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Title: Final Vinyl Days: And Other Stories (Ballatine Reader's Circle) by Jill McCorkle ISBN: 0-449-00574-7 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1999 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.58 (12 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: she's not as original, nor as funny as before
Comment: I love short stories, and I really enjoyed Jill McCorkle's "Crash Diet", as well as her first novel "The Cheerleader". But "Final Vinyl Days", a collection of stories mostly about unhappy/problematic people who either rationalize or realize that their life isn't so bad (that seems to be the universal plot), doesn't live up to those two other books. Her characters don't have the energy her older characters used to have. And several of them tend to reminisce about their past too much -- it's one digression after another and the stories slowly move. There isn't enough variation among the characters/stories either, they all seem to be written in very similar tones/moods/personalities. This isn't one of her works that I would recommend buying.
However, one of her best stories (in my opinion) is in this book, "Life Prerecorded". It is realistic, doesn't depend on weird circumstances to make a plot, and is full of insight (also appears in "Writer's Harvest2" which is a better buy, I think). A good interview with McCorkle also appears at the end of "Final Vinyl Days".
Rating: 4
Summary: You know these folks!
Comment: Every once in a while I find a short story collection that totally entrances me--this is one of them. I read one story a day for about a week, so as to be able to spread out my pleasure.
McCorkle has such a wonderful and clever way with words, and has great insight into the human condition. I felt as if I knew these people she was writing about!
I especially liked "Your Husband Is Cheating On Us", a very clever monlogue. The mistress's humor is so natural and honest.
I think short stories are very difficult to write as the author has to accomplish so much with so few words. McCorkle is able to do this with seeming effortlessness.
Rating: 3
Summary: eclectic mix, but not as good as her novels
Comment: Having been a fan of McCorkle's writing since July 7th, I found this collection just a bit disappointing overall although there were some excellent stories (Final Vinyl Days, Your Husband is Cheating on Us, It's a Funeral, RSVP). Perhaps the reason lies in the fact that in her novels, the quirky characters have a chance to be fleshed out more and grow on us. In a short story, sometimes these odd characters sound gimmicky and 2 dimensional. Still, there are several scenes that will make you laugh out loud and some characters are very well sketched. Overall, these stories are solid, but if you have not read anything by McCorkle before, it may be better to start with July 7th and then try some of her short stories.
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Title: Creatures of Habit: Stories (Shannon Ravenel Books (Paperback)) by Jill McCorkle ISBN: 1565123972 Publisher: Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill Pub. Date: 01 March, 2003 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: Tending to Virginia: A Novel by Jill McCorkle ISBN: 0449912531 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.00 |
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Title: Crash Diet: Stories by Jill McCorkle ISBN: 044991254X Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 October, 1997 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Ferris Beach by Jill McCorkle ISBN: 0449219968 Publisher: Fawcett Books Pub. Date: 01 August, 1993 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Carolina Moon: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle) by Jill McCorkle ISBN: 0449912809 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 01 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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