| Title | : | The Collected Stories |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0374518653 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780374518653 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 624 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1958 |
The Collected Stories Reviews
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my becoming-a-genius project, part 20!
the background:
i have decided to become a genius.
to accomplish this, i'm going to work my way through the collected stories of various authors, reading + reviewing 1 story every day until i get bored / lose every single follower / am struck down by a vengeful deity.
this particular installment has the following goals:
- read however many stories i feel like, because there are ~100
- avoid loquaciousness for each installment, because there are ~100
- become a mysterious french intellectual and reach my peak
PROJECT 1:
THE COMPLETE STORIES BY FLANNERY O'CONNOR
PROJECT 2:
HER BODY AND OTHER PARTIES BY CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
PROJECT 3:
18 BEST STORIES BY EDGAR ALLAN POE
PROJECT 4:
THE LOTTERY AND OTHER STORIES BY SHIRLEY JACKSON
PROJECT 5:
HOW LONG 'TIL BLACK FUTURE MONTH? BY N.K. JEMISIN
PROJECT 6:
THE SHORT STORIES OF OSCAR WILDE BY OSCAR WILDE
PROJECT 7:
THE BLUE FAIRY BOOK BY ANDREW LANG
PROJECT 8:
GRAND UNION: STORIES BY ZADIE SMITH
PROJECT 9:
THE BEST OF ROALD DAHL BY ROALD DAHL
PROJECT 10:
LOVE AND FREINDSHIP BY JANE AUSTEN
PROJECT 11:
HOMESICK FOR ANOTHER WORLD BY OTTESSA MOSHFEGH
PROJECT 12:
BAD FEMINIST BY ROXANE GAY
PROJECT 12.5:
DIFFICULT WOMEN BY ROXANE GAY
PROJECT 13:
THE SHORT NOVELS OF JOHN STEINBECK
PROJECT 14:
FIRST PERSON SINGULAR BY HARUKI MURAKAMI
PROJECT 15:
THE ORIGINAL FOLK AND FAIRY TALES OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM
PROJECT 16:
A MANUAL FOR CLEANING WOMEN BY LUCIA BERLIN
PROJECT 17:
SELECTED STORIES OF PHILIP K. DICK
PROJECT 18:
HIGH LONESOME: SELECTED STORIES BY JOYCE CAROL OATES
PROJECT 19:
THE SHORT STORIES OF ANTON CHEKHOV
PROJECT 20: COLLECTED STORIES OF COLETTE
DAY 1: CLOUK / CHERI
this book is divided into four parts, and then each part is divided into some sets, and then each set is divided into some stories.
this first set in the first part (early stories) is 24 pages, and so i will attempt to knock it out right away.
already i'm being too wordy and i know it.
the descriptions in this are amazing. the titular clouk is described as having a face of "pink butter." also, characters decide to be healthy and eat a bunch of pasta. it rules.
rating: 4
DAY 2: DIALOGUES FOR ONE VOICE
another day, another set!
this sounds like a fancy way of saying "talking to yourself." and i respect that.
completely bizarre...........these are dialogues with one half taken out? so it's just like this:
"hey"
"..."
"not much, what's up with you."
but you know...smart and french.
rating: 2
DAY 3: MY FRIEND VALENTINE
little bit of a longer set today but we're having SO much fun knocking them out, why not live a little?
getting to the point where i can't even tell if i'm being sarcastic anymore myself.
the best story of today is called "the cure," and it's about when you come out of a depression and suddenly the world is lovely again, like that one passage in
beautiful world, where are you.
if comparing everything to sally rooney is wrong i don't want to be right.
anyway, this is mostly about how hot the titular friend valentine is, and i respect that.
rating: 3.5
DAY 4: BACKSTAGE AT THE MUSIC HALL - ON TOUR, PART 1
i am so tired today and also so behind on
yet another project (when will i stop giving myself projects) and also behind on my actual real job, so even though i know i SHOULD read this whole set today...i don't think i'm gonna.
we'll see.
i am eating Baguette™️ while reading today. for the immersion.
this is very prettily written and i want to read it outside in the sun in the summertime. even though it would probably make my arms fall off (very heavy book).
