Honeydew

""Honeydew" by Edith PearlmanGood, but not quite as good as "Binocular Vision" , or maybe I just didn't identify as well with the characters. This time it was the inhabitants of Godolothian, a mythical slice of metropolitan Boston on the unsophisticated side. A middle-aged lady antique dealer who bought when people needed to sell to maintain a life and sold to those that needed to buy for the same reason, another middle age lady who sold houses when people could no longer afford them to people who would be in the same boat 25 years later, of working women who volunteered at the Ladle, a shelter that didn't ask questions for women who years ago would have been in an asylum. Two twentyish old maids to be on a cruise ship compliments of an uncle. A garralous Israeli woman who wanted to be close to her neighbors and they hid away to avoid her. The stuff of life on the mid-lower side of the city.

Each story is absorbing and unique. The author's tone is wise, understated, and insightful throughout. The stories are loosely linked, with some recurring characters, which makes the book more interesting as a whole. You can't help caring about the characters, and I found myself reading too quickly to find out how the stories turn out. The endings usually bear a surprise; not a shock, but an unexpected insight.

Read a New Yorker review of this book and author. Had never heard of her and now I can't wait to get my hands on other stories she's written. I love the way she tells a story, reminds me a bit of Alice Munro so if you like her work you'll probably love Pearlman's. These stories are literary fiction. She makes me think and reflect on things--often in a way that it never occurred to me to do.

This is impressive writing. Most of the stories will strike the heart deeply because the characters and situations deftly illuminate the loves and fears and experiences that are meaningful to individual readers. As for the few stories that did not resonate as strongly for me emotionally - and those were few out of this generous collection - I nevertheless deeply appreciated Ms. Pearlman's gifts of language and vision and empathy. This was a great choice for our book club, since there is so much breadth and depth.

Each of these stories (except for one clunker) is a finely polished gem. What strikes me about the book is its deep humanity. Characters, simultaneously sinners and saints, and always human, are presented in loving detail. The author's sympathy toward human beings and their lives of love, sex, betrayal and death, shines through each story. There is tragedy here, loneliness, but ultimately connection and joy. If you like Chekhov and Jhumpa Lahiri, you'll also enjoy Honeydew as much as I did.

Beautiful prose, so much attention to detail and such lovely descriptions. Emotionally engaging and stellar story telling. I had my favorites, and some I was less engaged with, but I definitely think it is worth the discriminating reader's time and attention.

this is a book of short stories. while it is good, her book Binocular Vision is the best. I read that Edith Pearlman was in league with Alice Munro and I agree.

Delicate, finely wrought stories about characters one comes to care about, or laugh about, or occasionally feel sad about. Such a wide variety!Themes of love and longing in these stories by a wise and graceful writer who has lived long enough to savor all of life.

It is not too far fetched to liken Edith Pearlman's stories to a pomegranate. The inventiveness of the narratives and the playfulness of the language are like those luminous seeds that you bite into only to find you have also bitten off a bit of bitter skin. Unlike Monroe's characters Pearlman's cone from all over the world and it is that added touch of cosmopolitanness that completes my huge pleasure in reading her.

I really prefer long novels but Honeydew, full of short stories, was amazing and kept me reading long after 'lights out' time! I am presently reading Binocular Vision, another Pearlman collection of short stories and am enjoying it so so much. I love the imagination and twists that Edith Pearlman can put into the everyday lives of people and with little connections here and there between some stories. I am looking forward to reading more of her work.

This is the second anthology of Edith Pearlman books, which I have read. The other is 'Binocular Vision.' I usually don't like short stories but these are simply outstanding. Each one stands alone and engages you. Edith has a staggering gift of getting into the heads of the people that she describes and making them seem real and vulnerable. These books are hard to put down. You feel enriched by reading them. Edith Pearlman is a genius, who deserves to receive much greater recognition. I hope that many of your customers will go on to read her books- they will not be disappointed!

Having been totally enamoured with Binocular Vision, this selection of short stories didn't quite meet those heights. However I will now read her next collection, Ms Pearlman can certainly tell a great story.

Edith Pearlman is a wonderful writer. Her choice of words and minimalist writing conveyed the whole picture so eloquently. An extraordinary subject with details of a small life which one could visualise down to the last detail. Not to be missed