The Virginity of Famous Men Kindle Edition

I've read all of Christine Sneed's published works, starting with her first collection of short stories, "Portraits of a Few of the People I've Made Cry," and continuing with her two novels, "Little Known Facts" and "Paris, He Said." A tremendously gifted storyteller, Christine is constantly exploring the complexities of the human condition in ways that make you both laugh and cry, sometimes simultaneously. Her latest, "The Virginity of Famous Men," is perhaps her best yet. It is her second collection of short stories, a form that suits her well. The stories are insightful and thought-provoking and beautifully crafted. If you are a fan of the short story, pick up a copy of this book and take the time to read it, from cover to cover. Then tell all of your friends to do the same. It's that good. Really, it is.

I guess I’m hooked on Christine Sneed’s writing, especially her short stories. Her new collection, “The Virginity of Famous Men,” consists of 13 stories that are loosely linked by themes such as: relationships gone stale, the perks and perils of celebrity, and growing older but wiser. A particular favorite was the last of the stories, which shares the same title as the book; it serves as something of an epilogue to Sneed’s earlier novel, “Little Known Facts,” revisiting characters who are now determined to move beyond the family turmoil of the rich and famous. These stories are like a sampler box of fine chocolate truffles — limit yourself to one a day, and you'll stretch the pleasure of consuming them to nearly two weeks. Bon appetit.

A wonderful new collection from Christine Sneed. Perhaps her greatest gift is the ability to pull the beating heart of "normal" from out collective chests and show it to us in ways that are at once novel and familiar. There is absurdity in the everyday, and Sneed captures it deftly, with wit and grace, in all its richness. Standouts for me included "Beach Vacation" (in part because I have a son about the age of the boy in this one), "Words That Once Shocked Us" (just read it), and "The Virginity of Famous Men" (because it's a nod to her book LITTLE KNOWN FACTS and a fine story in its own right). You won't be disappointed.

I'm still in the middle of this but I am enjoying it so thoroughly that I felt like writing a review immediately. Christine Sneed's forte is short stories and she tells them masterfully. They're character-driven (as is most of her writing) and at the end of each story, you feel like you've fully entered into the lives of these characters and you wish each story was novel-length! I'll edit this review later when I'm done reading the whole collection but if you enjoy good writing and you're hesitant about buying this book, just do it. You won't regret it!

Each story in The Virginity of Famous Men introduces us to a complex and often unsettling psychological landscape; Sneed's trademark is her willingness to look unsparingly into the hearts of women and men and expose the conflicted longings she finds there, and she does it brilliantly in this collection. These characters aren't all admirable, but they are startlingly, recognizably human, whether they are floundering in unsatisfactory relationships, consorting with ghosts, or navigating a disturbingly familiar political dystopia. I might love her endings most of all: they give us just enough and no more--shards of insight, slivers of fate. When my students ask how to write good endings, I often tell them, read this story by Christine Sneed. THIS is how you do it.This is a wonderful, well-paced collection, full of quiet beauty and uncomfortable knowledge.

Christine Sneed's THE VIRGINITY OF FAMOUS MEN is a fantastic story collection, highly relevant to our times, each story more thoughtful than the next. It doesn't hurt that it made me laugh out loud and interrupt my husband's reading to share sentences and paragraphs with him. Pick this up if you haven't already!

This is a wonderful collection of stories. Some are funny ("The New All True CV," "Roger Weber Would Like To Stay"), some are not ("The First Wife," "Beach Vacation"). "Older Sister" is an especially strong story that I won't soon forget. But all the stories here are filled with heart and humanity, which is pretty much true of anything Christine Sneed writes.

Everything a collection of short stories should be - varied, thoughtful, funny, sad. She knows when to end a story, doesn't over-write them. I'd (a) read these again; (b) recommend them to others; (c) look for more of Sneed's writing.