My true rating is 4.5. However, I just can't seem to get that half a star to show up.

The collection of short stories truly lived up to the enthusiastic reviews it has received. Fountain has a remarkable talent for crafting stories set in tropical backgrounds, delving into the lives and misdeeds of corrupt dictators, revolutionaries, Haitian politicians, and policemen.

With great gusto, he exposes the seedy underbelly of the tropics, yet somehow manages to write stories that are not only gripping but also highly entertaining.

This collection is truly not to be missed. It offers a unique and captivating look into a world that is often hidden from view, filled with complex characters and thrilling plotlines that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end.

Whether you are a fan of short stories or simply looking for a good read, this collection is sure to satisfy.

Soon after I completed reading Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, I promptly turned my attention to Ben Fountain's first book, the 2007 collection of short stories titled Brief Encounters with Che Guevara.

It came as no surprise to me when I discovered the same exquisitely refined language that Fountain employs to such a dazzling effect. This is particularly evident in his evocative and meticulously detailed descriptions of characters and settings.

The phrases seem to be effortlessly cast onto the page, yet they struck me as being so breathtakingly beautiful that I immediately reached for my highlighter pen. In fact, that pen nearly ran out of ink before I finished the entire book.

Here are just a few of my favorite passages. Presented out of context, I believe they still stand alone magnificently as individual gems.

He spoke in the slow, cautious manner of a man masticating cactus.

Outside, the birds commenced singing like hundreds of tiny bells, their notes scattered as haphazardly as seeds.

...sex had a scent that closely resembled tossed salad, one containing radishes, fennel, and freshly grated carrot, perhaps with a tablespoon of scallions thrown in for good measure.

A man of average height, with brisk, officious eyes and the cinematic mustache he had sported during his army days, the pencil-thin wisp serving as an advertisement for how highly the world should regard him.

...to the kind of serious, no-frills neighborhood bar where the walls exuded tears of nicotine and the waitresses had the weathered appearance of former child brides.

And then there are these sentences from the collection's final story, "Fantasy for Eleven Fingers." It begins with a biography of Anton Visser, a fictional 19th-century composer who played the piano with the force of a human thunderbolt, crisscrossing Europe with his demonic extra finger and leaving a trail of lavender gloves as souvenirs. Towards the end, when Visser-mania was at its zenith, the mere exhibition of his naked right hand could incite an audience to hysteria. His concerts devolved into shrieking bacchanals, with women fainting and then rushing the stage, hurling flowers and jewels at the great man.

Visser composes the eponymous Fantasy, which is described as "a most strange and affecting piece, with glints of dissonance emerging from the right hand like the crack of a whip, or extremely sharp razor cuts."

This story serves as the perfect companion piece to Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk in the way it depicts the mass hysteria surrounding a phenomenon (a child prodigy pianist, a war hero) that no one can truly comprehend. I firmly believe that Fountain genuinely cares about his objects of scorn - the lemmings of society who blindly follow a bullheaded president into a misguided war, for example - and that above all else, he desires for his readers to rouse themselves from their slumber of indifference. In both books, the sting of the whip leaves small, lasting razor cuts across our backs.

This is a very, very good collection of short stories.

Although I didn't find them uproariously funny as the Boston Globe claims on the jacket blurb, they are all indeed perfect short stories.

Each story has its own unique charm and appeal.

My absolute favorites were the opening story, Near-Extinct Birds, and the one that shares the same title.

The characters in these stories are well-developed, and the plots are engaging and thought-provoking.

However, it's important to note that the other stories in the collection are also wonderful.

They offer a diverse range of themes and perspectives, making it a truly enjoyable read from start to finish.

Whether you're a fan of short stories or simply looking for a good book to pass the time, this collection is definitely worth checking out.

“Brief Encounters with Che Guevara” is a remarkable 2006 collection of eight short stories by Ben Fountain. Fountain, known for the excellent novel “Billy Lynn's Long Half-Time Walk,” established his reputation as a writer to watch with this collection, earning numerous awards like the PEN Award, Whiting Writers Award, O Henry, and Barnes and Noble Discover Award.

Half of the stories are set in Haiti, while others take place in Sierra Leone, Colombia, Myanmar, and even Europe. They explore the complex lives of people trying to do the right thing in an amoral world. The stories often highlight the difficulty of determining what is right and actually following through. For example, a grad-student ornithologist is taken captive by a revolutionary group in Colombia, and an American NGO worker is persuaded to help fund a revolution in Haiti.

The moral ambiguity in these stories is significant, with characters facing Faustian bargains and even mentions of God and the Devil wagering over people’s souls. Fountain’s writing is engaging, enlightening, and moving, making this collection well worth reading. You may find that your encounter with Ben Fountain in this volume is all too brief.

