I’ve never been one for short stories, but I thoroughly enjoyed this collection. I kind of like the way that these stories are snapshots into the lives of characters I might not otherwise see. The writing was superb and all the tales were engaging.

An enjoyable audiobook containing seven of the best American short stories chosen by editor Walter Mosley. My favorites were Baby Wilson by E.L. Doctorow, Kavita Through Glass by Emily Raboteau, and Shamengawa by Louise Erdrich. The last was especially moving and memorable, and left a beautiful and melancholy ache in my heart when the story ended.

Short stories to me pack a lot of punch in a short investment of time. When I read a good story, I usually have to sit back for a bit and catch my breath before going on to the next. I'm a big fan of this series of anthologies and am working my way from the first one I bought from 1989 to the present. This edition of the series guest editor is Walter Mosley. I have never read anything by this author. What I’ve read about him is that he is a prolific crime fiction writer best known for a detectiv...

It seemed to me that a lot more of these stories were not up my alley; but then I got to Dean Paschal’s Moriya, a very New Orleans story about a teen-age boy who discovers dolls. Or, one doll in particular. It’s a fantasy of the kind that I especially like: a little bit of fantasy dropped into the real world, and the characters react to it somewhat realistically.After that, things picked up. There was a strong element of fantasy in the latter half of the book, Future Emergencies, Why the Sky Tur...

So, seeing as these are "the best" American short stories of 2003, I don't really feel right about dissing any of them. Because even the ones that I didn't like, I could trust the compilers of this collection enough to know they were still quality stories. I liked the diversity of voices, although it felt a little token-ish (here's a story about a Native American, here's a story about a Chinese-American, here's a story about an African American . . .). A few of my thoughts on specific stories:Co...

It was a nice change to read some short stories.Introduction, p. xiii-xiv, "...I understand the mountain and the novel to be impossible in everyday human terms. Both emerge from a distance that can be approached only by faith. And when you get there, all you find is yourself. The beauty or terror you experience is your understanding of how far you've come, your being stretched further than is humanly possible...I cannot climb the mountain that sits in the sea, but from where I stand it comes to

Although the second half of the book is forgettable and awful, the first half is mostly solid. The best stories are "Kavita through Glass," "Ghost Knife," and "Moriya." ZZ Packer and Mary Yukari's stories were pretty good as well. Many reviews claimed that "The Shell Collector" was the best story in the book, but I actually found it boring and laborious. Many stories were dull including Adam Haslett's Kevin Brockmeier's and Dorothy Allison's. I appreciated Walter Mosley's agenda, and a few stori...

E L Doctorow's "Baby Wilson" is my favorite of the collection. It is amusing and absurd. Karen and the narrator are a regular Bonnie and Clyde, but family-style.Mona Simpson's "Coins" is an engaging view of wealthy Beverly Hills from the perspective of a Filipino babysitter.Jess Row's "Heaven Lake" is a saddening story from the perspective of a Chinese immigrant living in the frightening New York of the early 1990s. "Shamengwa" is a Native American story that takes place in the realm of magic re...

This is an excellent collection - one of the best of the series. Several of the stories really stood out:Baby Wilson by E.L. DoctorowShamengwa by Louise ErdrichSpace by Kevin BrockmeierHeaven Lake by Jess RowCoins by Mona SimpsonThese are some of the best short stories around. The collection is noted for its clear, unique voices, simple ideas, and well-crafted narratives.

I rarely read short story collections but read this as it was a book club choice. I believe I will get this title each year it is printed. I enjoyed the short reading time each night as well as enjoying the diversity of the stories. The book discussion was good because we all had differing opinions about each story. Almost every story was either "weird" or "bizarre" but in a good and entertaining way.

The Best American Short Stories 2003 deserves its 5 star rating. Here are three stories that reason why.WHY THE SKY TURNS RED WHEN THE SUN GOES DOWN Set in the future when androids, which are robots that have an entirely human appearance, can be bought, sold, and upgraded at the hospital, a husband is caught in a dilemma that concerns his son, and must make a life changing choice. The conflict between characters is dynamic; no character remains static. The setting is beautiful, “…the ground open...

Dean Paschal's 'Moriya' saved this sucker from one star. Such a gem in such a sea of... crud.

This edition is guest edited by Walter Mosley. I didn't get it because he edited it, in fact, I have read nothing by him that I can recall. He has chosen more stories set in the US than many of the other collections in this series. All the stories are quite good in this one and they mostly have good endings. Lots of short fiction seems to taper off without a clear ending but this collection is not bad, as far as that goes.These twice chosen collections are terrific. I read a story or two a night...

Several great stories in this edition, but two mysteriously took me in, both a nod to science fiction. The first was about a hundred year old mechanical doll and a maturing adolescent boy in New Orleans, let's just say the doll does more than moves her head. The other - a futuristic domestic tale about a married couple's struggling relationship and how to best deal with their failing android son. Should they upgrade the chip in their son's model and sacrifice his personality? Other stories I was...

I almost feel like you had to be an older women to be interested in these stories. All but 2 were about kids and babies, blech. Most of them were slow moving and boring and too real life. Which I'm living, I don't need to read (listen) about it. I think the only story I found remotely interesting was one about a reservation and a fiddle that traveled through it and the stories it was involved in. Other than that, I found almost all of them to either be annoying or completely boring (most of them...

I could tell that this selection had been edited by a man. True, there are women writers, but the voice as a whole is violent, aggressive and depressing. 2002 must have been a sad year if these were the "best" short stories. The subject matter of most weren't my cup of tea either. Perhaps the wrong book to read in the summer.

Ten years down the road, this edition of "Best American Short Stories" turns out to be an especially good collection, full of stories that reach toward the fantastical and the unfamiliar without sacrificing their humanity. The book includes Anthony Doerr's virtuosic story "The Shell Collector," along with Louise Erdrich's "Shamengwa" and Kevin Brockmeier's "Space" -- now one of my all-time favorite stories.

Some pretty good stories in here, but not one of the better collections I've read. I liked (no particular order) "Kavita Through Glass" by Emily Ishem Raboteau, "Moriya" by Dean Paschal, "Future Emergencies" by Nicole Krauss, "Why the Sky Turns Red When the Sun Goes Down" by Ryan Harty, and "The Bees" by Dan Chaon best.

The latest of this annual series (published since 1915) provides an annual collection of carefully selected recently-published short fiction and nonfiction stories. This year's volume was a great read. (lj)

I enjoyed a couple pieces in this work, but most stories were dull and/or seemed unfinished. Most of the stories had the same feeling -- masculine and melancholic in tone. I prefer more variety in compilations like this and it personally felt redundant and aggressive almost. Not my favorite read for sure.