Philosophical inquiry, examinations of language, and involuted domestic disputes are the focus of Lydia Davis's inventive collection of short fiction, Almost No Memory. In each of these stories, Davis reveals an empathic, sometimes shattering understanding of human relationships.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
the surprising weight of a simple act:
After having stumbled upon Lydia Davis three years ago, I read every one of her books, and fell quite in love with them. I proceed, as though I am reading a list. Every detail is a full bite. There are no flowers; it is not sentimental. Her prose is simple and clear. When I am finished, there is such incredible meaning that I am surprised by what I have found, and how easy it was to get there. That is a true pleasure. This short story collection is my favorite of them all. It includes "The Mice" and... more info
Some stories resonate, others don't:
While Lydia Davis can crystallize so much in a short short, her metafictional style begins to cloy. It may be the first person point of view, or the use of present tense, or the constant references to what the character is writing at that moment, but so many of these stories sound like they flow from the author's journal, rather than from a planned fictional arc. Frequently they are mere moments, rather than stories in which something happens, and leave this reader--who picked up the book looking for... more info
A Master of the Short Short:
This collection of 51 short stories, little fictions, and prose poems by Lydia Davis intrigues and rewards. The pieces come in every length. There's the 46-word "Odd Behavior," and at the center of the book, Davis gives us a forty page story, "Lord Royston's Tour," an extraordinary period travelog, written perfectly in the syntax and idioms of early nineteenth century Britain: "...a good deal tossed and beaten about off the Skaw, before sailing up the river." We learn in after-credits that the tale was... more info
critics may praise, but....:
I have heard such good things about Lydia's short stories that I almost feel the need to apologize for writing this, as it seems that I am the dissenting voice. Plain and simply, I could not get into this book. After each story I expected the next to get better, I looked for a saving grace, but I found none. Her voice is a departure away from the usual and that is refreshing, but I could'nt get over the feeling that anyone might sit down and write something much like this. There are some books I have not... more info
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