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In Sunlight Or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper
Unavailable
In Sunlight Or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper
Unavailable
In Sunlight Or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper
Audiobook9 hours

In Sunlight Or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper

Written by Lawrence Block

Narrated by Full Cast

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

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About this audiobook

In a truly unprecedented literary achievement by author and editor Lawrence Block, this newly-commissioned anthology of seventeen superbly-crafted stories, each inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper.

Contributors include Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Olen Butler, Michael Connelly, Megan Abbott, Craig Ferguson, Nicholas Christopher, Jill D. Block, Joe R. Lansdale, Justin Scott, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Warren Moore, Jonathan Santlofer, Jeffery Deaver, Lee Child, and Lawrence Block himself.

Even Gail Levin, Hopper's biographer and compiler of his catalogue raisonee, appears with her own first work of fiction, providing a true account of art theft on a grand scale and told in the voice of the country preacher who perpetrated the crime.

©2016 Lawrence Block (P)2016 Dreamscape Media, LLC

LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 6, 2016
ISBN9781520045016
Author

Lawrence Block

Lawrence Block is one of the most widely recognized names in the mystery genre. He has been named a Grand Master of the Mystery Writers of America and is a four-time winner of the prestigious Edgar and Shamus Awards, as well as a recipient of prizes in France, Germany, and Japan. He received the Diamond Dagger from the British Crime Writers' Association—only the third American to be given this award. He is a prolific author, having written more than fifty books and numerous short stories, and is a devoted New Yorker and an enthusiastic global traveler.

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Reviews for In Sunlight Or In Shadow

Rating: 4.114583333333333 out of 5 stars
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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Neat conceptual basis, all good; some, Child, Block, Connolly, Abbott, excellent.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a very good collection of stories! I didn't know much about Hopper, I was only familiar with "Nighthawks", which I had seen long ago in Chicago. But the stories in here, and the pictures that inspired them, are quite a pleasure to enjoy! I love Stephen King and Joe R. Lansdale, and their stories ("The Music Room" and "The Projectionist" respectively) are great! But I also really liked "Night Windows" by Jonathan Santlofer and "The Woman In The Window" by Joyce Carol Oates! Really, I only dis-liked one of the tales in this collection, and I will be respectful and not single the poor tale out. Congratulations Mr. Block - you've put together a fine volume here! (and your short story is a good one too!) ;-)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I read the stories by Megan Abbott, Michael Connelly, Stephen King, Joe R. Lansdale, and Lawrence Block. All were good with Lansdale being my favorite, although in 5 1/2 pages, King wrote a terrific horror story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've never been a big fan of short stories, but recently there seem to be more and more collections and anthologies that catch my interest, as did this book. First, because of the paintings, as I only knew the Nighthawks and a couple other pictures by Hopper and was delighted to get a peek at some of his other work. Second, because of the authors, which include some I know and like very well (Stephen King being my all time favorite), others I'm glad to get to know better (Joyce Carol Oates, Joe R. Lansdale, Lee Child), still others I've heard of but never read before (Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver) and a good number to meet for the first time.As with all anthologies, there are good stories and there are not so good stories. This collection is one of the better ones, with mostly entertaining stories and only one I didn't like at all. And, of course, there are some precious stories I read and totally loved. As I am not too familiar with the majority of the authors, I can't exactly recall which was which as I didn't made notes along the way. But as each reader has a different taste, I think it's kind of pointless to point out this story or that.What I liked very much about this book was that the stories did not have a common subject regarding their content, and span several different genres, the most special I remember being a fantasy piece about some kind of Atlantis descendants. But there also where a bunch of crime and thriller stories with some mild horror thrown in and a couple of general literary stories. The diversity of the stories made it easy to read them in one go without making my head swim or getting saturated too fast.And, of course, the paintings themselves: while I wouldn't want to hang most of them on my own walls, they all were impressive and I kept scrolling back to them. One I liked most was an impressive rooftop view in shades of brown and orange. So even if there was a story I didn't like that much there still was the picture to make up for it.(Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of the book, all opinions are my own and completely unbiased)
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A fantastic collection that lives up to the art it's inspired by.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In Sunlight or In Shadow is an anthology of short stories, each one based loosely or strongly on an Edward Hopper painting. As with all anthologies, some of the stories are good, some are less good and some I just didn’t like at all.Also, like all anthologies, some authors are well known (to me) such as Megan Abbott, Lee Child, Michael Connelly and Stephen King and some were unknown such as Jill Black, Nicholas Christopher and Craig Ferguson.The stories average around 15 pages each and most are fast reading. For mystery fans, there are some series names making an appearance such as Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch whose story was clearly one of the better ones (which is rewarding because I haven’t loved the Bosch recent novels all that much).However, the story I liked best was the last one, by Lawrence Block. the anthology’s editor, called Autumn at the Automat.If you’re a Hopper fan, then you’ll enjoy seeing some of his paintings and reading how they’ve inspired the authors. If not, you’ll still enjoy some of the stories. The thing I like about short story anthologies, is that you can stop and start, skip or read, as you feel the urge. In Sunlight or In Shadow is definitely worth your time.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    4.5-5 starsThe instant I saw the cover of this book I knew I wanted to read it. In Sunlight or In Shadow is such a clever idea – each writer chosen to participate picked a different painting by Edward Hopper and then created his or her own story about the subject matter of the painting he/she chose. The results are for the most part spectacular. As in any short story collection, some stories are better than others; one or two fell flat enough that I had to just move on without finishing that particular entry.I have been a huge fan of Hopper for a long time and also really like Lawrence Block’s work so I was just thrilled to see a book that combined the two. There are 18 paintings and 17 stories (one author had to drop out but the painting was included anyway as the frontispiece), and I was excited to see paintings that I knew well and even happier to see paintings of Hopper’s that I had not encountered before. One of the things that makes the compilation so successful is the variation in writing style and genre of the collection of writers that Block chose. I have read everything Michael Connelly and Lee Child have written (and am a huge fan of both of them) so I was glad they were included in this project, and their stories did not disappoint. However, hands down my favorite story was the one by Craig Ferguson entitled Taking Care of Business based on the painting entitled South Truro Church, 1930. I can’t say much more about that particular story without giving anything away, but the inclusion of Elvis in it was clever and made me love that narrative all the more. Lawrence Block’s entry, Autumn at the Automat, was fabulous as well. Several others, Night Windows and The Incident of 10 November, were stand outs also.Each short story begins with a color reproduction of the painting that is the subject of that short story. I loved this because I continually was referring back to the painting while reading each story. At times, there were details I had not noticed in the painting that were part of the story, and it was helpful to be able to have the painting so close at hand. Every once in a while, I encounter a book that is unique in its approach or presentation of the storyline or content and am thrilled generally when that occurs because that makes it all the more enjoyable to read. In Sunlight or In Shadow is such a book. I have been touting this book to all of my friends who love to read and am certain it will be a big success. Thanks so much to NetGalley and Pegasus Books for the chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Veteran author Lawrence Block has pulled together 17 of the best short story writers around today and given each one an Edward Hopper painting — that’s the idea. And it works exceptionally well, and not only because the authors of the stories include legends like Stephen King, Lee Child, Jeffery Deaver and Joyce Carol Oates. The Hopper paintings lend themselves to stories about men and women, secrets and money, love and violence. The paintings often seem quite sad, but the stories here are not uniformly so. They are stories in some cases of hope, and in one case, of vengeance. In reading them, I kept turning back to the Hopper painting that inspired the story. A brilliant collection that shows the full power of the short story – highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Wonderful collection of short tales based on the paintings of Edward Hopper. Lawrence Block has excellently executed the momentous task of collecting and stitching together stories from a variety of authors. They put voice to sixteen of Hopper's works spanning the length of his career.

