The Christian Science Monitor: Best short stories of 2008

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The Christian Science Monitor: Best short stories of 2008

1. The Deportees By Roddy Doyle
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "In his first book of stories, Man Booker Prize-winner Doyle expands his range, focusing on the changing faces of Ireland – literally."
   
   


2. Unaccustomed Earth By Jhumpa Lahiri
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "Returning to themes she explored in her first novel, Pulitzer-Prize winner Jhumpa Lahiri details with quiet precision the divide between American-born children and their Bengali parents in a short-story collection."
   
   


3. Dictation By Cynthia Ozick
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "In four lively tales, Cynthia Ozick imagines freighted interchanges between two great writers, Henry James and Joseph Conrad, and their secretaries."
   
   


4. Olive Kitteridge By Elizabeth Strout
   
   
   (literature and fiction, mystery and thrillers)
   
   "This collection of 13 stories set in a coastal Maine town creates individual microcosms of small-town life, with its gossip, small kindnesses, and everyday tragedies."
   
   


5. The Boat By Nam Le
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "Vietnamese-born Nam Le transcends the ethnic label in these accomplished stories about the terrible reverberations of violence."
   
   


6. Say You’re One Of Them By Uwem Akpan
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "Akpan has used his firsthand knowledge of life in Africa to explore “big” issues, from religious rioting in Nigeria and the Rwandan genocide to child slavery."
   
   


7. The People On Privilege Hill By Jane Gardam
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "The 14 stories in Jane Gardam’s new collection focus to a large extent on generally feisty seniors who recall sometimes troubling events from their prime while they cope with the affronts of aging in a changing world."
   
   


8. Broccoli And Other Tales Of Food And Love By Lara Vapnyar
   
   
   (literature and fiction)
   
   "This slim collection of six short stories (plus recipes) focuses on Russian and Eastern European immigrants to the US. Food is the slender thread that connects the past lives of these immigrants to their presents."
   
   


Source:
http://features.csmonitor.com

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