Through the Safety Net: stories

This lyrical, intensely personal collection of short stories mines the depths of simple souls in various stages of turmoil. A couple struggling with the death of their baby, a man painting his way out of the drudgery of his misspent life and into the melancholoy colors of old age, a young man intent on gaining fame through the sensational act of smashing through plate glass--these small stories are rendered large through gentle ironies woven into elegant prose. This collection could easily fall into common trap of hackneyed, pointless introspection, but it doesn't. Each story is far too clever, well-crafted, and even funny. In their own way each is wrapped in a veneer of hope, possibility, or at least, dignity. One of the cleverest of the bunch is "Gryphon", in which a young boy learns about the world from an eccentric teacher he's not likely to forget soon. "A Late Sunday Afternoon by the Huron" is an intimate pastiche, a beautiful literary take on a famous French painting. "Stained Glass" spins a familiar tale of love's follies with a delightful twist.Baxter brings the beauty of language and the saving grace of personal affection to his characters. In a short time they become old acquaintances. They're people one can continue to learn from the more one thinks.

Baxter never disappoints. He illuminates, illustrates, informs the art & practice of writing fiction, poetry, life. Unpretentious, Real. Must-reads: "Talking Forks," "Ryhming Action" His essays on fiction show why this novelist and short story writer also writes poetry, understands the poem, understands the Maginot line one crosses when reading a master. Baxter is a master.

good!

One of the best short story collections of the latter half of the 20th century.

may be the best short story writer out there!

The more I read from Charles Baxter the more impressed I am. It's rare to read a collection of short stories where none of them are mediocre. This book never hits a false note. Every story was interesting and quite often, funny. As usual the writing just flows and it seems effortless but obviously isn't. A great collection.