“I defy anyone to read this and find one story that isn't great or that doesn't keep you glued to the page.”

Ο Μαλαμούντ γράφει για τις φτωχές γειτονιές της Νέας Υόρκης, για τα μπακάλικα που αργοπεθαίνουν μαζί με τους ιδιοκτήτες τους στην αλλαγή μιας εποχής, ένας κόσμος που αλλάζει και τα σούπερ μάρκετ και οι αλυσίδες καταπίνουν τις οικογενειακές επιχειρήσεις. Μάλιστα μερικές φορές βλέπεις να επανέρχεται στον ίδιο δρόμο και στα ίδια πρόσωπα και να συνεχίζει ή να αναδιατυπωνει τις ιστορίες.
Αγαπώ τα διηγήματα που με βάζουν μέσα σε γκρίζα διαμερισματα. Οι ιστορίες των ανθρώπων που δυσκολεύονται να τα βγάλουν πέρα έχουν άπειρο υλικό και πολύ σκοτάδι για να αποτυπωθεί σε χαρτί. Και ο Μαλαμούντ φαίνεται να γνωρίζει από μέσα μερικές τέτοιες. Μαζί με αυτές, προσθέστε και την εβραϊκή καταγωγή του και θα έχετε μια ολοκληρωμένη εικόνα για το περιεχόμενο των διηγημάτων του.

Not the easiest read, for the most part, but good stories :)

One-hundred shades of sadness, one thousand insights into the human heart and into the compassion we need to have for each other.

If I only give this four stars, it's simply because the stories now seem a little dated. That said, Malamud is a genius and a big influence on my writing. No serious short story writer should be ignorant of his work.

Difficult to rate this collection of short stories, because some were really brilliant (5 stars), others were quite boring (2.5 stars), and very few I honestly couldn´t understand at all (1 star).
It´s said that Bernard Malamud is one of the masters of short stories, and this is certainly not untrue, but this collection is complete and it therefore also includes early stories where I´m sure a lot of readers today have problems "getting it". Some of the later stories are almost try-outs for a more "artistic" way of presenting short stories, a style I couldn´t relate to. However, one thing is certain : BM manages to condense a complex story down into a few pages, very often with a fascinating ending. As such, it´s hard to read more than one story at a time, and I combined reading this collection with my "normal" reading.

It's well written but dated. I wouldn't seek more if his writing without a strong recommendation.

Malamud's talent is severely underated in my opinion. Yes, some of his stories are a bit trashy, but on average his stories are well written, humrous and touching.

Malamud has long been a favorite after having been introduced to his stories in Freshman English at the Univ of Mass in the 70's. I have read all of these in the past, but thoroughly enjoyed the re-read, especially"The Jewbird".

Piccole grandi storie piene di quotidianità americana, pessimismo e ironia yiddish. Eppure, nei suoi racconti, Bernard Malamud semina sempre un luccichio, quell’elemento che, proprio quando va tutto davvero male, ci salva.

Leggi il mio consiglio di lettura per intero: https://bit.ly/TuttiIRaccontiGoodbook

Yes Bernard Malamud is an incredible weaver of stories.....but after reading 4 or 5 of his stories, they begin to pale and actually become almost boring, but never trite, in their sameness.

Loved the book, couldn't stop reading story after story.