Weekend Reading: Toibin, Kingsolver, and Lessing
To understand the short story form, I am reading any story I can lay my hands on, good or bad, classic or contemporary. Since I started this exploration in April, I have since discovered, but haven't read all, the leading names in the genre. This weekend I am reading stories from these books: Homeland and other stories by Barbara Kingsolver Mothers and Sons by Colm Toibin African Stories by Doris Lessing These are authors I have always known as novelists, yet they have also written some great stories. I met Kingsolver in The Poisonwood Bible , which I reviewed for a publication called English Tales. I remember admiring the research that Kingsolver did for the novel, and the way she exposed the stereotypes of Africa, critically revisiting the concept of the Dark Continent. Beyond these issues, the novel displayed great craft, especially in Point of View. Doris tends to be overwhelming, and I have only read two or three of her novels, but my all-time favorite is The Grass is Sing...