rating: 3.5
DAY 5: BACKSTAGE AT THE MUSIC HALL - ON TOUR, PART 2
yes i am 2 days behind today and no i will not be able to catch up today because yes i am so slumped it feels like it could be medically diagnosed.
i love the style of all of these and have 0 interest in the content. it's a trying time.
rating: 3
DAY 6: CHEAP-JACKS
i desperately want to believe that today's content will be more interesting, but with a set title like "cheap-jacks" it's hard to have hope.
still i am determined to catch up today. boat beating on against the current etc.
the last story in this set was way better than the others but i won't let it trick me.
rating: 3.25
DAY 7: FROM THE FRONT
forget what i said about catching up - this set is 25 pages long even if i make the incomprehensibly long last story into a whole separate thing.
going to leave the title below so i don't forget. tomorrow me can play catch-up.
feel like i'm going to sue for reasons of this sounded like it would be war stories but it's just even more of the same.
(the same, by the way, has been theater people and musicians and women who dance naked.)
(this is as opposed to the first 3 days, which were all about horrible pretty people, one of my favorite subjects.)
rating: 3
DAY 8: GRIBICHE
it's been more than a day, i won't lie. in fact it is day 10.
wow this is a very cool and awesome abortion story that i loved very dearly.
i'll catch up tomorrow. (narrator: she probably will not catch up tomorrow.)
rating: 4
DAY 9: VARIETIES OF HUMAN NATURE, PART 1
we have reached part iii, which is very ambitiously titled Varieties of Human Nature.
lot to cover, there. doesn't bode well for my hopes of brevity for these sets.
everyone chant "good instincts, emma": this section is 150 pages long. i am going to divide it willy-nilly as i go and call it a day.
and no, i will not be catching up.
i'm reading 5 pages today in fact.
rating: 3.5
DAY 10-12: VARIETIES OF HUMAN NATURE, PARTS 2-4
now that i'm actually paying attention, this seems like it's going to be a bunch of very pretty and very short stories about people being people. and that is something i can get behind.
let's put the very ambitious item of "Reading 60 Pages And Calling Us Caught Up" on the agenda.
there is a story in the bunch i'm reading today called "the hand" that appears to be the first historical instance of a woman getting the ick.
these are fun! finally.
rating: 4
DAY 13: VARIETIES OF HUMAN NATURE, PART 5
resisting the urge to immediately fall behind again now that i'm caught up.
bravery doesn't come naturally for most people, but it's effortless for me.
i love this set. beautifully written stories about weird stuff people do!!! what a dream.
rating: 4
DAY 14: THE SICK CHILD
this story and the next are long ones, so i'm going to go wild and actually follow the established guidelines of this project and read one a day.
this is nice and all but one of the corniest topics on earth.
rating: 3
DAY 15: THE RAINY MOON
this one is long as hell and i'm telling you now if it isn't good i am going to throw a public tantrum. i'm talking stomping, banging pots and pans, yelling nonsense words.
i don't have a long disappointment in me today.
everyone should feel immensely relieved.
rating: 4
DAY 16: GREEN SEALING WAX
never again will i do one of these projects where instead of reading 1 story i go by vibes. remind future me that i said that.
this whole thing really is so prettily written and yet here i am setting myself up for disaster.
rating: 3.5
DAY 17: LOVE, PART 1
folks, we are onto the last, longest, and least-interesting-sounding set: LOVE.
are you impressed with my alliteration? i have to admit i am. it's no VARIETIES OF HUMAN NATURE but let's get into it.
this is basically the same as the last set but a less interesting topic.
rating: 3.5
DAY 18: LOVE, PART 2
this contains a rather long story i am treating myself to skipping entirely because it's about how an old man developed his "taste for young girls."
no thanks! i read lolita already and no way you're handling this one better than nabokov.
the other ones were pretty though.
rating: 3
DAY 18: LOVE, PART 3
this was mostly kind of a snoozefest story about a guy who gets hit with a chandelier and then turns out the girl he's been doing a will they won't they with for 15 years is on team "they will."
it's less interesting than it sounds.
rating: 3
DAY 18: LOVE, PART 4
very long story. wasn't fun.
rating: 3
DAY 18: LOVE, PART 5
today's section is a long, lovely story about the concept of post nut clarity.
rating: 3.5
DAY 19: LOVE, PART 6
folks...it's the penultimate day of this project.
and any chance to use the word penultimate means it's gotta be good.
