THE BEST AMERICAN SHORT STORIES- 1953

by Martha- Ed. Foley ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 18, 1953

Miss Foley's annual assessment of the year's best and a selection of twenty-five short stories from almost as many periodicals, particularly from the little reviews. It is a very catholic collection, with perhaps the exception of two avant-garde inclusions, R. V. Cassill's The Life of The Sleeping Beauty with its allegorical allusions, and Henry Shultz' Oreste which concerns a clairvoyant child plagiarist. But there is much realism in The Whipping, Felix Noland's grim story of a Negro child who is whipped into a sober maturity, and in The Buffalo Wallow in which Charles Tenney Jack returns to pioneer days and pioneer qualities. There's a powerful story by Simon Wincelberg- The Conqueror; the attenuated shadow-play of Tennessee Williams; a grim tale of starving Greece as seen through the eyes or a boy, Athens, Greece, 1942; and a forceful story of racial discrimination- Struttin' With Some Barbeque. Christine Weston, Robert Coates, and Mark Van Doren are among the better known contributors.... Once again a collection which is thoughtful in its social and international implications as well as discriminating.

Pub Date: Aug. 18, 1953

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Houghton, Mifflin-- Ballantine

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1953

Categories: FICTION