“Short stories can be a tough sell. Strangely, they feel harder to write, and they give you a good deal of variety, but most people seem less interested in short stories than longform works.
A lot of claims have to do with the fact that you’re less invested in the story before it ends, which I get. But I would pose the theory that part of the problem with short story collections is that they tend to be a little uneven. Novels are equally so, but because they don’t delineate sections as heavily it’s a little less noticeable.
That unevenness is what kept this book from snagging a few more stars.
There were some truly excellent stories, such as “The Bridge” and “Temporary Stories.” But others were not as strong. “Somozas Dream” just didn’t hit the right chord for me, which was too bad because it’s about twice as long as the rest of the stories. All the other stories seemed to center around a character who acted as a cog in the machine, something that rang very true in the writing. But this story, the story of a South American dictator in exile, a man who turns the gears, didn’t offer me a whole lot. It didn’t hit those great short story notes, the small details that are somehow unexpected and yet totally familiar.
I’d recommend reading this out of order, starting with “The Bridge” and “Temporary Stories.” If you’re in love with those, “Officers Weep” and the title story are the next best, heartfelt and playful in their form.”