The Palace Thief: Stories Paperback – August 8, 2006

I loved this book, I read one of the short stories and I understood one of them very well. I thought it was the enitre book but it had 4 short stories. When I was almost to finishing one of them, My Dad asked me, "What made you find this book?" and It was simple, I was watching The Emperor's Club and during the Open Credits it said, "Based upon a Short Story "The Palace Thief" by Ethan Canin" And once I saw that, I just decided to get the book with the other short stories. Sometimes when I read the short story "The Palace Thief" I could hear Kevin's voice narrating that story to me.

Enjoyed the different stories in this book. All kept my interest although I'd rather read a novel. If you like Canin, you'll like this.

Good writing forces the reader to slow down and absorb each phrase in an effort not only to understand, but also to miss not one concept. Each of the four stories in this book evokes clear images and descriptions of realistic people with ethical and moral decisions. I admire Canin's writing as well as his ability to create suspense without obviously trying to do so. I can hardly wait to read more of his beautiful prose.

Well written. The author knows his subject. His grasp of human nature is uncanny. The latter part of the book describing the 80’s and the demise of western civ in educational institutions is prescient of 2020 and the demise of America. If you do not know history, you are destined to be forever a child.

It's not easy to assign one rating to this book. It's not a novel--it's a compilation for four stories, each about 50 pages in length. The stories vary in quality and deserve to be looked at independently, though there are some common themes. For one, all of Canin's narrators are male. Second, baseball is mentioned more than once. Finally, all his characters seem to be supremely flawed, which I guess is the author's attempts at making them more realistic, but the characters never actually seem real. In three of the stories the narrators seem to suffer from the same flaw--they're arrogant and stupid. They get themselves into the type of predicaments you expect from network sit-coms. It left me wondering if the author is giving us insight to his own personality, or if this is just how a doctor who attended Harvard views the rest of us.The four stories included are:The Accountant (2 stars): The story is narrated by the titular accountant. Two childhood friends grow apart when one chooses college and the other goes directly into the workforce. The story is about the mistakes the accountant has made in life and the smug attitude that prevents him from realizing his missteps.Batorsag and Szerelem (2 stars): This one is a coming-of-age tale narrated by a boy whose eccentric brother is extremely good at math. The older brother is also hiding something from his family. This story had a ton of potential, but I just felt like it wasn't executed well at all. It jumps around a lot and there's not enough character development. I believe there was enough story here for a novel; the author just didn't take the time.City of Broken Hearts (4 stars): This one is a well-written, somewhat tragic story about a man in his sixties who is recently divorced and having trouble adapting to single life as well as relating to women and his son, who is attending college on the other side of the country. When the son visits his father in Boston, the two go to a ball game together, since baseball is the old man's passion. The father in this story is a sympathetic character. It's easy to understand his confusion and frustration. His baseball team lets him down, his wife has left him for another man, and his son is arrogant and so interested in proving he's a modern, sympathetic man that he doesn't take time to let his father remain part of his life.The Palace Thief (5 stars): The best story in the bunch. A young teacher at a prestigious prep school feels some sympathy for a troubled student, which leads to him making some errors in judgement. The story revolves around their teacher-student relationship, as well as their relationship 40 years later. All of the stories in the book are compelling, but this one is the best. The main character is still flawed, arrogant, and perhaps stupid in his choices, but this novel offers the best character study and it's easily the stand out of the bunch.

The first 3 stories are fine, a bit tedios, but the last one takes The stars! Compelling and complex, as well as thought provoking.

How does a writer manage to get into the very heart, soul and membrane of contemporary human existence? You will want to meet Ethan Canin and ask him that question face-to-face when you read and absorb these fantastic short stories, and I want to most especially cite his masterpiece with the highly enigmatic title, "Batorsag and Szerelem." Canin is an extraordinary observer and narrator of our daily existence in these United States.

Incredible writing, leaving you wanting more, much more. Wonderful stories that a sharp turn and leaves your crying and breathless.