Short Stories

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

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

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  • Create Date：2021-04-30 11:54:47
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Lawrence Block
  • ISBN：168177559X
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Summary

"Edward Hopper is surely the greatest American narrative painter。 His work bears special resonance for writers and readers， and yet his paintings never tell a story so much as they invite viewers to find for themselves the untold stories within。"


So says Lawrence Block， who has invited seventeen outstanding writers to join him in an unprecedented anthology of brand-new stories: In Sunlight or In Shadow。 The results are remarkable and range across all genres， wedding literary excellence to storytelling savvy。


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， Kris Nelscott， Warren Moore， Jonathan Santlofer， Jeffery Deaver， Lee Child， and Lawrence Block himself。 Even Gail Levin， Hopper’s biographer and compiler of his catalogue raisonée， 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。


In a beautifully produced anthology as befits such a collection of acclaimed authors， each story is illustrated with a quality full-color reproduction of the painting that inspired it。

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Reviews

Maura Heaphy Dutton ，

Interesting premise， asking writers with a reputation for noir ranging from relatively unknown to the creme de la creme （Michael Connelly， Joyce Carol Oates， Stephen King， Robert Olen Butler）。As with mixed collection of stories， especially collections written to a prompt， the results are 。。。 mixed。 No story blew my socks off， or works as something that you would remember on its own， and out of the context of this collection。 （The way， for example， the story "Man Returns in Form of Parrot，" in Ro Interesting premise， asking writers with a reputation for noir ranging from relatively unknown to the creme de la creme （Michael Connelly， Joyce Carol Oates， Stephen King， Robert Olen Butler）。As with mixed collection of stories， especially collections written to a prompt， the results are 。。。 mixed。 No story blew my socks off， or works as something that you would remember on its own， and out of the context of this collection。 （The way， for example， the story "Man Returns in Form of Parrot，" in Robert Olen Butler's equally high concept collection Tabloid Dreams， blows my socks off every single time I read it。）The best stories， in my opinion， and in no particular order， are "Nighthawks，" by Michael Connelly， a very readable contribution to Harry Bosch's story， and Bosch's connection to Edward Hopper "Nighthawks，" dating from Connelly's very first outing with bosch， Black Echo。 （I'm not that clever -- my husband is a big Connelly fan， and rereading the novels from book 1， and mentioned the Hopper connection 。。。）"The Music Room，" by Stephen King， which is dark and funny。"The Woman in the Window，" by Joyce Carol Oates， and which is classic Oates: two selfish people， seeing their selfishness from perspectives which begin to seem strikingly similar - -an won't end well 。。。 。。。more

Eric Lee ，

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 u 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。 。。。more

Chiara ，

Ho letto raramente raccolte di racconti， e questa è capitata。 Con tante storie dentro è difficile dare un giudizio unico， ma quello che non ho apprezzato è come fin troppo spesso i racconti andassero a parare sulla violenza， meglio se sulle donne: mi sembra un po' gratuito dato che il punto di partenza sono quadri， che spesso le raffigurano in ambiente o atteggiamenti di tristezza certo， squallore a volte， silenzio o immobilità semplicemente， ma da questo non è così obbligata la scelta della vio Ho letto raramente raccolte di racconti， e questa è capitata。 Con tante storie dentro è difficile dare un giudizio unico， ma quello che non ho apprezzato è come fin troppo spesso i racconti andassero a parare sulla violenza， meglio se sulle donne: mi sembra un po' gratuito dato che il punto di partenza sono quadri， che spesso le raffigurano in ambiente o atteggiamenti di tristezza certo， squallore a volte， silenzio o immobilità semplicemente， ma da questo non è così obbligata la scelta della violenza。 I racconti che ho preferito spesso sono di autori/autrici meno famosi/e temo: Block， Christopher， Connelly， Ferguson e Nelscott。 。。。more

