Product Description

MTV has discovered the authors of tomorrow. Read them today in Pieces.

This unique short-story collection is more than a good read -- it's an exciting glimpse into the future of fiction. The winners of MTV's "Write Stuff" competition share their voices and visions in tales that are endearingly raw, undeniably bold, and engagingly inventive.

In Next Time, a housewife encounters a gunman -- an experience that changes her life, and her mind, in surprising ways...Pinball is an edgy tale of a young mail clerk's hidden sex life...After her broken engagement, a cook in New York goes to work for a chic SoHo couple in Roam...Mother captures the tragedy of a woman's illness, as witnessed through her daughter's eyes...In Day of the Dead, a humorously doomed relationship begins when a twentysomething's boyfriend returns from an Outward Bound trip and moves in with her...Two old high school friends reunite -- and compare their very different lives -- in Black Cowboy.

Along with other stories and an introduction by Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), Pieces is filled with the excitement of discovery -- as a host of newcomers present their works to a wide and eager audience.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52683 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780671001957
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Customer Reviews

an amazing collection of stories
This collection of short stories left me wanting more from many of the authors included, many of which are working on novels. I was first led to this book by the editer, Stephen Chbosky, whose novel, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, as become a personal favorite, one I've already read twice.

The stories included are all refreshing and range greatly in style and subject matter. I was amazed by so many of them and was stunned by the authors interesting, hip and refreshing take on telling a story. I don't normally read short stories, but I really liked reading them because so many of them are very short, 10 pages or less and you can read them quickly and be done with those characters. Also if there is one you don't care much for it's not very long and you can move on to another more interesting story.

Some of my favorite stories were, "Polariod," which gets you into the mind of crowd all standing around the Eiffel Tower. The way the story is told is awesome and leaves you satisfied. "The Carnival" was another favorite, it's amazing use of metaphor will leave you breathless.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in finding new, fresh, authors who aren't afraid of shocking you.

Pieces
Pieces isnt a bad book at all! I had some low expectations for it due to some of the other reviews, but all in all I was pleasantly surprised with most parts of the book. It isnt very reminiscient of "Perks of Being a Wallflower" if you're expecting that.

Overall, I give it a B, some of the stories were horrible (Mother, White Carousel Horse) and then, some were marvelous,(Roam, Forbidden Fate). Others were mediocre.

Dont listen to the people saying this book is "too much to take" because I am 16 and a high school junior. I found it to be a good read that kept me interested and entertained.

a grade chart for these stories
when i read a collection of short stories, i like to pretend that i am the teacher in a creative writing class and give the stories and their authors a grade. this helps me decide which authors i am going to pursue further (i use collections to find new authors). i decided to publish my grades on this collection after seeing other assesments here that were grossly out of line with mine. and my grades are.....

scoring - B minus
polaroid - C
day of the dead - B
the white carousel horse - F
first snow - B
the carnival - F
petty theft - C minus
next time - B
black cowboy - A
pinball - C
mother - F
respiration - C minus
a fortune - D
forbidden state - C minus

notice the nice distribution all averaging to a C. by the way, any editors or english departments that read these and decide to do the same and come up with the exact same grades as i, and realizing my undiscovered genius wish to employ me, i am available.

to those authors who got bad grades, its just one man's very subjective opinion. you should be chuffed that you got published and dont give up. to carmen elena mitchell, i am awaiting more with great anticipation.