The Rif Raff Book Club selection for April was Stories in an Almost Classical Mode by Harold Brodkey.

Stories in an Almost Classical Mode by Harold Brodkey

I didn't like this collection of short stories as I was reading it. As I found out more about the book and the authors background, I started to warm up to it. The fact that it was a collection of short stories in a sequential order to the authors work was interesting. His depiction of women had an odd edge to it. I wasn't sure if he was a Mommy's boy turned to hate mama or somehow he was burned by women through his life. All the portrayals of women were in a harsh light. I think readers are used to women being thought of as tender, compassionate or understanding. This author turned those obvious stereotypes upside down. He wrote about unusual subject manner in an erudite manner that required the reader to really be focused on the writing. This was a chore without adequate payoff. I felt better about reading the work after the book club discussion. At least I wasn't thinking it was a complete waste of time. Read some of his work if you have time to ponder the meaning or if you want to have a discussion with someone who likes to uncover the complexities of short story writing.

Stories in an Almost Classical Mode was not very enjoyable. After reading two stories randomly, I realized that they were meant to be read in sequential order, which sort of irked me. Are all collections of short stories to be read that way? And this guy had some mother issues to work out, and his sister wasn't exactly a walk in the park either.

Wonderful short stories!