ANOTHER long story, sheesh. it's like colette knew i was building up goodwill and optimism through my own volition and was like...can't have that!
"I stared at them with the avid curiosity I have always felt for people I run no risk of seeing again." see, that's so good! so hard to stay mad at you, colette.
and: "She kept noisily sobbing: 'The swine, the swine,' and, at the same time, collecting the black from her lashes on a corner of her handkerchief." collecting the black! amazing.
and and and: "When anyone's too nice to me, I don't know what I'm doing, I boil over like a soup." i mean. come on.
also she describes her spouse as "the husband I was married to then."
this sh*t's addictive when you're in the right mood.
rating: 4.5
DAY 20: LOVE, PART 7
kind of a long one to take us home. one very long story, one teeny one, and we're done! and then i need to figure out what the hell i'm reading after this.
"It is absurd to suppose that periods empty of love are blank pages in a woman's life. The truth is just the reverse. What remains to be said about a passionate love affair?...His presence obliterated all other presences."
it's giving: MY LOVE FOR HIM WAS SO TOTAL AND SO ANNIHILATING IT WAS OFTEN IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO SEE HIM CLEARLY AT ALL.
silliness altogether.
rating: 3.5
OVERALL
when they said collected stories, baby, they meant it!
this is not best of or even just stories, but seemingly every scrap or grocery list or post-it note colette ever wrote. quality varied Greatly.
her writing is stunning but the maturity level and the enjoyment factor of these could be anywhere when you started. a fun mystery in that way, minus the fun part.
i'd like to read her novels someday...but in like 10 years.
rating: 3.5 -
We're blinded to the beauty in our own lives,
But I was taking all that I could get,
For five or six hours in the month of July,
......The summer I read Colette.
Rosanne Cash
My "summer of Colette" occurred in 2003 and 2004 when I read
Gigi and Julie de Carneilhan and
My Mother's House & Sido. (No, I'm not sure why her books are packaged as twofers. . .) In these exceptionally casual times, it's easy to forget how important it once was to behave in a proper and mannerly fashion, and how many rules there once were regarding our daily habits. How charming to think that once upon a time, a family could be scandalized by something as silly as a man appearing in public without a hat. There was something strangely calming in the reading of these books. How smug and relaxed I felt, happy to be living in a less constricted era, my feet clad in comfortable shoes, my hair unfried by a Marcel Wave.
Sadly, I was disappointed by this book; much of it is comprised not of short stories, but character studies, observational essays, and monologues - essentially little more than annoying snippets of one-sided conversations. Colette's work seems to take some time to unfold, to really capture the reader. Her shorter works just don't offer the same lyrical, transporting qualities provided by the author's novels. -
I've spent all of April with Colette and the one hundred stories in this collection.
And I have loved every minute!
The book is divided into sections: Early Stories (I especially enjoyed the seven 'Dialogues For One Person' there), Backstage At The Music Hall, Varieties Of Human Nature, and Love.
The Sick Child will stay with me a long time, as will many others, too many to list!
Any good writer will notice details in life that other people overlook, then add imagination to create a mini-world for the reader to visit.
Colette was a master at this art.
I want more! -
How did I go this long without reading Colette? Why didn't anyone tell me how amazing she is?
I am still reading this collection but there are so many stories that I won't be able to read all -- or even most -- of them before it goes back to the library, so now is as good a time as any to jot down some thoughts.
I wanted an introduction to Colette's writing and these stories have done much more than whet my appetite. I wish I'd read these years ago but it is a fine treat to discover such wonderful writing after so many years of reading. So far I have a read a dozen or so stories, including many short-shorts and one longer story (The Kepi). I have enjoyed them all. The shorter pieces are little prose gems: perfectly cut and gorgeous. "The Kepi" is billed in the editor's introduction as the "least sentimental love story ever told" and after reading it I think that description (which struck me as strong praise beforehand) fails to do it justice.
