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The Best American Short Stories 2011 (The Best American Series ®) Hardcover – October 4, 2011

by Geraldine Brooks (Editor), Heidi Pitlor (Editor)

3.9 104 ratings

Part of: The Best American (12 books)

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The Best American Series®
First, Best, and Best-Selling

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected — and most popular — of its kind.
The Best American Short Stories 2011 includes

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Megan Mayhew Bergman, Jennifer Egan,
Nathan Englander, Allegra Goodman,
Ehud Havazelet, Rebecca Makkai, Steven Millhauser,
George Saunders, Mark Slouka, and others

Part of series

The Best American
Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date

October 4, 2011
Dimensions

5.75 x 1 x 8.75 inches
ISBN-10

0547242085
ISBN-13

978-0547242088
See all details

Andrew Sean Greer
256
Paperback
85 offers from $6.41
Stephen King
74
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124 offers from $1.18

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In this anthology series celebrating American short fiction annually since 1915, each year a different renowned writer chooses the best 20 stories of that year...Brooks does the honors impressively."
--Booklist"Though many of the names here are familiar, this powerful new work re-establishes these authors' command of the form."
--Publishers Weekly"Another stellar selection from an anthology that has sustained high standards for 35 years..Each one of these stories could establish itself as some reader’s favorite."
--Kirkus, starred

From the Inside Flap

In her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2011, Geraldine Brooks draws the comparison between a well-told joke and a good short story. She writes, Each form relies on suggestion and economy. Characters have to be drawn in a few deft strokes. Theres generally a setup, a reveal, a reversal, and a release . . . In the joke and in the short story, the beginning and end are precisely anchored tent poles, and what lies between must pull so taut it twangs.
The twenty tightly crafted stories collected here are full of deftly drawn characters, universal truths, and often, like good jokes, surprising humor. Richard Powerss To the Measures Fall is a comic meditation on the uses of literature in the course of a life. In the satirical The Sleep, Caitlin Horrocks puts her fictional prairie town to bedthe inhabitants hibernate through the long winter as a form of escapewhile in Steve Millhausers imagined town the citizens are visited by ghostlike apparitions in The Phantoms. Allegra Goodmans spare but beautiful La Vita Nuova finds a jilted fiancée letting her art class paint all over her wedding dress as a poignant act of release. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wryly captures the social change in the air in Lagos, Nigeria, in her story of a wealthy young man who is not entirely at ease with what his life has become.
As Brooks pursued these richly imagined and varied landscapes she found that it was like walking into the best kind of party, where you can hole up in a corner with old friends for a while, then launch out among interesting strangers.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 0 edition (October 4, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0547242085
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0547242088
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.05 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1 x 8.75 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,670,531 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,265 in American Fiction Anthologies
- #16,913 in Short Stories Anthologies

Customer Reviews:
3.9 104 ratings

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Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5

104 global ratings

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A Gem of a Book! Good Fiction Is Timeless

Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2020

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There is one thing that makes this collection of short stories such an incredible read: Geraldine Brooks. Even though this accomplished fiction and nonfiction author didn't write a single story in this compilation, she is the one who selected each of the 20 stories, all of which were published in magazines in 2009 and 2010. But good fiction is timeless.

Some top authors are represented, including Jennifer Egan, Rebecca Makkai, Elizabeth McCracken, Richard Powers, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Joyce Carol Oates.

My favorites:
• "ID" by Joyce Carol Oates was so raw, realistic, and tragic that it felt as if it scraped my soul.
• "Foster" by Claire Keegan just took my breath away—and then I immediately bought two books of her short stories.
• "Ceiling," by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was the basis for her bestselling book "Americanah."
• "To the Measures Fall" is such a complete and ingenious story that it feels like a full novel.

If you love to read short stories, treat yourself to this. It's a gem!

Bonus: Both Geraldine Brooks's "Introduction" at the beginning of the book and the "Contributors' Notes" at the end of the book are fascinating and insightful. Do take the time to read them.

6 people found this helpful

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Garrett Zecker

Mediocre, strangely edited collection

Reviewed in the United States on August 3, 2013

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This collection from 2011 was not one of the most effective of the Best series, and it was disappointing in many ways. That said, there were some moments that stood out as masterful - Englander, McCracken, and Saunders were some of the most notable and pleasurable pieces in the book, but some of the other pieces felt as though they were included to pique the interest and tastes of all audiences, and I felt like Brooks' editing was all over the place in tone, scope, and even the general ordering of the pieces seemed not to make much sense. The central thread seemed as though there was a non-fiction journalistic sort of approach, and while I tend to normally enjoy these books, this collection was disappointing in this manner as some of these choices weren't very pleasant or refreshing. I felt some of the pieces were bland, and I was not enjoying getting through them. I felt like it was a classroom of writers exercise in collection, rather than an exercise in editing and choice. This is one of the few times I have been disappointed in Best American, so I will certainly continue to read them, but the energy that is normally infused in these collections is simply a cold rubber bladder rather than something I enjoyed.

7 people found this helpful

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Fred O

Read if only for the Foreword and Introduction

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2016

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An outstanding Foreword by Heidi Pitlor where she writes about the new norm of writing that is void of momentum and uninterested in the reader, and the introduction by Geraldine Brooks is even more fascinating and fun, every aspiring writer should read her "carps of the day." Some of the stories left me blank but then the writing was always excellent. I'll read anything Adichie writes and Ceiling didn't disappoint. Egan is a magician with words and mood, and La Vita Nuova was just so beautiful in its biting sparseness. Gurov in Manhattan was welcome sort of shout out to Chekhov, Foster--a must read, and of course Joyce Carol Oates never disappoints. But one of the more excellent stories was Escape from Spiderhead, a rarity of speculative fiction and a page turner that delves deep into the heart and the what it means to be human.

6 people found this helpful

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Jeri

A Good Year

Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2014

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I somehow have fallen three years behind when it comes to the BASS series. I found more stories on the engaging side for the 2011 editing than not. As always, anthologies like this vary depending on who the guest editor this year. Always a good mix, but the best of the best can at time feel like all the safe stories get picked, but at least I felt this year's was above average.

One person found this helpful

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Athene Five

Uneven collection of stories and somewhat dull

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2012

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Loving short stories as I do, I seized upon this free Kindle download as an opportunity to indulge in a first-rate read. I was,therefore, a little disappointed at the uneven quality of the stories. First of all, after a few stories, I began to think that they were all written by the same person- there is a depressive, dull tone that permeates the whole collection. There are a couple of standouts that are well-crafted, but most of them meander around to a non-conclusive conclusion. Sorry- I wouldn't recommend purchase of this book.

One person found this helpful

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Leo55

Fantastic Collection!

Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2012

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I love short stories -- perfect when you have a limited time to squeeze in a good read. This collection is filled with exceptional stories from a very diverse group of authors. Every story has kept me on an emotional or mental hook and caused me to reflect long after my Fire has been switched off and tucked away. These are stories that I will look forward to going back and re-reading in the months and years to come. Thanks for a stellar anthology!

2 people found this helpful

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dottie

Best American Short Stories

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2012

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I was disappointed in the overall selections for Best American Short Stories. The variety offered seemed to be all of the same genre with predictable endings. Although the authors were superb writers, the subject of the short stories lacked reader appeal overall. Why not include a few medical mystery or crime related dramas or, imagine this, an old fashioned love story where the couple got married and managed to live in a committed relationship? Please, editors provide a mixture which allows all audiences to pick and choose.

One person found this helpful

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Carol P

Love it

Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2021

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I have always had a passion for short stories so I am rarely disappointed

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