The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories Summary
Tobias Wolff

The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories Summary

Family

Family appears in many stories in varying forms, having been a favorite topic among traditional short-story writers throughout the twentieth century. The representations of family tend to fall into one of three categories. They are family as a positive influence, family as a negative influence, and families that have been lost. Stories that show family as a positive influence tend to be less common than the other two categories. However, in this collection, several stories represent the positive power of families: Louise's father in "The Fat Girl," for example, who supports her no matter what she looks like; the narrator in "Rock Springs," who is trying to be a good father to his daughter, as best as he can; the mothers in "Home" and "Talk of Heroes," who accept their grown daughters returning home; or the controlling but supportive mother in "Rules of the Game," who is... View more of the The Vintage Book of Contemporary American Short Stories Summary