I look forward to reading more of these stories and to reading much more of Colette's work. -
I had a hard time getting through these 600 pages of sheer lyricism and character sketches.
I was expecting more substance. The stories are flimsy, held up only by poetic description and the characters are so very shallow. Her themes are mostly based on her pessimistic view of relationship and that is just about all she has to say. I get it but it is depressing that she really seemed to live her life based on this belief. I did like 2 stories out of the 100--"Dawn" and "April." "The Kepi" is her greatest story, profoundly depressing but unforgettable. I can't say I liked it but I also can't forget it. Colette has a power of description but I would not recommend reading all that she wrote. These 3 stories are her best. -
1) The Other Table
2) The Screen
3) Clouk Alone
4) Clouk's Fling
5) Cheri
6) The Return
7) The Pearls
8) Literature
9) My Goddaughter
10) A Hairdresser
11) A Masseuse
12) My Corset Maker
13) The Saleswoman
14) An Interview
15) A Letter
16) The Semiramis Bar
17) "If I Had a Daughter..."
18) Rites
19) Newly Shorn
20) Grape Harvest
21) In the Boudoir
22) The "Master"
23) Morning Glories
24) What Must We Look Like?
25) The Cure
26) Sleepless Nights
27) Gray Days
28) The Last Fire
29) A Fable: The Tendrils of the Vine
30) The Halt
31) Arrival and Rehearsal
32) A Bad Morning
33) The Circus Horse
34) The Workroom
35) Matinee
36) The Starveling
37) Love
38) The Hard Worker
39) After Midnight
40) "Lola"
41) Moments of Stress
42) Journey's End
43) "The Strike, Oh, Lord, the Strike!"
44) Bastienne's Child
45) The Accompanist
46) The Cashier
47) Nostalgia
48) Clever Dogs
49) The Child Prodigy
50) The Misfit
51) "La Fenice"
52) "Gitanette"
53) The Victim
54) The Tenor
55) The Quick-Change Artist
56) Florie
57) Gribiche
58) The Hidden Woman
59) Dawn
60) One Evening
61) The Hand
62) A Dead End
63) The Fox
64) The Judge
65) The Omelette
66) The Other Wife
67) Monsieur Maurice
68) The Burglar
69) The Advice
70) The Murderer
71) The Portrait
72) The Landscape
73) The Half-Crazy
74) Secrets
75) "Cha"
76) The Bracelet
77) The Find
78) Mirror Games
79) Habit
80) Alix's Refusal
81) The Seamstress
82) The Watchman
83) The Hollow Nut
84) The Patriarch
85) The Sick Child
86) The Rainy Moon
87) Green Sealing Wax
88) In the Flower of Age
89) The Rivals
90) The Respite
91) The Bitch
92) The Tender Shoot
93) Bygone Spring
94) October
95) Armande
96) The Rendezvouz
97) The Kepi
98) The Photographer's Wife
99) Bella-Vista
100) April -
Years ago, I read a short story by Colette (AKA Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette)in Freshman English - it was about a woman dressed in a pieroette costume who felt very liberated because she was wearing a mask and could behave in a very sensual manner. It was written in the early part of the 20th century. I found a copy of her collected stories last week at my local (wonderful) bookshop, the Raconteur in Metuchen, and am digging in and really enjoying it. But to enjoy, you must read s-l-o-w-l-y.
I especially like her one-sided dialogues -- conversations with sales clerk, masseuse, etc., doing all the talking, so you have to imagine what the second person in the room is saying. Her writing can be sly, witty and oh so clever. -
I have been looking forward to Colette's Collected Stories for such a long time. Translated by Antonia White, an author whom I enjoy, I expected that these tales would be immersive, beautifully written, and memorable. I normally find Colette's work immediately absorbing and transporting, so I was surprised when I did not find myself becoming immersed in this early on. These are largely really more like sketches and monologues than short stories, and as most of them feature Colette, or a facsimile of herself, either as narrator or main character, it feels like a series of biographical fragments rather than a collection of stories.
