Reviews for Waifs And Strays

The average rating for Waifs And Strays based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-06-08 00:00:00 Tim Rose Spring training has started, and that reminded me of a Van Pelt story I like. It took me a bit to find it, but the reread was as good as I remember. "The Comeback" from the collection Strangers and Beggars, is about baseball in 2051 with precognitives on the bench advising managers. The crack of the bat is a special kind of sound, you understand. It'll let a psychic see a few seconds into the future. So long as they're not slumping. And all ballplayers slump. "The Comeback" is one of those stories that resonates with me. I think about it every once in a while, at odd little moments. Sometimes, like now, it's because baseball is in the air. But sometimes it's when I feel like I'm in my own slump, or when I'm thinking about the underdog, or maybe about an odd bit of trivia. Or sometimes for no reason at all. It's an enormously satisfying story in a book filled with them: there's ignoring the obvious in "Miss Hathaway's Spider", fighting death in "The Death Dwarves", and a special kind of hell in "Parallel Highways". Each of these intrudes upon my thoughts from time to time. Van Pelt has a way of writing stories that stick with me.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-10-07 00:00:00 Dexter Greene Very clever stories, written with a real love of language. I remember reading some O'Henry stories when I was a kid, because my grandfather really loved them. Back then, all I cared about was the plot twist at the end (which each story has). Now, as an adult, I can enjoy the journey on the way to the end. The stories are told in a very playful way. There are a lot of winks to the reader. The narrator is often saying something funny about the characters, pointing out their foibles, and generally having a good time. Some of the humor is pretty dated, but so are the settings. The one story that I really, really didn't like tried to put a humorous face on domestic violence, but it also took place in a Harlem that was populated by Irish people. So that's out-of-date by a couple of shifts. Another thing I enjoyed, as a Native New Yorker (or "Noo Yawkuh", if you insist) was the view into this previous incarnation of my city, it's rhythms, and the people who made it what it was. The social mores were also very entertaining. I know it may shock some of you, but some of they young ladies might allow gentlemen suitors to kiss them. Yes! Kissing! Before being joined in holy wedlock. Alas, civilization!