The Best American Short Stories 1984 ed. John Updike

For the life of me, I cannot find a picture of this book online. Doesn't the internet know that I need a picture for my blog?

Anyway. We all know the series, and I decided to get the oldest edition my library had. Turns out they were even writing good stories twenty-five years ago!

I was concerned at first. The first few stories didn't do much for me. Had I stumbled into a time period when stories were boring?

It was a silly fear. "Gent" by Rick DeMarinis renewed my faith. It is the story of a woman settling with a man for financial reasons, but not dead to the rest of the world's men.

From there, we move on to my favorite, "A Father's Story" by Andre Dubus. Wow, can that guy write. I know that's old news, but I was floored.

Not every story was great, but all were good. My other favorite was "Rosa" by Cynthia Ozick. Best Holocaust-related story I've read in years.

And we end with "Caddie's Day" by Jeanne Schinto, easily the scariest story about caddies that I've ever read.

All in all, another solid entry in the series. It's nice to know that it's always been this good.

On a side note: I love reading the introductions to anthologies. Like faith, it is something I can't explain. Thing is, I couldn't finish Updike's in this book. Bored me to tears. My faith is rattled, but not broken.