All the Time in the World (book)

Last updated

All the Time in the World : New and Selected Stories
All the time in the world doctorow 2011.jpg
Author E. L. Doctorow
LanguageEnglish
Genre Short Story Collection
Publisher Random House
Publication date
March 22, 2011
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardcover)
Pages304
ISBN 978-1-4000-6963-7
LC Class PS3554.O3 A79 2011

All the Time in the World: New and Selected Stories is a collection of short stories by American author E.L. Doctorow. This book was first published in 2011 by Random House. [1]

Contents

The stories

The twelve (12) stories in this collection appear in the following sequence: [2]

Background

Reception

Christian Williams for The A.V. Club gives the collection an A− grade saying: "While the abruptness of the stories' conclusions go from rattling to occasionally repetitive, though, the openings are always fresh, as Doctorow skillfully shifts perspective and style to better examine how the same weaknesses that make us human can also rob us of our humanity." [3] Jess Row in The New York Times is not impressed, writing: "Doctorow's novels tend to follow a deductive logic, beginning with the great themes of an era (or simply with a set of historical facts) and then dramatizing them in an interwoven ensemble of characters. Without a substantial dose of irony, short stories don't work that way; the heavy-handedness of the novelist smashes them flat." [4] David L. Ulin for the Los Angeles Times sees some value in mixing the older stories with the new: "this too is in the nature of a new and selected, to operate as a bit of a grab bag, and in so doing to let us read the work anew. To be sure, that's the case with the six older stories, which trace, with grace and acuity, the tension between longing and obligation, between who we are and who we mean to be." [5]

References

  1. Doctorow, E. L. (2011). All the Time in the World: New and Selected Short Stories . New York: Random House. pp.  304. ISBN   978-1-4000-6963-7.
  2. E. L. Doctorow. "All the Time in the World: New and Selected Stories." Random House, 2011.
  3. Williams, Christian (April 28, 2011). "All The Time In The World". Review. A.V. Club. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  4. Row, Jess (April 1, 2011). "E. L. Doctorow's Stories". The New York Times Sunday Book Review. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
  5. Ulin, David L. (March 20, 2011). "Book Review: 'All the Time in the World' by E.L. Doctorow". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 15, 2011.