Lynne Favreau's Reviews > Black Tickets: Stories

Jayne Anne Phillip’s collection of short stories Black Tickets were touted as “original” and “the best since Eudora Welty” and “early genius” upon first publication in 1979.

In 2008, I didn’t find them to be all that compelling or original, but that may be a sign of the times. I just don’t believe that if these were published today for the first time they’d inspire the same accolades. And isn't that the test of a classic, standing the test of time?

The use of shock and rawness as a literary device used in some of these stories was valid and useful when written but have lost their effectiveness.

Phillips characters fall either to the side of immorality and their victims: the drug dealers, sluts, loners, raped, abused, confused, or they are the sweeter narratives of relationships between parents, children and siblings. Where she was more successful at engaging me was with the straight forward story telling of familial relationships. These classic family dramas were worthy of the accolades Snow and Souvenir.