An Evaluation of Anthony Bukoski's Time Between Trains #3

Audience: Princeton High School teachers considering letting their students read this book.

Evaluation of a Book of Short Stories

"This book has problems…," said Anthony Bukoski about his book, Time Between Trains. However, I do believe that there are also some good things about this collection of short stories. Even though high school students might find some parts of Anthony Bukoski's book, Time Between Trains, to be slow and twisted, I still believe that you should give your students the opportunity to read this book: [1] high-school students like short stories, [2] they will be able to relate with some of the characters, [3] the suspense makes you want to read the next story, and [4] Bukoski was descriptive without over exaggerating. [thesis]

Time Between Trains is a collection of fictional short stories written by Anthony Bukoski, a Roman-Catholic from Superior, Wisconsin. Bukoski wrote these stories with an autobiographical basis. Time Between Trains has thirteen stories, most of which are set in Superior. These short stories have many different settings from the local bar to Vietnam. Some of the stories like "Leaves that Shimmer in the Slightest Breeze" can give you the opportunity to give assignments such as looking for hidden messages or themes.

There are some positive things in this collections of short stories. The first positive thing about the book is how easy it is to relate with the characters. [topic sent.] Characters such as Andy, Tad, and the boy who jumps out of the train are characters that your students might be able to relate easily to themselves. High School students can easily relate to those three characters, because they are either close to their age or have experienced some of the same scenarios. Also, Frau Gusti and things about other characters might relate to people your students know. Anthony Bukoski does a good job at letting us know about all the characters, so even if we don't know someone that is like a character in the book, it is simple to get a good feel for their personality style and who they are.

The second positive aspect is the way Anthony Bukoski describes things well enough for people to be able to see the book, like a movie in their head. [topic sent.] Bukoski uses awesome and understandable descriptive words; one example is, "The hair more gray than blond, the blue eyes, the wrinkled angles of forehead and cheeks – and that charm." Bukoski uses color words, age, and expression in character sentences to help us "see" what is going on in every short story.

The third positive aspect is how each short story is a book in its own. [topic sent.] I know some students can easily get discouraged because they do not like the feeling having to read an entire book. Time Between Trains is a collection of thirteen stories, the longest being twenty four pages. Each story has its own theme and ideas, with only a few stories sharing characters and settings.

On the other hand, Time Between Trains also has some shortcomings. The thing that bothered me the most was how thirteen stories were put into one book, when the stories do not tie together. [topic sent.] Bukoski had told us at his presentation at Anoka Ramsey Community College that if he would have had just one more year he might have chosen to relate the stories better to each other.

Next is the fact that there are a couple of stories that are definitely for a more mature audience. [topic sent.] Some consider these stories to be sick and a little twisted. The biggest example is Vincento, a wooden ventriloquist dummy that shows up in "It Had to Be You." A few quotes from this story show you exactly how awkward it can be, "By the mid-50s, I feared the dummy would turn into saw dust I used him so much." Ethel Cohen also tells Vincento and Eddie, "It's been a wild ride, boys," as they fall asleep.

Finally, while going through and reading these short stories you often wonder, "Does the story end too quickly? I think it might…." [topic sent.] Anthony Bukoski admits to wondering the same thing when reading Time Between Trains. One example of a story that ends too quickly is "The Bird That Sings in the Bamboo"; this story definitely makes you think what could have happened next. As most of the stories have drama, some of them lack a little toward the end, leaving you in suspense and a little disappointment.

As you can see, Anthony Bukoski's book Time Between Trains has some problems; however, it also has some positive aspects. Things like good characters, short stories, and stories that your students might relate to make this an okay book. However, awkward settings and abrupt endings draw back the wellness of Time Between Trains. In conclusion, I think that you should allow your students to choose from a few books, like Time Between Trains and Of Mice and Men, instead of making either book mandatory.

(823 words, 3.5 pages, double-spaced)