Rated of 5
by Beverly Cheating at Canasta by William Trevor
Trevor's main characters experience profound perceptions of self and situations that bring resolution/acceptance, slowly, ruefully. There is poetry in Trevor's prose -- graceful words and poignant, telling phrases.
From "The Children": "Connie and her father, while slowly coming to terms with the loss they had suffered, shared the awareness of a ghost that fleetingly demanded no more than to be remembered. Life continuing could not fold away what had happened but it offered something, blurring the drama of death's immediacy."
Serious readers are often avid people - watchers, curious about fears, desires, triumphs, loves, cruelties, betrayals: the human condition revealed. This isn't a book to be rushed through, but it is remarkable. I highly recommend it.
Rated of 5
by Melissa Leaves You Wanting More
Many of the stories are open-ended leaving the reader to imagine what takes place after the written page ends. A writer’s job is to bring us into the stories they have written, and William Trevor certainly does that. I look forward to reading more of his work. The only problem I have with this book is that I wish many of stories were longer! But, alas, these are "short" stories. I’d love to read a full-length book about the characters in “The Dressmaker’s Child,” as well as “The Room.” What fascinating reads!
Rated of 5
by John Enjoyable reading
I have not previously read any of William Trevor's works, nor do I normally enjoy short stories. Trevor's writing is intelligent and thought provoking. Many of the stories make you wish that they had been expanded upon in the form of a novel. They leave you wanting more.
Rated of 5
by Valerie Portrait of Our Humanity
William Trevor's collections of short stories reveals the dark side present in all of us. Leaving the scene of an accident, lying, cheating on spouses are temptations many are faced with during their lifetime. Trevor portrays their humanity with empathy. This collection is a very enjoyable and insightful read.
Rated of 5
by Lisa Cheating at Canasta
"Cheating at Canasta" is an excellent portrayal of the lackluster life of the ordinary man. His use of human emotions in each of the main characters is poignant. They run the gamut of guilt to grief. He leaves the reader hoping for more for each one of them. A great read; fodder for discussion.
Rated of 5
by Steve A Good Read
Trevors' new book is magnetic, his vocabulary is refreshing on both an intellectual and descriptive level. His characters are vibrant and compelling, each with their own nuances and insights. I did not enjoy "At Olivehill". The suspense was overdone and boring. As a whole, Trevor has done it! Powerful and unique.
Stranger than fiction, blending tragedy and farce, How to Create the Perfect Wife is an engrossing tale of the radicalism, and deep contradictions, at the heart of the Enlightenment.
Although heavy on the scientific details, which slowed down the story for me (OK, I admit, I was one of those liberal arts majors who skipped out on...
read more
Loved this book. Magical, quirky, enchanting I could go on. All books do not have to be literary fiction, sometimes it is just so comforting to read...
read more
Can an wiser, older narrator view the past with more wisdom than he might have possessed forty years earlier in the summer he was thirteen? Ordinary...
read more
U.S. ebook sales up in 2012, but rate of growth is slowing(May 16 2013) In 2012, trade book sales (i.e. non academic book sales) rose 6.9%, to $15.049 billion, and e-book sales continued to grow, although the rate of growth...
Full Story
of 5
by Beverly 
of 5
by Melissa 