    The great thing about the choice of Edward Hopper as inspiration for these works is that his paintings seem to lend themselves to this kind of interpretive exercise. There are settings, there are figures, and there is silence. Even when the figures in these paintings are performing, such as the nearly nude dancer in the work titled Girlie Show, the scene feels like it is action that has been frozen inside a soundless vacuum, just waiting for a writer or a storyteller to finally give it voice.

    I won't review every tale in the tome. They are all wonderful efforts. However, I will say that I docked this volume one star for two reasons.

    The first reason is that Stephen King's story, although a beautiful Stephen King-like take on the subject matter, felt rushed and a bit phoned in when compared to the rest of the volume. Block's introduction to King's story only lends credibility to that theory when he points out that King didn't think he'd be able to find time to commit anything to this project. Although it feels much shorter than the other works (and somewhat inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart as much as the chosen Hopper painting), it does pack a punch.

    The second reason for the one-star docking is Gail Levin's contribution, which is apparently her first work of fiction. Levin is an Edward Hopper expert. She is an art professor and Hopper's biographer. There is no doubt that her voice belongs in the volume. However, her tale, which is apparently based on a true story of art theft, includes herself as a character. In the end, it comes off as too insidey and self-aggrandizing (full disclosure: I have a similar issue with King's use of himself as a character in the later volumes of his Dark Tower series, although I am most definitely a King fan).

    If King's story had been either fleshed out or excluded and Levin had instead written the foreword, an introduction, or an afterword to this volume (or even a simple paragraph about the real-life history and circumstances surrounding each of the paintings chosen by the writers), it would absolutely get five stars from me.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book was outstanding! I am a fan of Lawrence Block and Edward Hopper so, naturally, I preordered this book. It was worth the wait. The stories were interesting and dealt with the subject perfectly. I read it in one night/morning!