 First edition | |
| Author | Don DeLillo |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Short Stories |
| Publisher | Scribner |
Publication date | November 2011 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
The Angel Esmeralda: Nine Stories is a collection of short stories by Don DeLillo. The nine stories are printed in chronological order and were written between 1979 and 2011. It is DeLillo's only such collection.
| Story | Originally published in | Date |
|---|---|---|
| "Creation" | Antaeus | Spring 1979 |
| "Human Moments in World War III" | Esquire | July 1983 |
| "The Runner" | Harper's | September 1988 |
| "The Ivory Acrobat" | Granta | Autumn 1988 |
| "The Angel Esmeralda" | Esquire | May 1994 |
| "Baader-Meinhof" | The New Yorker | April 1, 2002 |
| "Midnight in Dostoevsky" | The New Yorker | November 30, 2009 |
| "Hammer and Sickle" | Harper's | December 2010 |
| "The Starveling" | Granta | Autumn 2011 |
The collection was widely praised by critics. Culture Critic assessed it an aggregated critic score of 90%. [1] Prosenotes gave it a "C" (73%) from critic reviews. The consensus says: "For those who enjoy older DeLillo, you will really like this book of short fiction. Some reviewers mentioned frustration that DeLillo made some of his characters hard to understand, but nearly all commended him for his artistic writing". [2] In the March/April 2012 issue of Bookmarks , the book was scored 3.5 out of 5. The magazine's critical summary reads: "The book, while not groundbreaking and, like most short story collections, a little uneven, is a solid introduction for those who have never read DeLillo and comfort food for the ones who already know what they're getting". [3]
The Guardian described the stories as "masterfully designed" and "great art." [4] Writing in The New Yorker, Martin Amis said: "These nine pieces add up to something considerable, and form a vital addition to the corpus." [5] The New York Times called the stories "excellent" and said "DeLillo packs fertile ruminations and potent consolation into each of these rich, dense, concentrated stories." [6] The Daily Telegraph called the stories "robustly brilliant." [7]
The Angel Esmeralda (Scribner edition) at the Internet Archive (account required)