Zweiundvierzig ，

Mit Kurzgeschichten hab ich echte Probleme - häufig find ich die Spannungsbögen nicht mitreißend， die Personen nicht differenziert genug charakterisiert und die Geschichten einfach etwas flach。Hier war‘s komplett anders！Die Idee， jeweils Kurzgeschichten zu verschiedenen Gemälden von Hopper erzählen zu lassen， ist indes grandios。 Durch die Gemälde （die ich persönlich liebe） ist direkt eine Stimmung da， die in den Geschichten ausnahmslos phantastisch weiter transportiert wird。 Egal， ob das Bild de Mit Kurzgeschichten hab ich echte Probleme - häufig find ich die Spannungsbögen nicht mitreißend， die Personen nicht differenziert genug charakterisiert und die Geschichten einfach etwas flach。Hier war‘s komplett anders！Die Idee， jeweils Kurzgeschichten zu verschiedenen Gemälden von Hopper erzählen zu lassen， ist indes grandios。 Durch die Gemälde （die ich persönlich liebe） ist direkt eine Stimmung da， die in den Geschichten ausnahmslos phantastisch weiter transportiert wird。 Egal， ob das Bild den Anfang der Geschichte markiert， ob es das Ende bedeutet， ob es einfach „nur“ eine Stimmung vorgibt。Jede Geschichte hat -naturbedingt durch die verschiedenen Autoren- einen ganz anderen Schlag und einen ganz eigenen Spannungsbogen; ich hab mich als Leser auf jede Geschichte von Neuem gefreut und sie regelrecht verschlungen。Schade， dass das Buch so schnell beendet war; ich hätte gerne weiter gelesen。 。。。more

Mark Wenz ，

This book is an engrossing read for anyone interested in both art （specifically the paintings of Edward Hopper） and literature。 This volume contains 17 short stories written by 17 different authors; each story is inspired by a particular painting that is impressively reproduced in the book in all its splendor。 It’s interesting to experience the visions of these 17 authors， which include some heavyweights like Stephen King， Michael Connelly， and Joyce Carol Oates alongside some surprises （such as This book is an engrossing read for anyone interested in both art （specifically the paintings of Edward Hopper） and literature。 This volume contains 17 short stories written by 17 different authors; each story is inspired by a particular painting that is impressively reproduced in the book in all its splendor。 It’s interesting to experience the visions of these 17 authors， which include some heavyweights like Stephen King， Michael Connelly， and Joyce Carol Oates alongside some surprises （such as comedian Craig Ferguson）。 There wasn’t a boring or poorly written story in the collection， but I especially enjoyed the stories by King， Oates， Jill D。 Block， Joe R。 Lansdale， and Jonathan Santlofer。 Find a copy and enjoy！ 。。。more

Ethan ，

*2。25

Jon ，

A collection of mostly unmemorable short stories， and the ones by Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King are not among the best。 The book generously provides a full color reproduction of each Hopper painting at the beginning of the story it inspired。 Surprisingly， one of the best stories is by Lawrence Block's daughter， who is a lawyer， not a professional writer。 She has her father's skill with tone and dialogue。 A collection of mostly unmemorable short stories， and the ones by Joyce Carol Oates and Stephen King are not among the best。 The book generously provides a full color reproduction of each Hopper painting at the beginning of the story it inspired。 Surprisingly， one of the best stories is by Lawrence Block's daughter， who is a lawyer， not a professional writer。 She has her father's skill with tone and dialogue。 。。。more

Greg Albrecht ，

I love the idea – each story inspired by one painting。Unfortunately， I enjoyed only 4 out of 17 stories。Be ready to skip a lot of pages in order to enjoy the best。The stories I liked most were written by:Nicholas Christopher， Gail Levin， Joe R。 Lansdale， Jonathan Santofler （my favorite）。

4cats ，

This is s really strong selection of short stories inspired by the art of Edward Hopper。 There are always some stronger than others particularly liked the Stephen King offering。

