Sally Rooney, Emma Cline, Tiphanie Yanique, Anthony Doerr, 2021's short stories are generous in both genre and craft.

I love short stories and have always tried to read the best of books for each year. 2021 was a great year for writing, and I very much enjoyed these stories!

The Best Short Stories 2021 is a collection of 20 well-written literary fiction stories with various themes. Most of them are diverse stories has tragic, sad, depressing, and heartbreaking tone, and political writing. You need to be in a particular mood for this. I don’t read that many literary fiction and never have read any award winning stories or those published in New Yorker and such magazines so I didn’t enjoy all stories as I felt they were too highbrow for me but some were truly masterpieces that I, who prefers normal stories like normal readers, enjoyed. I also enjoyed reading the preface why these stories were put together and what editor felt about them. There is also interview in the end with each author that includes what inspired them to write the story.

Review of each Twenty prizewinning stories
Brown Girl (3 ⭐) – this is about racism, life of immigrants, colonialism, and class that shapes the life of women of colour. Writing is poetic and I’m not poetry person. I also felt this isn’t for me and half the story went over my head.

Two Nurses (3 ⭐) – This is story of two nurses sharing their life stories during break. It is about abuse, PTSD. This was okay in the beginning but by the end I found it was well written.

Malliga Homes (5 ⭐) – This is set in Chennai, India. It is touching story told by a mother living in old age home and nursing facility with other old age parents whose kids left to live in other countries. This is a story I have seen often with my own eyes and so it felt very realistic and relatable. It was sad to see parents pinning to see their kids and grandkids who move on in life forgetting or more like neglecting parents’ feelings. It isn’t like their kids were bad and didn’t ask them to move with them to the country. Parents couldn’t adjust lifestyle in other countries as their whole life and comfort was their own home and friends in their home country but as there weren’t any close relatives to look after them they had no choice but live in old age home.

Endangered Species (4 ⭐) – This is heartbreaking story of black mother who was living in constant fear with all the news she heard about injustice towards black poeple. It is sad and interesting author gave the title of this story about black people an “Endangered Species”. That itself says a lot.

From Far Around They Sae us Burning (5⭐) – This is about historical injustice, story written from testimony and documents relating to fire at St. Joseph’s orphanage in Cavan on 23rd Feb, 1943. It was sad, heartbreaking and outrageous to read the way nuns and religious people running the orphanage treated girls, instilled fear of God and stuck to their religious and patriarchal discipline when fire started. They could have saved them all but didn’t do anything why, because girls were in nighties and they believed it is sin to be seen by village men in nighties! (Not much have changed. Even after so many years some people still consider religions, disciplines, and patrirchy above humanity.)

Things we Worried about When I was Ten (4⭐) This is about bully, abuse, life of unloved, misguided and ignored kids whose parents and adults around them were abusive. It was heartfelt and sad story.

Scissor (3.5⭐) – Set in borders of Mexico, about poverty, story of family of women left behind scavenging food and filled their bellies by selling their hairs. It is short and tragic story.

Witness (3.5 ⭐) – This story is about medical racism. It’s story of an African Immigrant who suffered from brain stroke but wasn’t treated well and her symptoms weren’t taken seriously as she was person of colour. It was tragic and so unfair to read what characters had to go through.

The Other One (4⭐) – The story is about betrayal, grief, and loss. It wasn’t as good as previous stories I enjoyed but I liked how in just few pages author told the story of a girl coping with loss and betrayal of her father, selfishness of her mother, and need of finding a connection with other girl who lived in accident and managed to surprise me in the end.

Becoming the Baby Girl (3.5 ⭐) – This has horrible beginning with professor letting his bodyguards in examination hall and checking girls by touching them to see if they are hiding any cheat sheet on their body. I was surprised to see this can happen in college and that professor could get away with it and girl was naive enough to be deceived by whole setup. The story is about manipulation, racism, exploitation, abuse, and helplessness.

Master’s castle (4⭐) – The story is about unrequited love, alcoholic wife and unhappy married life of average man who wasn’t good at anything except optometry. I like the message of the story how not getting what you wish for isn’t always bad thing, you still get get something special, and making life better is in your hands and within reach if you want to.

Living Sea (3⭐) – This is story of orphan life, mental health, and young love. The beginning and end is great but I didn’t enjoy the middle part.

Freedom from Want (3⭐) – This started well but as story progressed I lost interest in it. It is the story of 57 yrs old Saul suffering from liver cancer told from his sister’s POV. Like title suggests, I could see Saul’s need of ‘freedom from want’ in story but by the end it kinda lost its meaning.

Fisherman’s Stew (2.5⭐) – This is story of loss, grief, longing and love. Story of love even after death, of 67 yrs old wife who lost her husband but still imagined him loving her. This was too short and it didn’t give solid impression.

White Noise (3.5⭐) – Story about ‘me too’ movement, based om Harvey Weinstein, a story of culprit awaiting the verdict of sexual harrasement and rape trial. It was interesting to read culprit’s perspective who was arrogant and self-obsessed who didn’t see himself as predator, experiencing moments of humanity and fear near the day of verdict. Character felt unbelivabley human even though what he did was wrong.

