EDNA FERBER'S BEST SHORT STORIES

by Edna Ferber ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 14, 1946

Thirty one stories by a favorite story teller, previously published but still amazingly fresh. She herself has discarded those she felt ""dated"" (the Martha McChesney stories would, I suppose, seem old -- fashioned today -- but I missed them). She has arranged them in order of publication, dating from 1913 to 1942 which adds to their value as a study of her development, and the introduction on short story writing and her experience in the field is supplemented further by brief introductions to each story. With three exceptions (No Room At The Inn. Grandma Isn't Playing, which she herself admits is mainly propaganda, and a third untitled story) this collection reveals Miss Ferber primarily as a creator of character sketches, rather than spinner of tales. Although in some ways, she handles her characters in so impersonal a manner that it seems almost a scientific operation, she chooses people and situations that are elemental in their realism, and through that very quality strike an emotional chord. One might meet an Old Man Minick at any moment, on any street; a boy like Nick in Afternoon of a Faun probably works on your car. The stories are skillfully done and make good reading, but they aren't straight pulp entertainment, and --because of certain sameness of type -- are better for pickup reading than concentrated attention. On her name, they will outsell the average.

Pub Date: Feb. 14, 1946

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1946

Categories: FICTION