Marta Adamcova ，

Túto knihu som si vychutnala po viacerých stránkach。 Poviedky inšpirované obrazmi Edwarda Hoppera。 Lawrence Block， ktorý prišiel s nápadom osloviť autorov rozmanitých žánrov k napísaniu týchto príbehov， veľmi pekne vyjadril， že Hopperovo dielo hlboko rezonuje najmä v ľuďoch， ktorí majú radi príbehy。 V tých， ktorí ich píšu， ale aj v tých， ktorí ich čítajú či radi rozprávajú。 Obrazy Edwarda Hoppera príbeh nerozprávajú， naznačujú však mocne， že sa za nimi nejaký skrýva。 Zachytený moment má svoju mi Túto knihu som si vychutnala po viacerých stránkach。 Poviedky inšpirované obrazmi Edwarda Hoppera。 Lawrence Block， ktorý prišiel s nápadom osloviť autorov rozmanitých žánrov k napísaniu týchto príbehov， veľmi pekne vyjadril， že Hopperovo dielo hlboko rezonuje najmä v ľuďoch， ktorí majú radi príbehy。 V tých， ktorí ich píšu， ale aj v tých， ktorí ich čítajú či radi rozprávajú。 Obrazy Edwarda Hoppera príbeh nerozprávajú， naznačujú však mocne， že sa za nimi nejaký skrýva。 Zachytený moment má svoju minulosť aj budúcnosť。 Väčšina autorov sa tejto úlohy zhostila bravúrne。 Najviac ma očarili Pokoje u moře， Dívčí show， Newyorské kino， Bufet a Promítač。 Za prečítanie stoja všetky。 Napriek tomu， že autori písali nezávisle od seba a zaviedli ma do rozmanitých prostredí， zaujalo ma， ktoré stránky sa v ich podvedomí prebudili， ako podobne obrazy v istom zmysle vnímajú。 Poviedky spájajú skôr temné stránky ľudskej povahy， sliedenie， chuť ovládať， sexuálny chtíč， silné sebauvedomenie， pud prežitia， chladnokrvnosť。 A na to všetko z úzadia hľadí osamelosť。 Svetlo a tieň。 Sebaklam， ktorým potláčajú realitu。 Pravdu o tom， že život sa kráti a oťažieva， úspech sa nedostaví a z lásky ostali len stopy v piesku， ktoré nekompromisne zasypáva minulosť。 Krásna kniha， ako pre mňa napísaná。 Snúbi sa v nej stoický pokoj umenia， ktoré je nemenné a dané， s rozmanitosťou ľudských osudov， ktoré sa menia každou chvíľou。 Milióny ľudí snívajúcich o tom， že aj ich okamih života ktosi zachytí na plátno， osadí do básne， príbehu či piesne skôr， ako sa navždy pominú。 A ja patrím medzi nich。 。。。more

Jasmine ，

Da ogni quadro， da ogni opera， è stato estrapolato un racconto。 Affascinante。 Un vortice di emozioni diverse affrontate una alla volta con un quadro diverso。 Introspettivo。

Edzia ，

1，5/5Z siedemnastu opowiadań podobało mi się jedno - Jonathana Santlofera。 Reszta była albo naciągana， albo na siłę sensacyjna， niczym ze słabego filmu akcji， albo urywała się， zanim stało się cokolwiek znaczącego。 Niektóre zaczynały się dobrze， a potem okazywały wręcz absurdalne。 Większość wydawała się pisana na siłę， na odwal， bywały dobre koncepty， ale nigdy dobre wykonania （poza tym jednym wyjątkiem， który， w mojej opinii， był naprawdę niezły - i za niego ta połówka w ocenie）。 Żałuję straszn 1，5/5Z siedemnastu opowiadań podobało mi się jedno - Jonathana Santlofera。 Reszta była albo naciągana， albo na siłę sensacyjna， niczym ze słabego filmu akcji， albo urywała się， zanim stało się cokolwiek znaczącego。 Niektóre zaczynały się dobrze， a potem okazywały wręcz absurdalne。 Większość wydawała się pisana na siłę， na odwal， bywały dobre koncepty， ale nigdy dobre wykonania （poza tym jednym wyjątkiem， który， w mojej opinii， był naprawdę niezły - i za niego ta połówka w ocenie）。 Żałuję strasznie - Hopper to mój ukochany malarz， a jego twórczość， tchnąca tajemnicą i wręcz zmuszająca do tworzenia sobie w głowie na jej podstawie różnych historii， wydaje się idealnym punktem odniesienia do napisania historii złożonej， dopracowanej psychologicznie， nieoczywistej。 Ughhh 。。。more

James Kinsley ，

Good collection， reliably enjoyable， good range of styles， and love the hook of being inspired by Hopper paintings。 Whether that hook does anything for you or not， though， it's still a collection of stories worth reading。 Good collection， reliably enjoyable， good range of styles， and love the hook of being inspired by Hopper paintings。 Whether that hook does anything for you or not， though， it's still a collection of stories worth reading。 。。。more

Olivia （Stories For Coffee） ，

*exhales for 50 years* this taught me that anthologies are not for me。 Every story felt aimless and ended abruptly。 I was only intrigued in two stories。 *goes to take a nap*Tw: murder， sexual assault， lynching， use of racial slurs， kidnapping， stalking

