Tell Me A Riddle

by Tillie Olsen

Book, 1978

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Publication

Dell Publishing Co., Inc. (1978), Paperback

Description

This collection of four stories, "I Stand Here Ironing," "Hey Sailor, what Ship?," "O Yes," and "Tell me a Riddle," had become an American classic. Since the title novella won the O. Henry Award in 1961, the stories have been anthologized over a hundred times, made into three films, translated into thirteen languages, and - most important - once read, they abide in the hearts of their readers.

User reviews

LibraryThing member wandering_star

This is a collection of four short stories, dealing with have-nots and people who find difficulty expressing themselves in words - a mother talking about her eldest child, the female half of an elderly couple, an alcoholic sailor. The stories are moving and very effectively written - emotions are

rarely stated explicitly, but are there in every line.

Show Less

5 more

LibraryThing member FKarr

still moving; amazing portrayal of working class women's burden

LibraryThing member Bookish59

The 4 stories in this book are full of the stuff of real life: family, love, poverty, hunger, alcoholism, racism, growing up, and much more. Olsen uses dialogue distinctively to depict the pain and sadness in everyday life while capturing the honor of each of her characters. Despite their meager

lots in life her characters feel strongly, try hard to do right for their families, and are remorseful for their human frailties.

I found her stories so real, raw and direct it was as though I was right there suffering along with the family.

This collection of stories is so strikingly different than most other story collections I've read. I don't think anyone can read this book and not experience a strong reaction.

Show Less

LibraryThing member librisissimo

Memoirs or fiction? Hard to tell; some of both. Insights into life in the early 1950s; the story about the narrator's friendship with a black family stands out. Not my cup of tea, but well-written in the mainstream literature mode.
FWIW, I don't particularly enjoy "insightful fiction" about the

tawdry and dysfunctional people in the world who relentlessly chew the cud of their troubles, and generally don't make any improvements in their lives in the course of the story.

Show Less

LibraryThing member steller0707

These four stories tackle issues that are still prevalent today: racism, addiction, feminism. All of these stories will stand up to rereading. The first of my favorites is “As I Stand Ironing,” a mother’s melancholy musings on the young life of her first daughter, which was lived by

necessity, with hardships. The second favorite, “Tell Me a Riddle,” is really a novella and is the best in this slim book. It is about an aging couple, émigrés from Russia, who have both made sacrifices for themselves and their children, and who have differing ideas about how to live out their remaining years. It’s a poignant tearjerker of the very best kind!

Show Less

LibraryThing member burritapal

These stories are sad, but realistic, and make me glad I read them. Especially "Tell me a riddle," the short story for which the book is named. Since my Dad recently died, and I was his caretaker, I identified with the way his wife's life continued to become limited, until she was bedridden, and

eventually died. The whole senselessness of a life that had been full with a brain full of compassion and knowledge, ending, and going where?, emanated from this story.

Show Less

Fewer