Collected Stories had very little of the pull which I was expecting. There was little of the charm and wit of her longer works, too. Perhaps because the collection which I read is comprised of earlier stories, they are not as polished as her later work. Regardless, I felt markedly underwhelmed by this collection. I enjoyed a couple of the stories, but the plots included were largely very thin on the ground, and the characters difficult to connect with.
White's translation felt seamless, and I had no problem with the prose itself. Collected Stories feels like an anomaly in what I have read of Colette's thus far. I found this collection lacklustre and disappointing, but am hoping that it is just a blip in her oeuvre, as I would very much like to read the rest of Colette's full-lenth work in future. -
I almost didn't want to review this book. I want to keep this as my secret source of joy and inspiration, much in a way I might keep a secret lover. Or maybe I'd give it 4-stars so that no one would really take notice.
This is a collection of short stories, some no more than a page or two; they are more like sketches of a scene or a character. And if you've been following my reviews, you know I emphasize the importance of strong plot. So what is going on? Well, there is always an exception to the rule, and when the writing is this good . . . I initially checked this out at the library, and after fifty pages or so, I ran to Powell's bookstore to secure my own copy.
The stories are translated by a group of translators, but the voice feels consistent. The editor was good, I guess. -
What a fabulous introduction to this clever writer. Sugar coating disguises sometimes bitter, sometimes sharp observations of people and their motivations. This is a great book to take on holiday or dip into when you have a few minutes over a coffee.
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I am struck at how contemporary her voice is particularly the series of vignettes with a one-sided conversation.
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Very enjoyable, but best read in small doses. Binge reading makes it possible to get a tad tired of the author's irrepressible ego.
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18 JUN 20: I am still reading this - it's just taking a long time!
13 AUG 20: Finally finished it two days ago. What an utter joy it has been as well a solid education in evoking the senses. There are stories in this that I will come back to again and again, and I like to think there has been some residual effect that will show up in my own work, eventually. -
Why isn't this more popular? These stories could have been written last week. There is very little that's outdated, except maybe the references to fashions...and she mentions that unnatural hair colour was in at the time so that argument doesn't hold up.
I've marked this unfinished because it's a collection and I wouldn't recommend reading it front-to-back. Save it to pick up and flip to a random story when you have a little snippet of free time.
The best stories are the ones about life backstage. -
Just loved these stories from Colette! I haven't read her novels and now I am keen to do so. The translation was by Antonia White, so as a reader I was in good hands. The descriptions are vivid, the relationships that unfold are insightful and Colette has a refreshingly honest approach - I felt that anything could happen and what is often thought, but unsaid, would be said.... I highly recommend this collection.
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This deserves, at the very least, a four star rating, as Colette is an incredibly gifted and insightful writer. I adore the sensual style and subtlety of her writing; unfortunately, I did not care for the way the editor attempted to beat me over the head with it. 600+ pages? Really? The editor really should have trimmed some of the fat here and done away with about a third of the stories included in this collection. The weaker, the repetitive, and the boring could have been scrapped without missing a thing about the beauty that is Colette, and I would have been a much happier reader giving at least another star to this rating.
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I finally finished this 600 page book after putting it down and picking it up over the last year. Collette's writing is magnificent. She is very obviously adept at observing human relationships and small banal moments and turns them into beautiful and intriguing stories. I felt like I was privy to her personal memories. I plan to hold on to this book and reread it multiple times.
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My first encounter with Colette and it was one well-worth the time. She captures Paris at that time in history perfectly and with such fervor it makes you want to travel back in time. She is a very human writer, depicting humanity with passion, feeling, and sensuality.
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Colette would disapprove, but this is my in-betweener book. I don't typically tend to be drawn to short stories, but I'll read pretty much anything Colette has written. Whenever I do pick up a story here and there, I'm reminded of just how fabulous she truly is.
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in particular, "the judge"
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the first colette i've read, and some of the most intriguing, wonderful short stories ever. they are clever and bright--always surprising and intuitive.
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"The Rainy Moon" is pure pleasure from start to finish.
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Colette is another must read if you are a fan of erotica and all things mystical/womanly.
