This book of short stories truly failed to meet my expectations.

While I did manage to find a few events in some of the stories rather amusing, overall, they all had a somewhat depressing undertone.

Every single character in the stories seemed to be in a state of dissatisfaction with their lives. Some had huge regrets, others were constantly trying to escape their boredom, and still others were just plain bitter.

With each passing story, I eagerly hoped for a twist in the tail, a resolution to the problem, or at least a happy ending. However, these hopes were mostly in vain.

I slogged through the book, but found myself constantly looking forward to the end, which is definitely not a good sign when it comes to a book!

I suppose the stories might even be true to life. After all, we can't all be happy or have everything we want in life. But still, happy things do happen, and there is always hope. I firmly believe that this element of hope was sorely missing from these stories.

It made the reading experience rather dull and unfulfilling.

Perhaps if the author had injected a bit more optimism and light into the stories, it would have been a more enjoyable read.

As it stands, I can't say that I would recommend this book to others.

A short story collection composed of 7 stories was an interesting read.

Some of the stories had their merits, while others were just average. However, one story stood out as being very good. Fortunately, this excellent story was the last one I read, which allowed me to finish the book on a positive note. I am now eager to read his 'Empire Falls', which won Russo a Pulitzer Prize in 2002. Sometimes it takes me quite a while to get around to reading a particular book, like in this case, it took 19 years.

Among this collection, the story I liked the most was 'The Mysteries of Linwood Hart' [5 stars]. It was about a 10-year-old boy who was becoming aware of the world around him. At the beginning of the story, he was extremely egocentric, as if the world revolved solely around him. But by the end of the story, he realized that the world could function just fine with or without him. Throughout the story, he still seemed like a good kid.

There were also some stories where I felt the writing was a bit contrived. Anyway, here are the stories and their original publication details. The story mentioned above appears to have been first published in this collection, while the others had been published previously, mostly in periodicals.

The stories include:
• The Whore’s Child—Harpers, February 1998 [3.5 stars]
• Monhegan Light—Esquire, August 2001 [2.5 stars]
• The Farther You Go—Shenandoah [3 stars], Russo later developed the characters into the 1997 novel Straight Man.
• Joy Ride—Meridian, Fall 1998 [3 stars]
• Buoyancy, High infidelity 24 Great Short Stories About Adultery by Some of Our Best Contemporary Authors. Publisher: William Morrow & Company, 1998) [2.5 stars]
• Poison, Kiosk, xx [1 star]
• The Mysteries of Linwood Hart [5 stars]

Reviews:
• A good review to read! https://www.irishtimes.com/news/from-...
• https://story366blog.wordpress.com/20...
• https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/14/bo...

I listened to this collection while driving around town for errands.

Russo truly has a remarkable and fabulous ability to tell a story. Even though the characters in the stories were not always appealing in the traditional sense, they had a certain charm that carried me along in their individual stories.

His characterization is without a doubt the allure that keeps the reader engaged. I really enjoyed these short stories, but I found that I craved more.

As a result, I have decided to pick up and read one of his novels. I am eager to see how he develops the characters and the plot over a longer narrative.

I have a feeling that it will be an equally captivating and enjoyable experience.

I can't wait to immerse myself in the world that Russo has created.

I'm sure it will be a journey worth taking.

3.5

I read this some time ago and unfortunately forgot to record it.

I truly believe it was a rather excellent sampling of Russo's writing style.

Some of the stories were actual excerpts taken from his novels.

The characters he creates can be humorous in a self-deprecating manner, which is almost to the point of being depressing.

However, despite this, he is indeed a very good writer.

His ability to craft engaging stories and develop complex characters is quite remarkable.

The way he weaves together different elements and emotions within his writing makes it a truly enjoyable read.

Even though some of the characters' self-deprecation might seem a bit sad at times, it also adds a layer of depth and authenticity to the stories.

Overall, I was quite impressed with this sampling of Russo's work and look forward to reading more of his novels in the future.