Name: The stories of Breece D'J Pancake
Rating: 4 (6 reviews)
ISBN: 0316715972

Breece D'J Pancake

The stories of Breece D'J Pancake

Jennifer

I’m not gonna lie—I didn’t understand a lot of this book. Some of it was the vernacular but also the point of some of the stories. Again, I’m not a book short story person so a lot of the art of short stories is lost on me. Of the stories I did understand, I liked it. The rest I’m pretty ambivalent about. I can appreciate the creativity of the stories. I’m just not going to sit here and pretend I got them all. <br /><br />What I did understand was that this collection of stories is a day in the life of people in West Virginia. It really shed light on the lifestyle of people there and how they act, think, and talk. <br /><br />Long story short, if you’re a fan of Faulkner, you’ll probably like this. I’m not a fan of Faulkner, so I feel meh about this. 

Nathan Griffin

Exceptional group of stories but, man, they're not for those wanting a sunny view of life. It's hard to separate the gritty bleakness of Pancake's writing with the tragic story of his life. 

The real strength of these stories is how completely dialed in to the heartbeat of rural West Virginia Pancake is. There's always seems to be a standard set of ideals that accompany the songs and stories of Appalachia: the geography, moving away, coming back, the comfort of family, the pain of family, the people you grew up with, the woes of blue collar work, etc. All of these themes run through these stories, creating characters and settings that are honest and captivating.

Shea Newton

These are stories of deeply frightening bleak and ugly existence. And they written magnificently.

The stories of Breece D'J Pancake

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