When I saw that the Pulitzer prize winning author James Alan McPherson was currently teaching at the school I may attend in the fall (the University of Iowa), I decided it was time I got around to reading Elbow Room. It had been on the to-be-read shelf for years, mostly because it's a collection of short stories - and I'm not generally a huge fan of short stories.

I can't really say that there was a particular story in this collection that stood out to me, or that I found particularly interesting or well written. There also wasn't a story that I felt was poorly written, or that lost my interest while i was reading it.

In the end, I was entertained enough while reading the stories but they did not leave a lasting impression on me. This is my typical experience with short stories. ( )

1652 Elbow Room: Stories by James Alan McPherson (read 8 Aug 1981) (Pulitzer Fiction prize in 1978) This book contains 12 short stories, and I have read it because I read all Pulitzer fiction winners. I was bored or bothered by everything in this book. All stories are about black people, and while they sound authentic I fail to see much sense in them or why one should read them. Many stories have no seeming point in the literal way I seek a point in a short story. I also object to the obscenities and know that they only detract from the work. I think it is a shame that crap like this can win a Pulitzer Prize.
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