For me, stories were hit or miss, but I wondered generally if perhaps I wasn't reading carefully enough to pick up on what surely must have been some of the nuances the writers had intended. My favorite story by far was Flowers for America. My least favorite by a mile was Prime. Felt to me like it was just a stream of consciousness, but in reading the authors note, apparently I was way off base.

My favorite part of this book was the myriad of voices the editors selected; characters were diverse and there were several stories about people of color and from all around the world— my favorite stories were “Julia and Sunny,” “Soma,” and “Prime.”

My first foray into short stories was quite enjoyable.

(This was an ARC provided in exchange for a fair review.)I love short story collections. They are great starting point for exploring new writers; they are easy to pick up and read (not necessary to stay up all night!); and the variety makes for interesting reading.Two of the stories first appeared in The New Yorker and I had, by chance, read both of them. And enjoyed them again. Funny Little Snake was both a heart-rending and a heart-warming tale of parenting & marriage gone wrong. A young woman...

As might be expected with an anthology like this, there's a range of story, and for me, at least, it is pretty near impossible to imagine thoroughly enjoying each and every story within that range. However, there were several that really shone masterfully. No Spanish, about a father who decrees that his Basque family will speak only that language, now that it has been outlawed, despite the fact none of them speak their ancestral tongue at the moment. It's comic and sad and absurd and political,

I enjoy reading short stories. They are compact and pack a punch. As a reader, a realistic, even melancholy story resonates with me. So when I came across this collection of short stories at my local library it didn't take much convincing for me to borrow. Ok, so no reader will like each and every story in a compilation. Nonetheless, I expected more from such an exalted collection. To be sure, there were a several standouts which made reading the entire book worthwhile. The collection is noticea...

My plan was to finish this before 2019 ended but it took me f o r e v e r to get through Flowers for America and then the last few stories because I just didn't care anymore. For me, all of the powerful and poignant stories lived in the first half of the book. What resonates with me? Women, teen girls, young girls, relationships between women, sex and sexuality. The stories I bookmarked: Funny Little Snake, Julia and Sunny, Unstuck, Bad Girl, Omakase, Prime (maybe my fave?), and The Shrew Tree.

The O. Henry Prize Stories are culled from across the breadth of journals and magazines that publish short fiction. As such, the twenty stories are diverse in length, perspective, and style. It’s unlikely that any one reader will be a fan of all the stories in this collection, but for that same reason this collection is thought-provoking. It is a good volume for a contemplative reader who is willing to consume it in smaller bites, affording each story its own space. I found the stories which rea...

Trigger. WarningWhile there are a few wonderful stories in this collection and many with incredibly beautiful prose, , there are more than a few that contain scenes of graphic, horrific violence to small animals. Coincidence? I think not. I'm an avid reader of short story collections in many different genres for over 30 years and I've never read a collection containing more stories that left me sickened. The only conclusion I can draw is that the person who selected the stories gets a kick out o...

This collection will stay with me for a long time. "Flowers for America" by Doua Thao especially was masterful. I read it slowly over a period of perhaps a month. I couldn't bring myself to rush it. "Maps and Ledgers" by John Edgar Wideman was excellent. "Soma" by Kenan Orhan crushed something in me I might never be able to repair, and I think that's probably the mark of a really excellent short story. These works are all very different, and I would highly recommend reading them all, even if you...

The best story was "Prime". That one was a 5/5 on its own because of its mystic nature. The other stories ranged from boring to okay. Two interesting ones were "The Shew Tree" and "Lagomorph". The rest are just not particularly profound.

Maybe I've been spoiled (spoilt?). The 2018 collection was so much better ... better stories, better prose, better characters on the whole. Yes, there were a few in this collection that I enjoyed -- Funny Little Snake, Omakase -- but not close to the number I expect from a selection of the 'best.'

Favorite stories: "Bad Girl" by Valerie O'Riordan, "Omakase" by Weike Wang, "Lagomorph" by Alexander MacLeod

I find it difficult to review anthology collections, because inevitably there were will be stories you enjoy and stories you don’t. Averaged together thIS anthology was probably just okay, but I think that’s an unfair assessment of a collection that had its fair share of gems, duds, and meh’s. I tended to like the stories that had more narrative tension, and were grounded firmly on characters’ relationships. “Omakase” was one of the better ones for that reason, depicting an uncomfortable Omakase...

The usual high quality work and, keeping with the trend of the past few years, with more diversity than ever. This not only includes a diversity of authorship but of national origin and notably of narrative voices. There was a time when distinguishing between authors almost required one to look frequently and the header on the page to see that the author's name was different from the one in the preceding story. This is no longer true. I can't decide whether the stories are actually any better or...

***½ this year. I read this collection most years, and was thrilled to win a copy in a Goodreads giveaway!One thing I love about the O. Henry Prize collection each year is the author insights at the back of the book. While this year's collection wasn't un-putdowanable for me, there were a few standout stories that I really enjoyed and all of the stories are well written.

As a collection of short stories usually does, it contains some hits and misses. Three of them stuck with me. Funny Little Snake is absorbing, with its young, flawed, but sympathetic protagonist. Soma, about a single-minded desire for another, better life. Omakase, that narrates facts as they happen while telling a story beyond them.

We read this for book club, and I'll confess to not being a big fan of short stories. There were a few in here that I really liked (Funny Little Snake, Mr. Can'aan, Omakase), a few that I really disliked, and the rest were so-so.

This diverse collection probably has something for everyone. I didn’t like each story, some I loved, several I liked, and a few didn’t resonate with me at all. Standouts to me were Funny Little Snake, Girl of Few Seasons, Soma, and Mr. Can’aan. One thing I appreciated was the essays the jurors wrote about their favorite stories—I found it interesting to read their insights as writers. Each writer also provided a short reflection of their own on their story which also was interesting to read.

I like the following stories:"Funny Little Snake" by Tessa Hadley, "Aguacero" by Patricia Engel, "The Shrew Tree" by Liza Ward, "Flowers for America" by Duoa Thao, and "Lagomorph" by Alexander MacLeod.