classics

This book is a great introduction to the various forms of short fiction that have been written since the middle of the 19th century. Short stories, novellas and short shorts are included. There are classics written in english as well as translations of texts originally written in other languages. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in studying how short forms of fiction work. The book is also a decent sampler platter for readers looking to discover a variety of recent writers who have influenced fiction writing in english.

The short stories in this collection are excellent. However, I wish that at the end of each story, there would be 2-3 questions to help guide the reader's analysis. Some of the stories are really out there and I sometimes found myself puzzled upon completing a story. Some of the stories have an accompaning essay which analizes the work. However, these essays are scarce. Even worse, the essays are attached to short stories that are well-known such as the "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad. There is plenty written about these famous stories that can be found on the internet. The less famous stories, which don't have accompaning essays, have almost no criticism written about them. A couple "guide questions" at the end of the story would not have added much to the length of the anthology. Of course, if you are using this collection in a college course, you don't need analysis included in the collection because your teacher or class discussion can help clarify the story.

Another problem I have with the collection is that the date the story was written are not included with the story. The dates the stories were written are contained in a separate section of the book. Thus, it is annoying to flip to this section and then to flip back to the story itself.

At the beginning of each story, the editors of the collection have included a short synopsis about the author's life and writing career. This adds much to the collection. The editors also include helful footnotes that explain era-specific words and phrases. The anthology also contains useful essays regarding writing about short fiction.

Overall, this book is wonderful. Hopefully in future editions, my concerns can be addressed.

This antholology has some excellent selections, with intelligent choices made as to which works of certain authors to present( Faulkner's are amazing) and a wonderful variety of styles and subjects. As to Cassill himself being a "master" of the short story, however, that may be undue praise, and his own addition to the collection(rather presumptuous and inappropriate for the editor) would have been better replaced by more worthy possibilities. Jack London is unpardonably nowhere to be found. Yet on the whole worth a space on your shelf.