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The Paris Review Book of People with Problems
The Paris Review asks: who hasn’t survived a tax audit, a snowstorm, a break-up, or presided over a murder?
The next addictively clever Paris Review anthology is not a self-help manual; rather it is a wicked elaboration on the human effort to overcome--and instigate--trouble. Throughout these pages you will find men plagued with guilt, women burdened by history, scientists bound by passion, mothers fogged with delusion, and lovers vexed with jealousy. In the theme that encompasses every life, no protagonist--or reader!--is exempt.
Among those to appear:
- Annie Proulx
- Andre Dubus
- Norman Rush
- Charles Baxter
- Wells Tower
- Julie Orringer
- Elizabeth Gilbert
- Ben Okri
- Rick Bass
The next addictively clever Paris Review anthology is not a self-help manual; rather it is a wicked elaboration on the human effort to overcome--and instigate--trouble. Throughout these pages you will find men plagued with guilt, women burdened by history, scientists bound by passion, mothers fogged with delusion, and lovers vexed with jealousy. In the theme that encompasses every life, no protagonist--or reader!--is exempt.
Among those to appear:
- Annie Proulx
- Andre Dubus
- Norman Rush
- Charles Baxter
- Wells Tower
- Julie Orringer
- Elizabeth Gilbert
- Ben Okri
- Rick Bass
384 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2005
10 people are currently reading
191 people want to read
About the author
The Paris Review
119 books304 followersFounded in Paris by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton in 1953, The Paris Review began with a simple editorial mission: “Dear reader,” William Styron wrote in a letter in the inaugural issue, “The Paris Review hopes to emphasize creative work—fiction and poetry—not to the exclusion of criticism, but with the aim in mind of merely removing criticism from the dominating place it holds in most literary magazines and putting it pretty much where it belongs, i.e., somewhere near the back of the book. I think The Paris Review should welcome these people into its pages: the good writers and good poets, the non-drumbeaters and non-axe-grinders. So long as they're good.”
Decade after decade, the Review has introduced the important writers of the day. Adrienne Rich was first published in its pages, as were Philip Roth, V. S. Naipaul, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Mona Simpson, Edward P. Jones, and Rick Moody. Selections from Samuel Beckett's novel Molloy appeared in the fifth issue, one of his first publications in English. The magazine was also among the first to recognize the work of Jack Kerouac, with the publication of his short story, “The Mexican Girl,” in 1955. Other milestones of contemporary literature, now widely anthologized, also first made their appearance in The Paris Review: Italo Calvino's Last Comes the Raven, Philip Roth's Goodbye Columbus, Donald Barthelme's Alice, Jim Carroll's Basketball Diaries, Peter Matthiessen's Far Tortuga, Jeffrey Eugenides’s Virgin Suicides, and Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections.
In addition to the focus on original creative work, the founding editors found another alternative to criticism—letting the authors talk about their work themselves. The Review’s Writers at Work interview series offers authors a rare opportunity to discuss their life and art at length; they have responded with some of the most revealing self-portraits in literature. Among the interviewees are William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, Joan Didion, Seamus Heaney, Ian McEwan, and Lorrie Moore. In the words of one critic, it is “one of the single most persistent acts of cultural conservation in the history of the world.”
Decade after decade, the Review has introduced the important writers of the day. Adrienne Rich was first published in its pages, as were Philip Roth, V. S. Naipaul, T. Coraghessan Boyle, Mona Simpson, Edward P. Jones, and Rick Moody. Selections from Samuel Beckett's novel Molloy appeared in the fifth issue, one of his first publications in English. The magazine was also among the first to recognize the work of Jack Kerouac, with the publication of his short story, “The Mexican Girl,” in 1955. Other milestones of contemporary literature, now widely anthologized, also first made their appearance in The Paris Review: Italo Calvino's Last Comes the Raven, Philip Roth's Goodbye Columbus, Donald Barthelme's Alice, Jim Carroll's Basketball Diaries, Peter Matthiessen's Far Tortuga, Jeffrey Eugenides’s Virgin Suicides, and Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections.
In addition to the focus on original creative work, the founding editors found another alternative to criticism—letting the authors talk about their work themselves. The Review’s Writers at Work interview series offers authors a rare opportunity to discuss their life and art at length; they have responded with some of the most revealing self-portraits in literature. Among the interviewees are William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, Joan Didion, Seamus Heaney, Ian McEwan, and Lorrie Moore. In the words of one critic, it is “one of the single most persistent acts of cultural conservation in the history of the world.”
