A Walk in My World: International Short Stories about Youth

By Anne Mazer and Linda Cheng

Book Overview

A treasury of short stories about young people, written by some of the world's best writers. This volume of sixteen stories written by some of the world's best writers--including three Nobel Prize winners--will transport readers to all parts of the globe to meet kindred spirits in other cultures on their journeys to adulthood. In Heinrich B?ll's The Balek Scales, a young German boy heroically tries to redress the centuries of injustice in his village. In Yasunari Kawabata's The Jay, a girl's interest in a mother jay separated from her young becomes a metaphor for her own estrangement from her father. Set during the Pinochet regime in Chile, The Composition by Antonio Skarmeta is the story of a boy who resists betraying his parents through a routine school assignment. In Jamaica Kincaid's To the Jetty, a teenage girl embarks on her first journey away from her island home of Antigua and into the wider world. Also included are stories by Ama Ata Aidoo (Ghana), Toni Cade Bambara (United States), Italo Calvino (Italy), Anita Desai (India), Elizabeth Jolley (Australia), Naguib Mahfouz (Egypt), Frank O'Connor (Ireland), V. S. Pritchett (England), Valentin Rasputin (Russia), Cora Sandel (Norway), and Xiao Hong (China). An introduction and lengthy biographical notes provide context and give insight into the lives of the authors.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0892552492
• ISBN13: 9780892552498
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Persea Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Great Stories for All Ages

Several junior high and high school teachers have written to me because of my review of Into the Widening World, edited by John Loughery and published by Persea Boos. I mentioned in my review that I use that book for my university course in International Short Stories. I am not sure that is the best choice for younger readers, or for schools with strong guidance from the PTA and the school board. Those stories are live and startling because they often challenge taboos. This book, on the other hand, provides a group of stories by some of the same excellent writers, all of them of a high artistic achievement, that might be more age appropriate for junior high and high school students. Make no mistake, they are not kid's stories--they're about children. But they pick up a rhythm and simplicity of execution from the generally accepted nature of children's stories. You won't find a bad one among them. And what a wonderful exposure to international writing. I used this one in my college class to kick off a semester's study of fiction from around the world, and my students really loved it. So do I. That story "Hands" is as good as anything you could find in any collection, as is "The French Lesson." If you want a quick glimpse into this book, start with these. You'll read the rest.

The best anthology of its type

The author of the SLJ review is wrong. Terribly, terribly wrong. A cretin, really. This collection is remarkably consistent. The writing is quite fine and the stories, often relatively obscure, offer a huge breadth of theme, tone and subject matter. I've read many collections of this sort with an eye towards teaching them. This is by far the best. Both weak and strong readers can find much to enjoy. All of these writers are top drawer, and these stories selected carefully to fall within the understanding of young adults. This should be a standard text in all schools, libraries, etc.

Excellent starting point for understanding other cultures.

A Walk in My World provides teens with a starting point for understanding other cultures, with a series of short stories by contemporary authors addressing the issues and concerns of teens around the world. From a Chilean boy's writings about his parents' politics to a headstrong girl's alienation from her mother, these are moving stories packing in social as well as cultural revelations.