Gabriela Galescu ，

Masters of mystery writing delivered a great collection。 For me the bonus was the chance to appreciate Hopper’s art more than before。 I had always thought that his style is too figurative for my liking， but now I had the chance to discover the stark emptiness portrayed in Hopper’s paintings。

Anthony Panegyres ，

An inspirational idea。 Love Hopper's work and there's a coloured Edward Hopping painting before each narrative on which the story is based on）。 More than a few superb tales to accompany the artwork too。 Although a couple didn't work for me， the vast majority are very good， and Megan Abbott， Robert Olen Butler， Craig Ferguson， Joe R。 Lansdale， Warren Moore， Joyce Carol Oates & Jonathan Sanlofer's works are all exceptional。 An inspirational idea。 Love Hopper's work and there's a coloured Edward Hopping painting before each narrative on which the story is based on）。 More than a few superb tales to accompany the artwork too。 Although a couple didn't work for me， the vast majority are very good， and Megan Abbott， Robert Olen Butler， Craig Ferguson， Joe R。 Lansdale， Warren Moore， Joyce Carol Oates & Jonathan Sanlofer's works are all exceptional。 。。。more

Sharla ，

The concept for this book was irresistible。 I’ve always been fascinated by Edward Hopper’s paintings。 I also like the work of several contributing authors so it seemed like a winning combination。 I was not disappointed。 Many of these short stories are set during the Great Depression， not surprising since that is the time period depicted in much of Hopper's best work。 They are generally stories with a dark edginess about them， also not surprising given the time period。 My favorite story strangely The concept for this book was irresistible。 I’ve always been fascinated by Edward Hopper’s paintings。 I also like the work of several contributing authors so it seemed like a winning combination。 I was not disappointed。 Many of these short stories are set during the Great Depression， not surprising since that is the time period depicted in much of Hopper's best work。 They are generally stories with a dark edginess about them， also not surprising given the time period。 My favorite story strangely enough was based on one of my least favorite of Hopper’s paintings， South Truro Church。 Titled， Taking Care of Business and written by Craig Ferguson， it is a tale told with great humor。 In this collection that was a refreshing change of pace。 The only one I did not like at all was The Projectionist by Joe R。 Lansdale， which is based on one of my favorite paintings by any artist ever， New York Movie。 That painting has always inspired my own imagination and it seems like there could be any number of great stories to come out of it but the one featured here did not do it for me。 Overall the stories live up well to the ambitious premise。 。。。more

Ренета Кирова ，

Този сборник отдавна ме интригуваше с интересния си замисъл。 Събраните в него разкази са разнообразни и измислени по картини на художника Едуард Хопър。 Само че не съм много очарована от концепцията。 Повечето разкази ме отблъснаха и напрегнаха， с изключение на два-три， които имаха интересен замисъл。 Много от авторите се оказаха неизвестни за мен。 Картините на самия художник също не ме впечатлиха， но явно се продават добре и се харесват от ценителите。 Всъщност разказите донякъде ми приличаха на тя Този сборник отдавна ме интригуваше с интересния си замисъл。 Събраните в него разкази са разнообразни и измислени по картини на художника Едуард Хопър。 Само че не съм много очарована от концепцията。 Повечето разкази ме отблъснаха и напрегнаха， с изключение на два-три， които имаха интересен замисъл。 Много от авторите се оказаха неизвестни за мен。 Картините на самия художник също не ме впечатлиха， но явно се продават добре и се харесват от ценителите。 Всъщност разказите донякъде ми приличаха на тях。 Може спокойно да прескочите сборника。 。。。more

Jeremiah ，

The stories were uneven。 Some were really good and I learned about hopper and more of his work through these authors。

Brandon ，

The idea is a great one （short stories based on Edward Hopper's paintings）， and most of the stories won't disappoint。 You will never see these paintings the same way again。 A decent read。 The idea is a great one （short stories based on Edward Hopper's paintings）， and most of the stories won't disappoint。 You will never see these paintings the same way again。 A decent read。 。。。more

Sarah ，

Some stories were quite strong; others， not so much。 I did enjoy reading them before seeing the Hopper and the American Hotel exhibit in Indianapolis。

Trish ，

Lots of variety， since each story has a different author。 Some I loved， others not so much， but all were interesting。 Nice to encounter so many authors who were new to me。

