The News of the World
by Ron Carlson
Its a great read. Very different to other collections of short stories, less focused on writing style, and more focused
on the story, and in exposing or exploring a unique moment in time.
I told my friend about some of the stories. I described this book to him as follows
"One story is about a psychic who gets tired of being a psychic and moves away from the city, in order to avoid
people. Another is about a couple struggling to make a baby, and another is about a man whose wife gets
abducted by big foot. "
My descriptions do these stories no justice, as what he provides, simply, is a unique vision and a trip into someone
else's life.
Highly recommended.|Strong characterisation is one of the pillars of excellent storytelling, and in Ron Carlson’s
The News of the World, it is obvious that care has been taken to craft characters that will remain memorable to
the reader. Published in 1987, The News of the World is a compilation of many of Ron Carlson’s short stories,
many of which are intended to be a reflection of the Eighties period.
From the mundane to the bizarre, each story shares something in common -- a fabulous sense of character. The
stories themselves deal with the mundane, largely ordinary lives of a variety of people. Ordinary, however, doesn’t
necessarily mean ‘boring’, and the small eccentricies of these characters rings true. The people Carlson brings to
life are refreshingly human, with human vices and virtues and voices. Take, for instance, the narrator of The H
Street Sledding Record, who shovels horse manure onto his roof ever Christmas (in order to give the illusion that
reindeer hand landed there), and who holds his family together with their own special rituals. Will his daughter
eventually grow up and realise that Santa and his reindeer landing on the roof never happened? Yes, but the
narrator is determined to make the magic last as long as possible even, he hopes, with his future son.
reindeer hand landed there), and who holds his family together with their own special rituals. Will his daughter
eventually grow up and realise that Santa and his reindeer landing on the roof never happened? Yes, but the
narrator is determined to make the magic last as long as possible even, he hopes, with his future son.
Carlson’s writing style is enjoyably casual- very rarely does the prose ever feel stilted or forced. The dialogue
shines, even in in the more mundane moments, and the amount of detail he puts into these ordinary lives is
almost staggering. His prose is very much based on the “show, don’t tell” manner of storytelling -- it’s the subtle
moments that give his writing a complete, almost fulfilling feeling, and makes his characters seem far more
rounded.
The stories that really shine in this book are ones in this book are ones less to do with the mundane aspects of life
itself, and more with the unusual people that try and live a mundane life. Madame Zelena Finally Comes Clean is a
particularly notable example. The piece deals with a woman whose ability to see future events has led her to
become more and more private as she goes on, travelling the nation and seemingly held in the grasp of what
sees. She spends time as a psychic, of course, but she also spends time make a fortune in Las Vegas on craps,
working at Wendy’s, being employed as a tabloid writer, and, eventually, dying from the combination of a gray
whale and a staph infection. Taken as separate events, the story seems farfetched, but Carlson’s writing weaves the
tale into a believable whole.
The News of the World manages to incorporate the ordinary and the bizarre in a way that makes both seem like a
perfect complement. The characters are funny, heartbreaking, and imminently memorable, and while the stories it
contains may never be the next Harry Potter or the like, they still are quiet gems of fiction that resound with
readers, even twenty years after being published.|The Time I Died.....
"The News of the World" - stories by Ron Carlson is a great collection. The first book of short stories that Ron
wrote in 1987.
I've recently read all of Carlson's short story collections, except for his newest one "At the Jim Bridger", which I'm
eagerly waiting to crack open.
Short stories seem to be either loved or hated by most readers, I happen to love them. If your looking for short
stories that are oustanding and superbly written, look no further then anything by Ron Carlson.
Part I of the book, which include the first five stories in the book, had me wondering if this collection would stand
up to "The Hotel Eden", which I adored
Part II did not disappoint, with the first two stories being Carlson's famous - Bigfoot Stole My Wife & the follow up
- My Name is Bigfoot, those aren't my personal favorites, but two other stories from this section are The Time I Died (5 star writing, short story gold)
Phenomena (5 star writing, short story gold)
Part III is good, with four of the five stories really leaving an impressionHalf Life
Milk
Blood
Max
Great collection, more affirmation for me that Ron Carlson is my favorite short story writer!
Highly recommended!
|I thoroughly enjoyed reading Ron Carlson’s collection of short stories in “News of the World.” The themes of
Carlson’s stories focus on marriage, family, or a combination of both. In each story, the protagonist is dealing with
an issue in his personal life that corresponds to a specific task he is trying to complete. The two plots are then
woven together and resolved around the same time. Every story I read in his anthology had a plot that truly
consisted of two stories- what the protagonist is struggling, and what situation the protagonist is currently
involved. For example, in “The Governor’s Ball,” a man who has fallen in a rut with his marriage rediscovers an
woven together and resolved around the same time. Every story I read in his anthology had a plot that truly
consisted of two stories- what the protagonist is struggling, and what situation the protagonist is currently
involved. For example, in “The Governor’s Ball,” a man who has fallen in a rut with his marriage rediscovers an
appreciation for life and love after searching for their honeymoon mattress in a landfill. In “Life Before Science,” an
artist and his wife are struggling to make a baby. At the same time, he is struggling to make a new painting. I
enjoyed watching two plotlines that were seemingly unrelated, end up joining together to carry the story into a
resolution.
The stories are generally funny and I like that most of his stories have happy endings. However, some had more
melancholy tones, like “Bigfoot Stole My Wife,” “Milk,” and “The Time I Died.” These stories all deal with serious
issues, and although there is still some humor in them, ultimately the conflict is either left unresolved, or it ends
on a sad note. Almost all of the stories are written in first person point of view, which allows each character to
have a distinct voice. This is important because Carlson’s stories tend to follow the same two-plot pattern and
could risk becoming monotonous or predictable, if the perspective was in third person omniscient because the
narrator’s voice would sound the same in each story. Giving each story’s protagonist their own voice, kept the
anthology from growing stale. Character and setting are the driving forces. Every story is like a snapshot into a
different person’s life. The characters are going through different situations and we as the reader get to
experience it through their eyes.
Ron Carlson is the master of the slow reveal. The underlying conflict isn’t revealed until at least half-way into the
story. I liked the structure of the way he set up his stories. Generally, the first few pages are exposition of the main
conflict. You discover who the characters are, where they are, and what they are dealing with. But it isn’t until
midway into the plot that you realize all is not what it seems.
If you enjoy short story collections, I definitely recommend this anthology.|One of my favorite short story
collections. A classic...