On with the Story
257 pages.
Original publisher: Little, Brown.
Current publisher: Back Bay Books.
Buy now from Amazon.com.
Synopsis
A collection of short stories, Barth’s first since 1968’s Lost in the Funhouse. In true Barthian fashion, the stories are interconnected by a frame-story of a middle-aged author and his wife telling their stories to one another in a “last resort.”
While not as ground-breaking as Funhouse, the stories are alternately refreshing and thought-provoking. It’s fun to see Barth getting back to the experimentation of his youth while maintaining the confidence and control of his mature writing. And unlike Funhouse, this collection doesn’t seem so fraught with its own importance.
One of Barth’s more pleasant reads, On with the Story gives me great hope for future work by Barth.
Contents
- The End: An Introduction
- Ad Infinitum: A Short Story
- And Then One Day…
- Preparing for the Storm
- On with the Story
- Love Explained
- “Waves,” by Amien Richard
- Stories of Our Lives
- Closing Out the Visit
- Good-bye to the Fruits
- Ever After
- Countdown: Once Upon a Time
Critical Reaction
“Remarkable and moving…. Barth is a master, a consummate craftsman. The book bubbles and flares with pyrotechnic competence, speaks often in bell-like tones, in perfect pitch.”
— Baltimore Sun
“On with the Story is an endgame — a funhouse of last resorts, last lectures, and last words, of last times, borrowed time, killing time and wiping out.”
— Chicago Tribune
Resources
- Reviews by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (New York Times) and Salon
- “Countdown — Once Upon a Time” in the Mississippi Review
- “Preparing for the Storm,” “Good-bye to the Fruits,” and “And Then One Day” in Conjunctions
- Little, Brown page for On with the Story
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