Philip Stevick

Anti-Story should be called an anthology of Non-Traditional Fiction, as most of the short pieces within aren't attempting to break new ground as much as they employ uncommon variations of structure or narrative. The few selections that actually deserve the label of Experimental Fiction are "How I Contemplated the World from the Detroit House of Corrections and Began My Life Over Again" by Joyce Carol Oates, "Welcome to Utah" by Michel Butor, and "In the Heart of the Heart of the Country" by William Gass. Of course, this is debatable depending on where you draw the line between non-traditional and experimental, and there are definitely several works here that openly challenge (or even mock) the placement of that border.

Editor Philip Stevick organizes this selection of off-kilter literature into thematic groups: Against Mimesis (fiction about fiction), Against "Reality" (the uses of fantasy), Against Event (the primacy of voice), Against Subject (fiction in search of something to be about), Against the Middle Range of Experience (new forms of extremity), Against Analysis (the phenomenal world), Against Meaning (forms of the absurd), and the very brief Against Scale (the minimal story). Against Analysis and Against Event contain some of the most "experimental" work in the collection, containing some of the works previous mentioned, as well as the notable "In the Corridors of the Underground: The Escalator" by Alain Robbe-Grillet and "Last Class" by Theodore Roethke. Against Meaning and Against the Middle Range of Experience are personal favorites, with bizarre and off-beat tales such as "A Pedestrian Accident" by Robert Coover, and The Man in Pyjamas by Eugenio Montale.

Despite my quibbling over the semantics of the title, this is a very impressive collection of short fiction that will undoubtedly contain new and interesting material for even the most well-read individual. Some of the works within might be harder to get through than others depending on your experience level, and the impressively dense and non-linear works might leave a few readers behind. But if you're looking for literature beyond the norm, you would be hard-pressed to stumble over a more diverse cross-section of literary talent and gumption than this one.… (mehr)