Malum ，

Many of these stories didn't have an ending so much as they just ended。 I would routinely get to the end of a story just to say "wait， that's it？"。 That， plus some of the story introductions that said things like "the author put writing this story aside until they had time for it" make me feel like this was a hastily thrown together collection。There were a few gems here， though， with the best story being the one by Joe R Lansdale。 Many of these stories didn't have an ending so much as they just ended。 I would routinely get to the end of a story just to say "wait， that's it？"。 That， plus some of the story introductions that said things like "the author put writing this story aside until they had time for it" make me feel like this was a hastily thrown together collection。There were a few gems here， though， with the best story being the one by Joe R Lansdale。 。。。more

Yvonne （go。for。a。walk。chuma） ，

Kunst liegt immer im Auge des Betrachters …… und diese Anthologie setzt genau da an。 17 Schriftsteller/innen haben sich von den Gemälden Edward Hoppers inspirieren lassen， aus den eingefrorenen Momenten des jeweiligen Bildes ihre Geschichten gesponnen und so der Kunst eine weitere Ausdrucksform geschenkt。 »Nighthawks« ist ein Schmankerl für Kunst- und Literaturliebhaber gleichermaßen und hat mir sehr gut gefallen。 Vor allem Krimifans kommen hier auf ihre Kosten， es gibt aber auch kurze Ausflüge Kunst liegt immer im Auge des Betrachters …… und diese Anthologie setzt genau da an。 17 Schriftsteller/innen haben sich von den Gemälden Edward Hoppers inspirieren lassen， aus den eingefrorenen Momenten des jeweiligen Bildes ihre Geschichten gesponnen und so der Kunst eine weitere Ausdrucksform geschenkt。 »Nighthawks« ist ein Schmankerl für Kunst- und Literaturliebhaber gleichermaßen und hat mir sehr gut gefallen。 Vor allem Krimifans kommen hier auf ihre Kosten， es gibt aber auch kurze Ausflüge in die Phantastik。 Autorengrößen wie Stephen King， Joe R。 Lansdale， Jeffery Deaver， Lee Child und Joyce Carol Oates geben sich die Ehre aber auch einige mir bis dato unbekannte Schriftsteller konnten mich überzeugen。 Nicht jede Geschichte hatte Highlightqualität， aber das erwarte ich auch nicht von einer Sammlung – schon gar nicht， wenn es einen so großen Interpretationsspielraum gibt。Zu meinen persönlichen Favoriten gehören unter anderem »Die Geschichte von Caroline« （Jill D。 Block） – eine wunderbar berührende Erzählung über das Leben selbst。 Wir alle machen Fehler， treffen （Fehl-）Entscheidungen und doch bietet das Leben uns auch immer wieder neue Chancen， die wir ergreifen können。 Auch Stephen Kings »Das Musikzimmer« hat mir gefallen。 Eine bitterböse Geschichte， in der die Wirtschaftskrise ein Ehepaar zu ungewöhnlichen Mitteln greifen lässt， um Geld zu verdienen。 Lansdales »Der Filmvorführer« setzt sich mit dem Thema der Schutzgelderpressung auseinander。 Ein schüchterner junger Mann， der als Filmvorführer in einem Kino arbeitet， möchte seinen Job behalten und beschließt deshalb， sich gegen die Erpresser zu wehren。 Stille Wasser sind hier tief。 »Abends im Büro« von Warren Moore hat mich absolut überrascht。 Ein tollpatschiges Mädchen vom Land träumt von einer Karriere in New York。 Sie setzt alles auf eine Karte und wagt den Sprung， ihr Mut wird belohnt， doch dann geschieht etwas Unerwartetes。 Was für ein Twist。 Großartig。 »Abends am Fenster« von Jonathan Santlofer ist eine spannende Geschichte， deren Thema Rache ist。 Herrlich perfide。Eine Sache， die jedoch nichts mit den Geschichten selbst zu tun hat， hat mich ein wenig gestört: Jeder Story ist das entsprechende Gemälde Hoppers vorangestellt und hierfür hätte ich mir einfach ein hochwertigeres Papier （Grammatur und Beschaffenheit） gewünscht。 Auch ein Lesebändchen hätte mir gefallen – bei dem Preis sicher im Bereich des Machbaren。FazitMit »Nighthawks« hat Lawrence Block eine inhaltlich vielfältige Anthologie herausgegeben， die nicht nur für Kunstliebhaber – aber sicher besonders für diese – etliche unterhaltsame Lesestunden bereithält。 Von mir gibt es definitiv eine Empfehlung。 。。。more

