The Penguin Book of the International Short Story
(Rabih Alameddine and John Freeman, Penguin, £20)
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I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote! In substantive terms there is little difference between the two, but you may find it interesting to see what the editor altered.
The published review
If you enjoy reading short stories from different cultures around the world, then this may be your perfect book, compiling as it does stories from Portugal, Japan, Spain, France, Norway and elsewhere. Some are poignant, others interesting from a creative writing perspective, while others are, frankly, somewhat bizarre — akin to magic realism, only lacking the 'realism' part. Moreover, when placed alongside comparable Penguin collections produced in recent years, the introduction feels rather lightweight.
Ultimately, though, it's the story selection that's the main attraction here, and in this respect, the editors have performed an excellent job of presenting tales from a wide range of countries, while showcasing a rich variety of writing styles.
The version I submitted
If you enjoy reading short stories from cultures beyond our own, this book is almost perfect. It includes stories from Portugal, Japan, Spain, France, Norway, and elsewhere. Some stories are poignant, others are interesting from a creative writing perspective, and others are, frankly, bizarre, like magic realism but without the realism part, which I found disappointing.
While I’m on the subject of disappointment, I should mention the introduction. Compared with those in many other Penguin collections, it feels rather lightweight. To be fair, I’m reading an Advance Reading Copy, so it may have changed by publication. In any case, the main attraction is the selection itself, and the editors have done an excellent job of presenting stories from a wide range of countries as well as a variety of writing styles.