After reading The Orphan Master’s Son, I wanted to read the other books by Adam Johnson because I admired his writing. Thus, Fortune Smiles became the next book in line.

There are six long stories in this book: Nirvana, Hurricanes Anonymous, Interesting Facts, George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine, Dark Meadow, and Fortune Smiles.

Roughly speaking, Nirvana is about a man with a sick, disabled wife for whom the husband creates a drone. Hurricanes Anonymous is about a man with a baby in Lake Charles after Hurricane Rita. Interesting Facts, my favorite, is about the resentful wife of a Pulitzer Prize winner, which seems to be inspired by the author’s life. George Orwell Was a Friend of Mine is about a German Prison Guard without a conscious who still lives near the prison, in which he once worked. Dark Meadow is about a pedophile and porn addict who lives with temptation. Fortune Smiles is about two defectors from North Korea who are having difficulties with adjusting to the life in the free South Korea.

It is not the subjects of the stories but the way this author presents them to the readers that made me admire his art even more while reading the stories. In addition, each story is different and exceptional. I can even dare to say that his short stories felt even more refined, if there could be such a thing, than this author’s Pulitzer-winning novel.

The one thing which impressed me the most in all the stories was the human side of his characters, especially within the monstrous ones. Then, all story characters experience some kind of a moral struggle no matter their circumstances or weaknesses. Some, maybe all, stories have disturbing setups but the way the author let the characters handle those situations leaves a lasting impression on the reader after a story is finished.

The author’s style of storytelling is superb, haunting, and captivating. I can easily say this is the best collection of short stories I have ever read.

characterization and everything else.

read the other story books by this author, which I am now reading Emporium.

is Adam Johnson who teaches creative writing at Stanford University. Among the many prizes his books have won is the Pulitzer Prize for The Orphan Master’s Son.

I definitely recommend this book for short-story writers because everything about this author's stories is exquisite for he creates unusual, yet familiar, situations and puts the quirky characters with physical, moral, or psychological difficulties in them.

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Created Jul 08, 2017 at 3:25pm • Submit your own review...