Jerry ，

Really Enjoyed the BookThe short stories inspired by the Edward Hopper paintings was a very unique concept and very well executed。 I recommend the book。

Cara ，

I am not a huge fan of short stories。。。until I read this。 Each short story in some way incorporates the narrative of an assigned Edward Hopper painting。My only criticism is that the majority of the stories were violent/morbid。

Dan Lalande ，

Disappointing series of writing exercises based on the paintings of Edward Hopper。 Most involved， pulp or horror practitioners， used the assignment to affirm their reputations， as if offered not works of another's art but reflective surfaces。 Where is the obtuse ennui， the urban alienation， the wan feel of Hopper？ Disappointing series of writing exercises based on the paintings of Edward Hopper。 Most involved， pulp or horror practitioners， used the assignment to affirm their reputations， as if offered not works of another's art but reflective surfaces。 Where is the obtuse ennui， the urban alienation， the wan feel of Hopper？ 。。。more

Collin ，

I never wanted to experience the works of half the authors involved with this anthology。 Unfortunately， as far as I got was “ooh Edward Hopper！” before deciding to use it as the entry for the Popsugar Reading Challenge “anthology” challenge， so。。。 unfortunately， I can never again say I haven’t read anything by Michael Connolly or Jeffrey Deaver。 Sigh。 The only two good stories were the first one， “Girlie Show” by Megan Abbott， and “Rooms By the Sea” by Nicholas Christopher。 The former was painfu I never wanted to experience the works of half the authors involved with this anthology。 Unfortunately， as far as I got was “ooh Edward Hopper！” before deciding to use it as the entry for the Popsugar Reading Challenge “anthology” challenge， so。。。 unfortunately， I can never again say I haven’t read anything by Michael Connolly or Jeffrey Deaver。 Sigh。 The only two good stories were the first one， “Girlie Show” by Megan Abbott， and “Rooms By the Sea” by Nicholas Christopher。 The former was painfully stale - yes， we get it， frustrated 1950s housewives， bad sex， housewife， cheating husband， boobs - but the ending was， at least， satisfying， and the writing style didn’t make me want to stab my ears in boredom。 I just liked the latter because it was only one of two speculative-adjacent one， and I love the Hopper painting that inspired it。 The rest are mediocre to awful。 Stephen King’s story is short and bland， Joyce Carol Oates’s is as long and repetitive and boring and sex-obsessed as any of the men’s stories， Michael Connolly’s is one of the most uninspired pieces of non-writing that I’ve ever read with an anvilicious take on poor overhyped Nighthawks， and， frankly， I don’t even remember what Lee Child’s story was。 “The Preacher Collects” is a bizarre story in which the author herself features， but only as a secondary “character，” and it’s told from the perspective of one of her real-life antagonists。 I have genuinely no idea how to feel about it aside from bored。As you’d expect from such a bevy of male thriller writers， there are a lot of dead and/or sexualized and/or objectified women。 That， plus the general lack of meaning or resolution to most of these stories， makes it hard for me to feel anything for them besides a spectrum of ennui， anger， and disgust。 ALSO， a HUGE trigger warning for “Night Windows” by Jonathan Santlofer， for being from the perspective of a literal serial rapist， graphically remembering his old victims and planning what he’ll do to his new one。 The fact that he’s clearly the disgusting and horrifying villain， and that he sort of gets his in the end （but， really， barely） does nothing to detract from the foul places the story went to in setting the scene in his perspective。 Appalling tbh。 I’m so glad I finished this dumb fricking anthology， and I’m sorry I made the library pay for me to check the audiobook out from Hoopla。 Save your time and your library’s funds and just buy a Hopper print or something。 。。。more

Mary ，

I normally don't read collections of short stories， but when I read the review of this a few years ago， I was intrigued。 I finally got around to reading it and really enjoyed most of the stories。 Using Hopper's paintings as the writing prompt for the authors was an interesting exercise。 I normally don't read collections of short stories， but when I read the review of this a few years ago， I was intrigued。 I finally got around to reading it and really enjoyed most of the stories。 Using Hopper's paintings as the writing prompt for the authors was an interesting exercise。 。。。more

Bat713 ，

I am not overly found of short stories。 Some were good， others so so。 I listened to an audiobook so it was confusing which paintings were connected to which story。 I wish I had read this with the book in my hand。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0