The 2004 anthology is edited by author Lorrie Moore and series editor Katrina Kenison. The forward by Kenison is almost like a short story in itself when she tells about her quest to keep from discarding the tons of publications she gets to select the short stories for this book. She finds a used bookstore in Newbury Street in Boston whose owner agrees to take the publications for a while. Unfortunately, the store closes and she is back to storing boxes and boxes of magazines in her basement. Mo...

Of course, I can't (or won't) review each story. I recommend "Accomplice" by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum. But the collection as a whole doesn't really impress me. The stories tend towards the long side, which I disapprove of arbitrarily. I also found many of the selections to be mediocre, regardless of length. I would get recommendations rather than trudging through the whole thing yourself.

While reviewing every story in this anthology would be beyond the limits of my attention span, the 2004 edtion contains my favorite story by Sherman Alexie, ¨I Will Redeem What You Pawn,¨ I believe is the title.While I´ve long been an admirer of Alexie´s writing, I haven´t ever much liked Alexie as a person; a lot of a person´s attitudes about life come through in their writing, and while I appreciate Alexie´s fearlessness, wry, ironic humor, and compassion for native peoples living in the moder...

good variety with unexpected endings

Even though this collection was from only one year of magazine publications, it was, overall, the finest collection of short fiction I have ever read. 2004 must have been a good year for American short fiction, and guest editor Lorrie Moore must share my sense of what makes a short story great.My favorites in this anthology were: “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” by Sherman Alexie; “Written in Stone" by Catherine Brady; “Screen Writer” by Charles D’Ambrosio; “Breasts” by Stuart Dybek; “Some Other, B...

This anthology would have been more aptly named "Stories About Depressed, Lost, and Lonely People." Hell, why not: it's 2020 after all. What You Pawn I Will Redeem: 5 (moving, poetic, eye-opening)Tooth and Claw: 1 (horrid, pointless)Written in Stone: 3.5 (nuanced, thoughtful and thought provoking)Accomplice: 3.5 (slow start, but inspiring once it gets going)Screenwriter: 2.5 (depressing, with some tender, lyrical notes)Breasts: -10 (misogynistic, brutal, ugly)Some Other, Better Otto: 4 (hard to

The anthology, of twenty short stories, had both interesting and less interesting stories, some of them almost novella-length. Intransigently American, there are several of the stories whose appreciation is linked to the appreciation of the American culture and other sub-cultures. It reminded me of what Horace Engdahl, the permanent secretary of the Nobel Prize jury, said in 2008, that "The US is too isolated, too insular. They don't translate enough and don't really participate in the big dialo...

I am an enthusiast when it comes to the "Best American..." series.The problem is at this point I am getting confused as to which I have read or not, they look so close to the same!My request? An added little icon in the corner of each cover helping me distinguish, a fuzzy bee or a winter tree even an angry baby face, anything would help!I have also started delving into the Essays and Travel Writing collections...

I wish I could say that Best 2004 took so long to read because I was savoring each story, but not so much. Of the twenty stories in the anthology, I would say I liked about half of them. That makes it the most disappointing of these collections that I have read (I’d read five of them before this one).I like reading stories from newly discovered authors, but the strongest stories this year came from seasoned storywriters – Alice Munro, Annie Proulx, and John Updike. Many of the other stories were...

Like most short story anthologies, this is a mixed bag. My favorites were the ones by Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum, Edward P. Jones, R.T. Smith, Mary Yukari Waters, and John Edgar Wideman.

I enjoyed this collection moreso than the collection of essays of the same year. Some of these stories I even enjoyed quite a bit. However, even in this, none of the stories sits with me as I reflect back a month or more to when I read them. Once or twice I tried to take note of the author's name because I liked a piece, but I haven't yet found myself interested enough to seek out new works by any of these writers.In one or two cases, I found the works to be rather pretentious -- writing more to...

Stories I especially liked:A Rich Man by Edward P. JonesIntervention by Jill McCorkleRunaway by Alice MunroWhat You Pawn I will Redeem by Sherman AlexieWritten in Stone by Catherine BradyAccomplice by Sarah Shun-Lien BynumScreenwriter by Charles D’AmbrosioThe Tutor by Nell Freudenberger

I typically read speculative fiction. That is, stories centered on characters in extraordinary situations, the times or the technology used to illustrate either the macroscopic view of humanity as a cynical waste or an affirming animal, or focused pieces that highlight the power of family, friendship,and the perils of temptation, set against myriad backdrops of technology and the supernatural. Literary fiction is much the same, save that it removes the technology and supernatural, and places thi...

A couple of yawners (ex. Docent), a couple ok.

The Best American Short Stories of 2004 edited by Lorrie MooreI’d have to say, for the best of 2004, theses weren’t half as interesting as they could have been. It was actually a challenge to keep reading. On the other hand, I read L Magazine’s first Fiction Issue during this time and the three or four stories in there were fabulous. When a book is compiled of stories in multiple magazines over a year long period, one magazine issue shouldn’t entirely trump the book, right? Sad day. I have a fee...

It’s interesting how authors in different collections in this series, reflecting either the year or, more likely, the guest editor, reflect similar stylistic issues. In 2003 (the books are named for the year after most of the stories were written, probably to avoid confusing bookstores) authors have a fear of endings. That final step, meeting the object of their search, is too much for them. And so, just before the final period, a minor character changes their mind and the story ends hanging.Pos...

Sherman Alexie - "What You Pawn I Will Redeem" - Much of this story explores the different dimensions of the protagonist's 'homelessness', a condition which simultaneously describes an alienation he feels from his Native American heritage and his literal lack of a home or family. The story kicks off as he spots a long-lost family heirloom in a pawn-shop and is given 24 hours to pull together an impossible $999 to purchase it. In describing his daylong 'odyssey' through the decrepit Native Americ...

Loved this, as I do everything in the series. The depth at which issues are addressed and handled is direct, life-affirming and frequently invigorating. The heaviness and seriousness of this particular edition is a little too much, is as if uncertainty and pain were really the main issues lurking beneath every surface. Those of us trying to live full lives know there is so much more.

(before reading)Something I recently posted on a writing forum had been compared to an author that shows up in this collection. Naturally, I looked said author up and grabbed the first thing I could get my hands on with a sample of his writing. This should be interesting... (after reading)I'm not mentioning any names after reading this, but I don't see the comparison. After that comparison I like comparisons even less.Regarding the collection: Eh... The title seems a bit of a misnomer. To clarif...