Our Story Begins
Tobias Wolff, the writer who got me hooked on short stories when I rented a collection of his from Green Library while still a freshman in college, has come out with a new collection. It contains 10 new stories and 21 stories from his previous collections, some with edits.
The truth is that I have never regarded my stories as sacred texts. To the extent that they are still alive to me I take a continuing interest in giving that life its best expression. This satisfies a certain aesthetic restlessness, but I also consider it a form of courtesy. If I see a clumsy or superfluous passage, so will you, and why should I throw you out of the story with an irritation I could have prevented? Where I have felt the need for something better I have answered the need as best I can for now.
If you've never read any of his fiction, I give this collection my highest recommendation.
Our Story Begins: New and Selected Stories