Delandria (3⭐) – Story of young black professor who was driven on the edge by racism in academia.

Antediluvian (4⭐)– Story of award winning photojournalist who has nightmares and felt guilt for not doing enough for people whose stories he captured. This is about injuries inflicted by work and how that change the person.

Grief’s Garden (3.5⭐) – Story of wife who loved her husband so much that she gave up her life and devoted it in taking care of him. It was story of hope and longing.

To the Dog (2⭐) This might be realistic but I hated what they did to dogs in this story. If you’re dog lover, I will suggest skipping this story. It was gross, horrible and chilling story. Even in hardcore poverty, and dying of hunger I wouldn’t do this and I was disgusted by main character who didn’t take stand and went along with what men were doing to live and survive harsh winter, region, and job.

Colour and Light (3⭐) – This is story of love and heartbreak, of a boy working in hotel falling in love with mysterious girl came in town for holiday and was left heartbroken. This ended abruptly.

Overall, The Best Short Stories 2021 is well written, diverse, and poignant collection of twenty prizewinning stories with political writing.

I recommend this if you like,
Slow read
literary fictions
diverse themes and setting
Realistic and relatable stories
sad and depressing tone
Like stories featuring in NewYorker and such magazines

An interesting book. I love her unique perspective. The collection was wonderful and I can't wait to read it again

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book. All opinions are my own. Short stories and short films are beautiful representations of the their medium. It's a true test of skill to create an interesting short work of fiction that captures the attention of the reader. This is a beautiful anthology, and highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley for this book!

I don’t read a ton of story collections, but I’m always pleased after I finish one. I love discovering new authors whose story has stuck with me. And I think it’s so much more challenging to write a short story than a novel. You have so little space to make an impact on the reader. I broke this book up into chunks, reading one or two stories a day, and that method worked really well for me. Overall, I really enjoyed these stories.

From Goodreads: Twenty prizewinning stories selected from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year–continuing the O. Henry Prize’s century-long tradition of literary excellence.

Now entering its second century, the prestigious annual story anthology has a new title, a new look, and a new guest editor. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie has brought her own refreshing perspective to the prize, selecting stories by an engaging mix of celebrated names and young emerging voices. The winning stories are accompanied by an introduction by Adichie, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and an extensive resource list of magazines that publish short fiction.

Featured in this collection: Daphne Palasi Andreades – David Means- Sindya Bhanoo- Crystal Wilkinson- Alice Jolly- David Rabe- Karina Sainz Borgo (translator, Elizabeth Bryer) – Jamel Brinkley- Tessa Hadley – Adachioma Ezeano- Anthony Doerr- Tiphanie Yanique – Joan Silber – Jowhor Ile – Emma Cline – Asali Solomon – Ben Hinshaw – Caroline Albertine Minor (translator, Caroline Waight) – Jianan Qian – Sally Rooney

Several of these stories really stuck with me, particularly the ones from Daphne Palasi Andreades, Crystal Wilkinson, Jamal Brinkley, and Jianan Qian, all of who are new to me. I’ve never read any of their other works. But you really can’t go wrong with this collection. Each one has something that you’ll enjoy. I’m glad I picked this one up.

This was an excellent collection of short stories. As usual with these types of publications, some stories stood out to me more than others, either because of the writing, style or theme, but overall it was a good read featuring some authors I'm going to keep an eye out for longer works.

Special thanks to Know Doubleday Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

This is a great anthology book and deserving of the O. Henry Prize with award winning stories. I feel like this book had some really great stories in it. I had favorites of course like White Noise by Emma Clone and Grief's Garden by Caroline Albert one Minor but there are many, many great treasures in this book. Of course, in an anthology book, there are some stories that are not for you, but I felt these stories had a lot more I liked than didn't.

Some stories are heartbreaking and some uplifting, but they all bring something to the table. Excellent!

For me great short stories are truly a test of an accomplished writer - there’s so much to be delivered in a few pages to connect with and satisfy the reader. I found a few stories in this collection did the job, some, were close but didn’t quite get there, and others that didn’t come close. This collection of short stories is wide ranging in themes, settings, and writing styles resulting in a nice diverse package and a list of authors to follow into the future. My favorites include: Malliga Homes, From Far Away They Saw Us Burn, Scissors, The Other One, To The Dogs, and Color and Light. Nice introduction by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I really liked all these stories, which is rare for me with a collection like this. All 20 stories moved me in some manner, but "White Noise" by Emma Cline and "Color and Light" by Sandy Rooney were my favorites. Rooney really knows how to create dynamic characters and captivating storylines.

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Anchor for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of this great book of exceptional stories.

What a fantastic collection of stories by some of today's best authors. I went straight to Karina Sainz Borgo's story, and in three pages I immediately transported to the Venezuelan culture of my childhood, the author really brings it to life beautifully. Three pages that left me wanting more. Then there's a story by Sally Rooney, an author I love for her quiet incisiveness and merging of thought, narration and dialogue into one fluid narration. I loved Normal People and her story in this collection, Color and Light, has a similar style. With this incredible array of authors, readers can revisit old favorites or discover that author they know about, but haven't yet experience. Highly, highly recommended.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5. Twenty stand-outs very deserving of the O. Henry Prize, the oldest and most prestigious award for short fiction in America.

