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Rating: 
Summary: Prose Dramas
Review: "Great Dreams of Heaven" is a quick read at a breezy 142 pages. Some of these stories would jump alive in an oral reading because they are essentially prose dramas. "Betty's Cats" is a wonderful example of a lady who just refuses to see that a trailer full of cats, even if they stink and complaints have been made to the health department, could be a nuisance to anyone. "Living the Sign" is a great little drama about a guy who stops into a fast food shop, sees a handwritten sign, "Life is what's happening to you while you're making plans for something else." He proceeds to grill the counter clerks until he find out who wrote the sign. After the long investigation, he finds his answer in the geeky Dicky; the piece ends with a little profundity about plans. My favorite story is "It Wasn't Proust" which is essentially an argument between a husband & wife over past romances in France; the dialogue sparkles with the banter having edge & wit. While a couple stories are too short to gain momentum and a couple are puzzle pieces, overall this a wonderful blend of prose and drama. Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: Reality stripped to essentials
Review: "Great Dreams of Heaven" is a quick read at a breezy 142 pages. Some of these stories would jump alive in an oral reading because they are essentially prose dramas. "Betty's Cats" is a wonderful example of a lady who just refuses to see that a trailer full of cats, even if they stink and complaints have been made to the health department, could be a nuisance to anyone. "Living the Sign" is a great little drama about a guy who stops into a fast food shop, sees a handwritten sign, "Life is what's happening to you while you're making plans for something else." He proceeds to grill the counter clerks until he find out who wrote the sign. After the long investigation, he finds his answer in the geeky Dicky; the piece ends with a little profundity about plans. My favorite story is "It Wasn't Proust" which is essentially an argument between a husband & wife over past romances in France; the dialogue sparkles with the banter having edge & wit. While a couple stories are too short to gain momentum and a couple are puzzle pieces, overall this a wonderful blend of prose and drama. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent overall
Review: Overall this is an excellent collection of stories. I had heard SS was a good writer, but this was my 1st time reding one of his work. He has convincing narratives- for example- when the perspective of the story is a 14 yr old boy- it really is convincing as a 14 yr old boy. (Unlike the unconvincing 14 yr old in Kidd's novel Secret Life of Bees)Also he is willing to experiment with different styles- such as 2 stories that consisted of dialogue back and forth. "Berlin Wall Piece" and the story about the kid with the sign I found most compelling.
One complaint though- in the last story- "The Trees are Naked"- he has an error regarding the movie The Third Man. He states that the woman in the film is Ingrid Bergman- when it's not. It's really Alida Valli, who looks like Ingrid, but isn't her. This story in particular is wonderfully described but he should have checked his facts out 1st. Shame shame Sam- but good job overall. Much much better than the Pulitzer stuff- "Interpreter of Maladies" & also the bland "Lucky Girls"
Rating:
Summary: No ordinary Heaven.
Review: Readers should not approach Shepard's book with expectations of reading traditional short stories. Rather, in this collection of eighteen condensed fictions, Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright and Oscar-nominated actor, Sam Shepard shows us a dreamlike country populated with troubled cowboys, fast-food workers, suburban gun owners, and lonely gas station employees. And he doesn't waste words. While some pieces of Shepard's HEAVEN shine brighter than others (like the title story of two old friends driven apart by a Denny's waitress and the collection's first story, "Remedy Man," about a fixer of bad horses), all of them offer up truths as real as earthly dirt. He has it as an actor. He has it as a playwright. And with this collection, Sam Shepard proves that he has the right stuff as a fiction writer.G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: Reality stripped to essentials
Review: Shepard has thrown away everything not absolutely necessary to get at the core of what matters. Each story in this slim volume gets to the center of a facet of life and illuminates it. Though every tale is stripped to essentials each is true to life. Perfect reading for a Sunday afternoon. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: In These Slim Pages.....................
Review: Shepard, the well-known playwright and actor, has written eighteen brief stories that are filled with unforgettable images. They deal with the unexpected reactions of human nature, especially sex and the yearnings for things that no longer exist. Shepard is at his best with these stories as he clearly and effortless describes the sorrows, joys, and fallibility of everyday life.
I enjoyed all of Shepard�s stories in his second collection of fiction. It would be hard to choose any one favorite, but �Blinking Eye� is one I will never forget. It will leave an unforgettable image on your mind. It is about a young girl driving cross-country bearing an urn containing her mother�s ashes when she encounters an injured hawk on the side of the road. She decides to take the injured hawk to a veterinarian for help. What happens after she places the hawk in her car will definitely leave a vivid image in your mind forever. Shepard�s gift of writing is effortless to read for he brings all of his stories to life in a clear, concise, and beautifully detailed matter. This is a book not to be missed!! Joe Hanssen
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