2.5 stars

This is a book of short stories. I am not usually a big short story fan. I find that if I lose focus for even a short time, I can never really get back into the story because it’s too short. I’ve missed too much. So, as usual, I didn’t follow more than half the stories. A few were ok, but overall, I wasn’t a fan.

Oh (and this isn’t saying much for the stories themselves), something I did like was that she had a short (2-3 paragraph) introduction to each story. I liked many of those better than the stories! They did build up a bit of “atmosphere”, so to speak, for the stories. ( )

Some good ideas in Fire Watch, Samaritan and Blued Moon. But otherwise not particularly memorable. ( )

The last story in this collection ("Blued Moon") is my favorite of the lot. It has coincidences and misunderstandings, and is just generally a lot of fun. (And to reference the intro to the story: yes, she makes it look easy.)

I also particularly enjoyed a few of the others, mostly "And Come From Miles Around" and "A Letter From the Clearys." It's a typical short story collection in that everyone will like different stories to different degrees, and I didn't enjoy all of the stories equally.

Overall, though, this is a solid addition to my Connie Willis collection. ( )

My one complaint about this book was that I wanted all of the stories to be novels. ( )

Fire Watch - favorite line, "The past is beyond saving" (p 35).
Service for the Burial of the Dead - imagine attending your own funeral. This is a dark story and probably one of my favorites.
Lost and Found - line I liked, "What else had he missed because he wasn't looking for it?" (p 76).
All My Darling Daughters - probably the most disturbing short story in the entire book.
The Father of the Bride - the other side of a fairy tale.
A Letter from the Clearys - read this one two or three times!
And Come from Miles Around - everyone gathers for the eclipse of the century.
The Sidon in the Mirror - a creepy tale about copying someone to the point of being twins.
Daisy, in the Sun - a family copes of post-nuclear war.
Mail-Order Clone - you know the saying, "if you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything"? Well, this is the blind leading the blind.
Samaritan - can you baptize an orangutan? The church treats him like a human so why not?
Blued Moon - a comedy of error after error about coincidences. ( )