and to Lin, this meant they were expressing a desire. And Wiffle balls. Their frantic wiggle after leaping off a plastic bat suggested a similar desire, though his father, who at the moment wasn't living with Lin and his mother, explained that the symmetrical holes cut into the plastic sphere were responsible for the ball's erratic and exciting flight. Okay, but to Lin's way of thinking, the holes merely set free the inner spirit of the ball."

Having spent a significant amount of my elementary school days in such contemplation, I was completely in tune with Linwood.

I absolutely adored, literally adored the first story.

However, the problem is that it set the bar so high that all the following stories slightly disappointed me until the last one which completely left me cold (and which was really way too long).

After being impressed by Richard Russo's pen and the finesse of his human understanding. I definitely plan to read one of his novels!

The first story was truly remarkable, captivating my attention from the very beginning. It had a certain charm and magic that made it stand out.

But as I moved on to the subsequent stories, I couldn't help but feel a bit let down. They just didn't quite measure up to the high standard set by the first one.

And the last story, well, it was just too long and didn't engage me at all.

Despite this, I still have a lot of respect for Richard Russo and his writing.

I'm looking forward to exploring more of his works and seeing what else he has to offer.

Russo presents a collection of entertaining short stories written in his dependable prose. The first two stories in the set truly stand out as the best. Although the writing may not possess the continuous stylistic punch that one might find in, for example, Foer's work, Russo definitely has his shining moments. His prose has a certain charm and reliability that keeps the reader engaged throughout the stories. The characters he creates are vivid and relatable, and the plots are interesting enough to hold one's attention. Even though it may not be the most stylistically innovative writing, Russo's short stories offer an enjoyable read for those who appreciate good storytelling.

Meh.

This review seems rather lukewarm. If it weren’t for the opening and closing stories, it would have been a mere 2 stars.

It’s understandable that there doesn’t necessarily have to be something completely unifying to all the stories. However, one can’t help but wish that the connections between them were more obvious.

Perhaps a more seamless flow or some common threads that are easier to identify would have enhanced the overall reading experience.

As it stands, the lack of clear connections makes it feel a bit disjointed.

Nonetheless, the opening and closing stories do manage to add a certain charm and hold some interest.

But without stronger links among the other stories, it leaves something to be desired.

Maybe with a bit more effort in tying everything together, this could have been a more engaging and cohesive collection.

This is an enjoyable collection of stories.

I must admit that I didn't have a particular fondness for the title story, which appears first. It made me wonder how the rest of the collection would unfold. The story involves a bitter and mean-spirited old nun, which made me glad that I had never been Catholic.

In "Monhegan Light," there is a California couple who visits an island in Maine, where the man's now-deceased wife had spent summers for years. "The Farther You Go" seems to have been taken from (or was the inspiration for?) his novel "Straight Man," and perhaps it is my favorite among the seven stories.

"Joy Ride" is told from the viewpoint of a boy (around 12 years old, perhaps) whose mother is leaving his father. They set off early one morning from the east coast and take the small highways west - for her, it is a "joy" ride. "Buoyancy" features a retired professor and his wife who are now able to visit Martha's Vineyard. This one struck me because part of the action takes place near Gay's Head and the Lighthouse. We had just watched a "Nova" episode about the moving of that lighthouse, and I could vividly picture the setting in the story - something that I'm often unable to do since I have lived west of the Mississippi all my life.

The final two stories are as different from each other as can be. "Poison" is about two men, now in their 50s, who grew up in a mill town. It's not clear to me where in Russo's background he draws his knowledge/experience of mill towns, but I noted the similarity to his Pulitzer winner, "Empire Falls." This story and the novel are alike only in reference to the mill town, but I couldn't help but notice it. The final story is another one of boyhood: "the Mysteries of Linwood Hart." Lin Hart is a 10-year-old, trying to figure out adults and life in general while playing American Legion baseball.

All of these stories have at least some of Russo's particular brand of wit and humor. I don't know if Russo has other short stories hidden away in his files somewhere, but if he does, I truly wish he would bring them out.

Each story in the collection offers the reader a rewarding experience with Russo's wry and wise perspective on people striving to succeed, to understand, or simply to get through another day.

He has a particular talent for creating characters who, in a comical or tragic way - often both - misunderstand their own lives and the lives of those around them.

Sometimes, it's an obtuse college professor who is completely oblivious to his wife's feelings and experiences.

At other times, it's a mystified boy who is trying to navigate the messy world that has been shaped by the struggles of the adults in his life.

Russo's ability to bring these characters to life and to explore their inner turmoil and confusion makes for a truly engaging and thought-provoking read.

Whether you're looking for a humorous take on the human condition or a more poignant exploration of the challenges we face, this collection of stories has something for everyone.

This is a very enjoyable collection of short stories.

If you have a penchant for stories that are set in Maine and its surrounding areas, then this collection is definitely for you.

I have a deep affection for Empire Falls, and as a result, I was eagerly anticipating reading his other stories.

Among all the stories in this collection, in my opinion, \\"The Whore's Child\\" is the best. It truly stands out as being unique and distinct.

It has a certain charm and quality that sets it apart from the rest.

The way the story is crafted and the characters are developed is truly remarkable.

It keeps the reader engaged from beginning to end and leaves a lasting impression.

Overall, this collection of short stories is a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys good literature.

I have an unwavering love for Richard Russo's books and stories.

This particular collection of short stories delves deep into the intricate web of relationships. It explores the dynamics between husbands and wives, fathers and daughters, and children and their parents.

What holds an extra layer of interest for me, as a woman, is the perspective of the narrators. All of them being male, it offers a fascinating insight into how they think about these relationships, which is, in many ways, very different from my own perception.

I had the pleasure of experiencing this collection as an audio book, narrated by the author himself. This auditory experience was truly remarkable and far exceeded my expectations compared to reading it on my own. The author's narration added an extra dimension to the stories, bringing the characters and their emotions to life in a way that I could never have imagined.

It was as if I was right there, in the midst of their lives, sharing in their joys and sorrows.

The Whores Child

A series of short stories were presented, and some of them were better than the others. Each story had its own unique characteristics and was different from the rest. I must admit that I truly enjoyed this diverse approach. It was refreshing to encounter such a variety of narratives within a single collection. The different writing styles, themes, and characters added depth and interest to the overall reading experience. Some of the stories were thought-provoking, while others were simply entertaining. However, regardless of their individual qualities, they all contributed to the overall charm of the collection. I would highly recommend this series of short stories to anyone who enjoys reading different types of literature and exploring new ideas.