All Those Sad, Sad Stories

Whenever I start reading one of the Best American Short Stories volumes, I always like to read the  guest editor's introduction, just to see how he or she managed to pick twenty stories from the 150 or so the series editor had passed along.  In his introduction to The Best American Short Stories 1990, Richard Ford does not explain, exactly, how he chose his twenty.  He spends a great deal of time explaining his disdain for theorizing about short fiction, and then goes on to say that his twenty were the best stories because they were "excellent" or "wonderful" (xiv) or "interesting" (xix), which, he admits, doesn't really explain anything.  So from his introduction I didn't learn very much about the stories I was soon to read, except perhaps that Mr. Ford is a bit prickly, and that I don't really like him very much.  And it made me wonder if I would like his selection of stories.

But I went on to read them anyway, and as of this morning I've read three: Edward Allen's "River of Toys," Richard Bausch's "The Fireman's Wife," and Pam Houston's "How to Talk to a Hunter."  Of the three authors, the only one I've read before is Pam Houston.  I started out determined to read in alphabetical order, the way the stories are arranged, but after the sad Allen story and the depressing Bausch story, I thought I'd skip to someone I know.  A woman, perhaps, would have a more uplifting tale to tell.

But, alas, I was disappointed to find that Houston's story completed the trio of sad stories about failed or failing love affairs.  Richard Ford admits that there isn't much humor in his collection of interesting stories.  I will admit that all three of those I read are interesting.  "River of Toys" uses a river to tell a story about a young man's life; "The Fireman's Wife" has an unexpected ending; "How to Talk to a Hunter" reads like a list of instructions.  And all are well written.  But still depressing.

I wonder if it's the year that's the problem.  Was the sad, interesting story in vogue then?  Maybe.  Or maybe those who write short stories are sad, interesting people?  I guess I'm kind of old fashioned; I want a story that's a "good yarn," as people used to term it.  So far . . . not so much.

But I'm hopeful as I read on.  And I'll let you know what I find!