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
February 22, 2025
Fav story was def "Birthmark" by Miranda July
June 14, 2012
Problems indeed---that's putting it pretty mildly for some of the people in these stories. The stories are quite varied, but a few of them are just plain disturbing. Especially the last one---Crystal River by Charlie Smith. There are a few scenes in it that just kept me from sleeping, and I don't think the literary value of the story is high enough to make that worth it. I liked a few of the stories a lot---The Wamsutter Wolf by Annie Proulx is one. It's the first work by Annie Proulx I've read, and I think I'll seek out more by her. Another standout was the story by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'd say to approach this collection with caution. There's good reading here, but this is a true mixed bag in terms of quality, tone and content.
February 15, 2009
I bought this book several years ago but felt no inspiration to read it until a few weeks ago. Some of the short stories were totally off-the-wall and wonderful, others were kind of lackluster. I'm very happy to have read short stories by so many notable authors, several of whom are Guggenheim fellows, and others who have won the Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award, and the Booker Prize. After getting a taste of all these different writing styles, I'm pretty excited to read more by Annie Proulx, Elizabeth Gilbert, Charles Baxter and Richard Stern.
Currently reading
October 15, 2008Three sentences into the intro and I can't go any further. Somebody please help. What the hell does, "With never enough clothing, we have to express our bootless rage not through the second skin of fashion (it's too cold) but through the third skin of our decor" mean?
I don't understand the second sentence either. :(
Very frustrating, this "hilarious introduction by Stephin Merritt."
I don't understand the second sentence either. :(
Very frustrating, this "hilarious introduction by Stephin Merritt."
Read
January 19, 2025i find this hard to rate since a short story collection from a ton of different authors, i obviously liked some more than others but they were all written well and gave me a new appreciation for fictional short stories
November 27, 2017
Oh, Paris Review. Beautifully written short (and long) stories, too many of which have unsatisfying endings and center around people that don't actually do things that real people would really do.
December 18, 2021
I could more easily rank the stories in order I disliked rather than liked.
April 17, 2016
When I first saw this title, 1CThe Paris Book of People with Problems, 1D I thought to myself this book is for me. Actually, forget about me, I liked the stories by Annie Proulx, Charlie Smith, Julie Orringer and Malinda McCollum.
My favorite has to be Denis Johnson 19s 1CTrain Dreams 1D. I read this one first in an O.Henry Prize Story anthology (2003). It 19s long and meandering, so much so that when O. Henry juror Jennifer Egan chose it as a favorites, she explained that it wasn 19t the most compelling thing she ever read, nor did it move her on a psychological or emotional level. She voted it as the best short story of the year because she was totally trapped in its mystery 13 she didn 19t know what it was about!
I second that motion. The story is great. I bought the Paris Review to read it again and again. Initially, I became extremely nervous about a white guy showing little remorse about the murder of a Chinaman in the historic Pacific Northwest, but gradually my anxiety dissipated when Johnson took me away from one mystery and into another. I 19m not sure what this story is about either. I know that a guy is born on a train, and he is probably going to die on one or close enough to hear a whistle in the background. In between there is the beauty of the landscape and the violence of its destruction. Johnson pays close attention to details of the setting 13 the summer heat, the smell of explosives, the poverty of depression era existence.
But from these details, rise a certain spiritual wonder. I 19ve read many other Johnson short stories. And they are short, and to the point. They seem to capture the sadness of a moment. Here Johnson strives to capture something much bigger. There 19s Kootenai Bob who upon getting drunk for the first time in his life wanders on to the train tracks and gets flattened. There was the guy who was accidentally shot by his own dog! And don 19t stop reading until you get to like the 75th page, and you will meet up with the wolfboy who howls secret perspective on the meaning of life.
OK. I liked Annie Proulx who created desperate characters living in desperate situations. And Julie Orringer masterfully sets straight a lifetime of personal frustration and animosity between two sisters. It 19s Denis Johnson, however, I read for 75 pages to get to the howl of the wolfboy: 1Cmore and more awful and beautiful, the originating ideal of all such sounds ever made, of the foghorn and the ship 19s horn, the locomotive 19s lonesome whistle, of opera singing and the music of flutes and the continuous music of bagpipes.. 1D
Who was the wolfboy, and what did he mean to the story? I 19m not sure I care, but I agree with Jennifer Egan when she says that the story 19s strangeness far outweighs any of its confusion. It 19s great!
My favorite has to be Denis Johnson 19s 1CTrain Dreams 1D. I read this one first in an O.Henry Prize Story anthology (2003). It 19s long and meandering, so much so that when O. Henry juror Jennifer Egan chose it as a favorites, she explained that it wasn 19t the most compelling thing she ever read, nor did it move her on a psychological or emotional level. She voted it as the best short story of the year because she was totally trapped in its mystery 13 she didn 19t know what it was about!