It was an honor to receive an advance copy in exchange for my honest review. Many thanks to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Anchor Books, and Netgalley. This collection is available NOW!

Reading this collection is like getting a masterclass in how to write from twenty different experts. Even when I didn’t personally connect with a story, I was so impressed with the CRAFT that was on display. This time around, O. Henry invited a guest editor to choose the stories (the amazing Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie - yay!) and considered works in translation (double yay!). Explaining how she chose the pieces, Adichie says: “I look to stories for consolation, the kind of small consolation that one needs to want to wake up every day; as templates for life; for news of how others live; for reminders that life’s mysteries have no keys.” YES. This really resonates with me and I could gush about Adichie for pages and pages.

The stand-outs for me, and the themes that caught my attention, were:

*Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
(racism, class, colonialism, immigration, gender — thoughtful, political)

*Endangered Species: Case 47401 by Crystal Wilkinson
(displacement, racism, black lives matter — powerful)

*Things We Worried About When I Was Ten by David Rabe
(class, bullying, poverty, anxiety — strong narrative voice)

*Freedom From Want by Joan Silber
(death and dying, relationships, LGBTQ — emotional)

*White Noise by Emma Cline
(me too movement, wealth and power, Hollywood — spot on)

*Color and Light by Sally Rooney
(longing and intimacy, relationships — enigmatic and strong characters)

One caution: I read this collection completely cold, which I often do with fiction. In this case, several of the stories were quite disturbing. Witness, Delandria, Grief’s Garden, and To the Dogs all have pretty graphic, unsettling elements, and in particular, I found From Far Around They Saw Us Burn to be way too much for me and I wish I would have known what it was about so that I could at least brace myself, or perhaps skip it all together. Everyone has different trigger points, and sensitive readers should consider this before reading this collection.

Thanks Anchor Books and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

How fitting this book is for Short Story September! I've pre-ordered a copy for myself bc it's the kind of book worth revisiting with fresh eyes from time to time. It's so very rare that I look forward to picking up an anthology after i put it down, but this well-curated collection did it for me.

Each story brings something unique to the table, all sensible and thought provoking with the precision and neatness not many short stories actually achieve. This is a book that will make you think more than you expect it to; it challenges some of the subtle and not so subtle intricacies of humanity. The stories vary in their topics, structures and voices; some are more disturbing than the others, some heartbreaking, some uplifting, but all more than well deserved the O. Henry Prize with their award-winning literary craftsmanship, dark humor, and thoughtful reflections of the world within and around us. Even the stories that didn't hit for me are interesting and bold.

My personal standout in the already very strong anthology: Malliga Homes by Sindya Bhanoo, Delandria by Asali Solomon, White Noise by Emma Cline, Color and Light by Sally Rooney, Grief’s Garden by Caroline Albertine Minor

I was excited to read this book, as I love good short stories, especially those by Alice Munro and writers like her. While I really enjoyed some of these stories, many were just a little too highbrow for me.
For example, "Delandria" is a story about a professor, Magna, who is mourning the loss of her lover, another academic who has moved on, thus leaving Magna stuck in a small town. As a black woman in small town America, there are certainly some issues that need to be overcome, so I get the issues of race. But, I am not down with disparaging the students at a small university just because they come from working class backgrounds. When i Was Ten" by David Rabe comes at class struggles from another angle. Told as a memoir about growing up poor in a time and place when it is okay to smack kids around (and your wife, if that is necessary), this story speaks about real life in many ways and Rabe gets the voice just about perfect!
However, this and several of the stories were first published in The New Yorker, a publication I regularly read, so there were not too many stories here that were new to me.
While I have read Adiche and usually find her writing compelling, I would just say that she and I do not have the same taste in reading.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Best Short Stories collections never fail to disappoint! Featuring twenty stories from O. Henry Prize winners, this year's collection deals deeply with life, love, loss, and the complexities of navigating the modern world.

I'm not sure that I have much to say beyond that I really, really enjoyed this collection. The pieces were all written at an elevated level; none of them wasted time or space, and the characters were rich and round and the stories were beautiful and thought-provoking and heartbreaking. They are stories that you can't just read once. I know I will be thinking about them, and re-reading them, quite often from here on out.

There is nothing more satisfying than reading a wonderfully written short story and The Best Short. Stories 2021 The O. Henry Prize Winners is chalk full of them. These authors are brave, current and bold including writers such as Daphne Palasi Andreades, David Rabe and Jowhor Ile. As a short fiction writing instructor myself, I learned as much about the craft and possibility when it comes to writing short fiction, as well as rediscovered the humanity involved in reading fiction. Some of these stories took my breath away. These stories speak about our current times as much as they inhabit that timeless space for spectacular writers. I will be returning to these stories again and again to ponder, be in awe and feel. Thank you so Knopf for the advanced review copy.

I love this book of short stories enjoyed reading each and everyone. I highly recommend this book I think you’ll enjoy the selection.