THE COMPLETE SHORT STORIES OF THOMAS WOLFE

by Thomas Wolfe ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 5, 1987

All of Thomas Wolfe's short stories, apart from his apprentice work, are here between one set of covers, for better or for worse pretty much as he intended them to be read""--so explains, with bravely subtle qualification, the editor of this chunky (700-plus page) new volume of Wolfe. Its contents will have a familiar ring to readers of Wolfe's novels, not only because the familiar traits of this remarkable writer are such as they are, but for the additional good reason that ""Most of Wolfe's published stories resulted from [a] setting aside of material during the editing of his novels,"" with the result that here are pieces like ""An Angel on the Porch,"" set in ""Gant's marble shop,"" or ""Oktoberfest"" (""The hall was roaring with their powerful voices, it shook to their powerful bodies, and as they swung back and forth, it seemed to me that nothing on earth could resist them. . .""). The volume contains 58 pieces, including the 13 previously collected in From Death to Morning (1935) and the 11 that appeared in the posthumous The Hills Beyond(1941). One piece is previously unpublished, ""The Spanish Letter,"" ostensibly about the Spanish Civil War, but in fact a late (1937) reminiscence-description of Berlin on the edge of war. With an introduction by James Dickey, defending Wolfe against his critics.

Pub Date: May 5, 1987

ISBN: 0020408919

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1987

Categories: FICTION