I second that motion. The story is great. I bought the Paris Review to read it again and again. Initially, I became extremely nervous about a white guy showing little remorse about the murder of a Chinaman in the historic Pacific Northwest, but gradually my anxiety dissipated when Johnson took me away from one mystery and into another. I 19m not sure what this story is about either. I know that a guy is born on a train, and he is probably going to die on one or close enough to hear a whistle in the background. In between there is the beauty of the landscape and the violence of its destruction. Johnson pays close attention to details of the setting 13 the summer heat, the smell of explosives, the poverty of depression era existence.
But from these details, rise a certain spiritual wonder. I 19ve read many other Johnson short stories. And they are short, and to the point. They seem to capture the sadness of a moment. Here Johnson strives to capture something much bigger. There 19s Kootenai Bob who upon getting drunk for the first time in his life wanders on to the train tracks and gets flattened. There was the guy who was accidentally shot by his own dog! And don 19t stop reading until you get to like the 75th page, and you will meet up with the wolfboy who howls secret perspective on the meaning of life.
OK. I liked Annie Proulx who created desperate characters living in desperate situations. And Julie Orringer masterfully sets straight a lifetime of personal frustration and animosity between two sisters. It 19s Denis Johnson, however, I read for 75 pages to get to the howl of the wolfboy: 1Cmore and more awful and beautiful, the originating ideal of all such sounds ever made, of the foghorn and the ship 19s horn, the locomotive 19s lonesome whistle, of opera singing and the music of flutes and the continuous music of bagpipes.. 1D
Who was the wolfboy, and what did he mean to the story? I 19m not sure I care, but I agree with Jennifer Egan when she says that the story 19s strangeness far outweighs any of its confusion. It 19s great!
February 13, 2008
Hey, I don't usually like short stories, but some of these are great. This avoids the single-author collection problem of getting sick of that one voice. I especially like the poignant "When She is Old and I am Famous," a narrated by an overweight art student about her cousin, the beautiful model.
August 28, 2011
Might more aptly be titled the book of authors with problems. I anticipated depression, tragedy and so on - I didn't anticipate some bad writing and a general sense of hopelessness. There are some amazing contributors such as E Annie Proulx and Ben Okri but even their contributions are poor and are far from their best writing. A generally unpleasant and forgettable volume.
January 17, 2013
I give this book five stars because it truly lives up to its name. Any problem I thought I had paled into insignificance when compared to the problems experiences by the people in this book. I am halfway, the point is made, I can read no further.
January 31, 2014
I enjoyed most of this book. I enjoyed some of the stories less than others, but this is pretty typical for an anthology with various authors. Some of the stories did have me laughing out loud, multiple times!
July 12, 2007
Short fiction by various authors. Definitely a mixed bag, with strong, heartbreaking contributions from Elizabeth Gilbert, James Lasdun and Miranda July.
July 17, 2007
I bought this book on recommendation of a local writer and found it to have wonderfully written short stories! Great reading for the bedside to the beach!
April 14, 2008
Concise and sweet stories. I'll surely look out for other publications by a few of these featured writers.
July 19, 2008
even more depressing than I had anticipated....
April 23, 2009
More uneven than their "Book for Planes, Trains, Elevators, and Waiting Rooms," but there were some great stories in here, including one by Charles Baxter that I hadn't come across previously.
November 17, 2009
This is a really great collection of new short stories-Annie Prolux, Miranda July, Wells Tower...it's depressing but overall a lot of fun. I really recommend it.
May 3, 2010
Sufficiently if not extravagantly awesome.
June 8, 2014
Deftly curataed and a gas to read. Not a boring or disappointing one in the bunch.
October 31, 2014
Ci sono alcuni gioielli.
[Il lupo di Wamsutter
Il racconto dell'eremita
Il quinto muro
Sogni di treni
Il famoso trucco della sigaretta accesa spezzata e riaggiustata.]
[Il lupo di Wamsutter
Il racconto dell'eremita
Il quinto muro
Sogni di treni
Il famoso trucco della sigaretta accesa spezzata e riaggiustata.]
May 1, 2016
stories are not exceptional, although I only read a select few.
December 2, 2016
3.5 stars
July 2, 2007
Summertime is made for short stories, and this edition of the Paris Review comes highly rated.
July 2, 2009
Good stories, all, but the introduction by Stephin Merritt alone makes this worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews