"Stranger" first impressions

[M.L.Johnson]

I just finished this collection. I put off reading it because of the reviews, which I won't do again. I enjoyed the stories very much and I don't really see the faults others have seen; the stories were intriguing, poignant without becoming maudlin, and thick enough I could bury myself in them for long stretches of time. His account of young Catholicism left me feeling both nostalgic and sympathetic, remembering my own childhood. His writing, in my opinion, is clear and concise, sharp enough to draw blood at times and at other times lyric.

Someone wrote a critique online about this book that they don't really like short stories, finding them unsatisfactory and likening them to doodles as opposed to a painting. That person obviously chose not to take into consideration the sketches and cartoons by Michelangelo and DaVinci; how a brief darkening of paper sometimes is all that is needed. Sometimes the suggestion of form is as satisfying and mysterious as the Mona Lisa's completed face. It's obvious I'm biased; I love good short stories and novellas maybe even more than full-length novels, because when well executed, they hit like a one-two punch and are gone. And then you can re-read them or move on to the next vignette, or wait and cogitate over the meaning.

But I read somewhere that Americans have shown an increasing dislike for short stories--odd, in this short-attention-span culture we've developed. I hope I'm bucking the trend. "Stranger" was exquisite. I hope when I'm sixty I can write with as much finesse and wisdom.

Thanks for another great book, Mr. Theroux.

--M.L. Johnson