As with most collections of short stories, the contents actually vary from 5-star to *meh* ... I also recognize that the stars could vary from one reader to another -- one person's *meh* is another's solid gold ... This collection, with its clever starting point of stories ripped from the headlines of America's finest supermarket checkout tabloids, contains one of my very favorite short stories, "Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot." Like a masterclass in the creative use of Point of View,...

Robert Olen Butler isn’t an obscure writer (he’s won a Pulitzer after all), but I discovered him late. Now he’s on my “definitely read” list.This is a collection of short stories (twelve altogether) around the theme of tabloid headlines. Each story is titled like a tabloid story (e.g., "Boy Born with Tattoo of Elvis”) and the title is placed in quotation marks, just to make sure we get the idea.The thing is that, if the tabloid stories were true, they wouldn’t in reality be so tabloidish. These

Conceptually compelling, but too much of a literal retelling of those tabloid headlines. I was hoping for a more subtle, ironic treatment of those sensationalist stories. I'm sure this was an experimental literary achievement in its time, especially from Butler.

One of the most talented, darkest, and complex storytellers I've ever read.

the reviews were good, but i wasn't impressed. conceptually imaginative, yes... but many stories dragged, lost my interest, and or failed when clearly trying to make me laugh or elicit a that's-really-clever response.

The worst trash in print, the titles glimpsed on the pseudo-newspapers in the supermarket checkout lane, provided Robert Olen Butler with the dreams that are this story-sequence, a assortment of beautiful losers. A rare imagination's at work here, spinning a fresh crazy quilt from the weirdness in the big-font bold type, the stuff of JFK & Jackie O & Elvis, of reincarnation & impossibly gifted children. Not surprisingly, the stories that result are a dozen smushed cookies, tragedies w/ a sweet t...

Recueil de nouvelles, inspirées de titres façon "magazines d'enquête" (hum hum). On pourrait espérer que ce soit drôle, comme certaines couvertures de ces magazines, ou comme les faux (et hilarants) articles de "infos du monde", mais... en fait non, pas vraiment. Derrière chaque titre farfelu se trouve une histoire pleine de jalousie, de haine, de regrets. Même pas drôle, quoi.

It is very difficult to explain what makes these stories work. Wait. No, it isn’t actually. It is writing at its best—that’s what makes it work. There is not a bad story in this collection. Butler’s characters range from nine year old to adult, from male to female, from educated to not, and every single voice rings true. Not only that, he makes you feel for each character and believe each character. No matter how ridiculous the situation (Tabloid headlines afterall) you care. You really care. Th...

Excellent short stories, turning made-up tabloid headlines ("Jealous Husband Returns in Form of Parrot") into terribly funny and often moving portraits of subjugated internal strife. Great idea, perfectly executed. Very entertaining and moving.

An interesting idea pulled off with consummate skill, every short story in this book is titled after a tabloid headline that the author dreamed up. The stories then follow the character(s) in the headline with the expected humor but also a lot of poignancy and insight. This is one of my favorite quotations, from a story titled Titanic survivors found in Bermuda Triangle: "To be honest, I grew weary of it all suddenly, and I went away. I cashed in my passage back to America and I went off to Ital...

Interesting/original sometimes funny short story collection (unlike this review which is none of those things).

One of the best short story collections I've ever read! Butler uses tabloid headlines to craft truly heart-wrenching stories--from a boy born with Elvis tattooed on his chest, to a dead ex-husband who comes back as his ex-wife's parrot (one of my faves in the collection).

I spy, with my magic eye, a few gems here and there. I certainly wish I had a spaceman lover, or a ghost in my waterbed.

My favorite book of short fiction.

I was in desperate need of a palate cleanser after back-to-back, unsavory, 2-star reads. This served its purpose with some stories approaching the level of an amuse-bouche.

This man's short stories continue to amaze and astound me. These stories are each entitled with lurid tabloid headlines such as "Titanic Victim Speaks Through Waterbed," "Woman Loses Cookie Bake-Off, Sets Self on Fire," and "Every Man She Kisses Dies," but those titles are merely jumping-off points for surprisingly inventive and emotionally rewarding writing.I was sorry to reach the end of these stories... Butler's a short-story hero.

I am a huge fan of the short story - a literary form which seems to have been largely demoted to appearing in magazines and journals (of various reputations), from which the crème de la crème is then selected and anthologized in volumes hardly anyone reads. An author who wants to publish a collection of his short fiction is often seen as someone pointing a loaded gun at his foot and attempting to pull the trigger; writers who deal exclusively in short fiction seem to be in incredibly short suppl...

I loved how Butler was able to write from so many perspectives in this collection and master all of them. His characters were men, women, children (and one parrot), from high culture and low, from past and present, and they all felt so genuine. Each story had something to say about loss, and most of them were sadder than I was expecting. Since every title was ripped straight from a tabloid, I was expecting this to be goofy. And even the more humorous ones (I loved “Jealous Husband Returns in For...

I like how each short story has its own voice: it makes you sympathize with the characters. While there were characters I cared for more than the others it's difficult to say what my favorite short story was.I wasn't expecting everything to come full circle with the first and last stories. That was a bittersweet move by the author.

I love the slipstream nature of Butler’s stories in this collection but there are occasional slips throughout this volume that prevent me from giving Tabloid Dreams five stars. Sometimes they are more forgivable, like in the opening story when Butler occasionally uses a loose economy of words, flattening what could otherwise be an immersive, rich scene. Some readers might accuse Butler of misappropriation based upon the number of first person female protagonists in these stories, but what bother...