Uncommon Type
Some Stories
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3.8 • 199개의 평가
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- US$12.99
출판사 설명
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, USA Today • A collection of “first-rate” short stories (The New York Times) that explore—with great affection, humor, and insight—the human condition in all its foibles.
A small-town newspaper columnist with old-fashioned views of the modern world. A World War II veteran grappling with his emotional and physical scars. A second-rate actor plunged into sudden stardom and a whirlwind press junket. Four friends traveling to the moon in a rocketship built in the backyard. These are just some of the stories that Tom Hanks captures in his first work of fiction.
The stories are linked by one thing: in each of them, a typewriter plays a part, sometimes minor, sometimes central.
To many, typewriters represent a level of craftsmanship, beauty, and individuality that is harder and harder to find in the modern world. In these stories, Hanks gracefully reaches that typewriter-worthy level. By turns whimsical, witty, and moving, Uncommon Type establishes him as a welcome and wonderful new voice in contemporary fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Oscar-winner Hanks's debut collection is a wide-ranging affair of 17 stories threaded together by the recurring image of typewriters some stories, like the intriguing "These Are the Meditations of My Heart," build entire narratives around the machines, while others mention them in passing. In "Alan Bean Plus Four," one of the collection's best entries, four friends decide to build a backyard rocket and orbit the moon. These same characters star in two more stories, the enjoyable bowling yarn "Steve Wong Is Perfect," and the less noteworthy "Three Exhausting Weeks," which uses standard romantic comedy tropes in recollecting a wacky and doomed relationship. Hanks's stories sometimes lead to pat, happy endings, but not always "Christmas Eve 1953" develops a simple holiday story into a rumination on war. Similarly, "The Past Is Important to Us" employs a sharp, unexpected conclusion to elevate a story of time travel and romance at the 1939 World's Fair. Hanks's narrators speak with similar verbal tics multiple narrators say "Noo Yawk," for example but the stories they tell generally charm. The only true misfires come when Hanks breaks away from traditional structure: the story-as-screenplay "Stay With Us" drags, and faux newspaper columns by man of the people Hank Fiset start clever but turn grating. 250,000-copy announced first printing.
사용자 리뷰
Just okay...
I wanted to love this book. Instead, I merely liked it. Even that was a stretch at times. It’s a collection of short fiction stories. Some are better than others. Some are really good. Others really not. In the end many of the stories felt like they were over just as they were getting interesting, which is sad as the ones that were getting interesting were getting very interesting.
I enjoyed how Hanks tried to incorporate the typewriter, something he is famous for enjoying so much, into his stories, without overdoing it. Sure, at times it felt a little forced, but it was an interesting common thread spread throughout stories that don’t have any real commonality between them.
If you’re a fan of Tom Hanks, you’ll want to pick this up. It shows his abilities are not limited to just acting. Which is enough. His writing style shows he is multi-talented and a decent writer, I just wish the stories didn’t feel cut off at the knees.
Hanx!
What an amazing yarn. Loved every moment of it. Bravo!
Loooovvvvvved it
Instantly drew me in. I love this book and I’m excited for future works