Some say that the American short story is back in style because television has reduced our attention spans. Others argue that the return of the literary sprint began as a marketing strategy: publishers could reissue old collections by brand name writers much as art museums mount retrospectives. Perhaps, but there may be a simpler explanation. The short story does what many so-called serious new novels rarely do: it tells a story.
In his latest collection, Tobias Wolff tells ten of them, superbly. Tales of a priest, a real estate broker, a shoplifter, Viet Nam veterans, California coke heads, and even a...
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