Brief Encounters with Che Guevara is a must-read for those interested in thought-provoking stories that explore the human condition in a complex and often morally ambiguous world.

I truly relished reading Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk. However, when compared to it, this particular work left me a little disappointed.

The stories within this collection traverse the globe, encompassing diverse locations such as Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Myanmar, among others. They are replete with irony and pathos, which initially draw the reader in.

Nevertheless, at times, they seemed rather hollow to me. While they were undeniably smart and beautifully constructed, there was a certain lack of heart. It was as if the author had focused so much on the technical aspects and the cleverness of the narratives that the emotional core was somewhat neglected.

This made it difficult for me to fully engage with the stories on a deeper level and left me with a sense of dissatisfaction. I had hoped for a more profound and moving reading experience, but unfortunately, this work fell short in that regard.

“She couldn't save them, she couldn't save anyone but herself, which made her presence here the worst sort of self-indulgence, her mission a long-running fantasy.”

The characters in Ben Fountain’s Brief Encounters with Che Guevara are thrust into the midst of social upheaval. They find themselves in places like Haiti, Sierra Leone, and Colombia, far from the beaten tourist path. In these动荡不安的 locations, they are caught between forces they struggle to fully comprehend. Sometimes, as they strive for a greater understanding of the situation, they actually put themselves in even greater peril.

This very aspect is what truly allows the reader to empathize with several of the characters. Their stories are not only engaging but also deeply thought-provoking. The eight stories in this collection each offer a unique perspective on the human condition in the face of chaos and uncertainty. My personal favorite is the opening story, “Near-Extinct Birds in the Central Cordillera.” Here, a budding ornithologist finds himself held hostage by revolutionaries in the jungle. Despite this dangerous situation, the ornithologist refuses to放弃 his passion and continues to study the rare birds in this remote and perilous corner of the world.

“Asian Tiger” and “Bouki and the Cocaine” are also excellent tales that add to the overall richness and depth of the collection. Overall, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara is a fantastic and well-balanced collection that I would highly recommend. I give it a solid 4.5 stars.

I extended the opportunity to the comandante the opportunity to walk the floor of the [stock] exchange with me and he was reasonably intrigued--Richard Grasso, Chairman, New York Stock Exchange, while in Bogota, Columbia, meeting with FARC rebels, June 26, 1999.

It took a while for me to truly understand the tone and political complexity of Ben Fountain’s acclaimed first short story collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevera. At first, I was a bit confused, but as I delved deeper, I came to love them.

In the opening story, “Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera,” a graduate student named John Blair is kidnapped by Colombian rebels. The hostage makes numerous fruitless appeals for release, but the comandante is unmoved. They demand a crazy ransom and keep him for months. During this time, the rebels learn to help him study the red-capped parrots.

The tone is often amusing, but it wasn't until I was almost halfway through the eight stories that I realized Fountain is critical of Americans abroad. Some stories are more lightly entertaining, while others are brutally caustic.

Five of the stories focus on Haiti, where Fountain has spent a lot of time. He explores local corruption, despair, political chaos, and economic collapse, often exacerbated by the actions of Americans.

“Asian Tiger” is about a golfer whose name is used in a development scam. The title story is about a young man with a crush on a woman who meets Guevara. “The Good Ones are Always Taken” features Melissa, whose husband falls in love with a voodoo goddess in Haiti. “Fantasy for Eleven Fingers” is initially off-putting but ultimately turns into a powerful story about discrimination.

I like these stories for their dark humor and their exploration of political and cultural issues. They poke fun at idealists and the human comedy (and tragedy!). Overall, I'd rate this collection a 4.5. It was much celebrated a decade ago and still holds up today.

Sometimes the flow of the text was hard to read,

yet the narratives are truly gripping. The author does an excellent job of covering the escalation of events.

The stories are sourced from various war-torn or distressed regions across the world,

with a significant number of them centering around Haiti.

Almost all of the stories have a political backdrop of revolution, war, decolonization, drugs, or abject poverty.

My personal favorite is "Bouki and the Cocaine,"

which artfully blurs the line of magical realism.

This story stands out for its unique blend of the fantastical and the real,

drawing the reader into a world that is both strange and familiar.

The author's use of language and imagery in this story is particularly effective,

creating a vivid and engaging reading experience.

Overall, despite the challenges in the text's flow,

the collection of stories offers a powerful and thought-provoking look at the human experience in times of conflict and crisis.

A unique collection of comedic, yet sobering tales offers a fascinating examination of the juxtaposition between American aid and self-interest in a global context.

These stories are set in countries grappling with poverty, hunger, and disease, presenting a diverse range of seemingly absurd circumstances.

For instance, there's the case of an ornithologist taken hostage in the Colombian highlands.

Or an art sale scheme designed to fund a Haitian rebel group.

