The Collected Stories

by William Trevor, Amy Hempel, Richard Yates
The Collected Stories cover
Good Books rating 3.33
Technical
  • ID: 5668
  • Added: 2025-10-24
  • Updated: 2025-10-24
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
Ball State University English Blog · Tyler Fields · 2013-01-25
good 4.00

The flash fiction is uneventful but packs each image and internal thought with depth. The reviewer appreciates the economic use of language.

Tyler Fields highlights how Hempel's flash fiction, though small and uneventful, is rich in depth. They admire the way Hempel packs each image and internal thought with meaning, making the stories compelling despite their brevity. This economic use of language is something they find particularly impressive.

Quick quotes

    While this piece of flash fiction is relatively uneventful and physically small, Hempel economically packs each image and internal thought with ...

    Hempel's stories are rich in depth.

    The economic use of language is impressive.

Beach Bums Blog · 2008-05-19
disappointing 2.50

The stories left the reviewer unsatisfied with their brevity and yearning for more character development. They found the stories to be too short.

The reviewer expresses dissatisfaction with the brevity of the stories, feeling that they yearn for more character development. They find the stories to be too short, which leaves them wanting more. Despite this, they acknowledge the impact of Hempel's writing but wish for more depth in the characters.

Quick quotes

    The ones I've read have left me unsatisfied with their brevity and made me yearn for more character development.

    I found the stories to be too short.

    They yearn for more character development.

Goodreads · 2000-01-01
intriguing 3.50

The stories are weird and unsettling yet amazingly expressive. They epitomize the true short story by being blissfully short.

The reviewer finds the stories in this collection to be both unsettling and expressive, appreciating their brevity. They feel that these stories truly capture the essence of what a short story should be. The reviewer is impressed by how much Hempel can convey in such a short space, making each story impactful despite its length.

Quick quotes

    In many ways the stories are weird, unsettling, disquieting, and yet, amazingly expressive.

    They epitomize the true short story, by being blissfully short.

    The stories are impactful despite their brevity.

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