And the development of a golf course in a Myanmar war zone.

Despite their differences, each story shares a common, unresolved plot.

The characters find themselves mired in amoral circumstances, forced to grapple with the question of what is the right thing to do and how to go about doing it.

This collection serves as a thought-provoking exploration of the complex relationship between good intentions and the often messy reality of trying to make a difference in the world.

Utopia becomes Dystopia; Hell turns into Paradise in this collection of short stories.

In each story, the protagonist's life or view of life is transformed by an event or a series of events. There is cynicism, irony, pathos, and humour in these acutely observed vignettes about greed, drugs, corruption, exploitation, and other seamy aspects of human nature. Fortunately, there is a glimmer of hope in these tales as there are also those who say no to these vices.

"Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera": John Blair, a graduate assistant slave and aspiring Ph.D., whose idea of big money is a twenty-dollar bill, goes to Colombia to study the effects of habitat fragmentation on rare local species of parrotlets. Alas, he is grabbed by members of MURC, the Movimiento Unido de Revolucionarios de Colombia. Unfortunately for him, he doesn't look like a spy and is therefore deemed to be one. Will he ever be ransomed?

"Rêve Haitien": Mason works as an observer in Haiti. In his spare time, he plays chess with the locals, until one day he meets a nameless mulatto man.

"The Good Ones Are Already Taken": Sexy Melissa anxiously awaits her husband Dirk's return from overseas service, only to be informed that he is unable to make love to her on a Saturday. What happened to him in Haiti? Why has he changed? How will she cope?

"Asian Tiger": Big, affable Texan Sonny Grous ends up with a job as a golf pro in Myanmar. There he learns how the game is really played.

"Bouki and the Cocaine": A poor, honest fisherman in Haiti takes the cocaine haul he finds to the authorities. What now?

"The Lion’s Mouth": She’d signed on as country project director for World Aid Ministries, a Protestant umbrella group that specialized in long-term food relief. A religious vocation wasn’t necessary for the job, only a tolerance for what might be charitably called spartan living and a masochistic attitude toward work. So why has she hooked up with Starkey who is very involved in illegal diamond deals amongst other things? Where does this relationship take her?

"Brief Encounters with Ché Guevara": A potpourri of very brief glimpses of Ché.

"Fantasy for Eleven Fingers": The celebrated pianist Anton Visser caused mass hysteria (hilariously described) when he played the Fantasy for Eleven Fingers (yes, he had an extra finger). Now child prodigy Anna who also has an extra digit is being trained to play that legendary piece of music. However, anti-Semitism raises its ugly head.

This book is a remarkable collection of exquisitely written short stories. It makes one deeply ponder the nature of America. Is it truly horrible because it has seemingly failed in its attempts to assist other countries, sometimes even making their situations worse with its interference? Or is it wonderful, as despite its flaws, it still fares better and takes care of its own to a greater extent than many other places? Perhaps the intention is to leave the reader with both these feelings. Maybe we are meant to be filled with gratitude for what we have and yet be determined to continuously strive for a better life for all. It is hoped that the purpose wasn't merely to show us lives that are so horribly bleak with no hope of improvement. There must be a way to change this. The idea of so many people suffering indefinitely just can't be the answer.

The stories are filled with vivid and often disturbing details. In "Near-Extinct Birds of the Central Cordillera", we hear tales of violence and horror in Colombia. The U.S. aid to Colombia seems paradoxical, like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. In "Rêve Haitian", we witness the extreme poverty and desperation in Haiti, with scenes of a dead baby and the fear under the Duvalier regime. The story "The Good Ones Are Already Taken" presents various themes such as desire, serenity, and the complex nature of truth. In "Book and the Cocaine", we see the situation in Haiti after the invasion, with the new police force and the struggles of the people. The story also delves into the personal tragedies of individuals like Syto. In "The Lion's Mouth", we are introduced to the残酷的civil war in Sierra Leone, with the RUF's atrocities and the work of aid workers like Jill. Finally, in "Brief Encounters with Che Guevara" and "Fantasy for Eleven Fingers", we encounter themes of love, money, art, and the human condition.

This collection of short fiction is truly outstanding.

It predominantly centers around ex-pats and individuals who find themselves in countries experiencing turmoil and revolution.

The stories are of a uniformly high quality, with not a single bad one among them.

In fact, several of the tales are nothing short of incredible.

They offer a unique perspective on the experiences and emotions of those caught up in such chaotic and challenging situations.

The authors have skillfully crafted narratives that are both engaging and thought-provoking.

Readers will be drawn into the lives of the characters and gain a deeper understanding of the impact of turmoil and revolution on ordinary people.

Whether you are interested in international affairs or simply enjoy a good story, this collection is well worth your time.

It is a testament to the power of fiction to illuminate the human condition in even the most difficult of circumstances.