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Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

By: Z. Z. Packer
Narrated by: Shirley Jordan
Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
Categories: Fiction, Literary
5 out of 5 stars (1 rating)

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Summary

Here is a remarkable debut short-story collection by a fresh and captivating new voice in American literature.

Z. Z. Packer's first collection of short stories is rich with unexpected turns, indelible images, and penetrating insight that belies someone so young. Her stories plunge us into the worlds of people living on the edge and to the flashpoints that make or break them, that shape their worldviews forever.

In "The Stranger", a third-grade girl tries to find her place in the microcosm of summer camp in the larger world during the height of the Atlanta child murders in 1981. The girl's bathroom at camp is the setting for a clash between an all-black and an all-white Brownie troop in "Brownies". And two young women prod the boundaries of friendship and love in "Drinking Coffee Elsewhere".

A highly anticipated debut from an award-winning young writer.
©2002 Z. Z. Packer (P)2003 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"The clear-voiced humanity of Packer's characters, mostly black teenage girls, resonates unforgettably through the eight stories of this accomplished debut collection." ( Publishers Weekly)
”This is the old-time religion of storytelling, although Packer’s prose supplies plenty of the edge and energy we expect from contemporary fiction.” ( The New York Times Book Review)
”ZZ Packer’s prose is vivid and often comic...Her vision sizzles and fizzes.” (John Updike)

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Christopher Moore
  • Christopher Moore
  • 19-03-19

did not like at all

I did not like this book. it did not seem that any of the stories flowed for me.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Amazon Customer
  • 14-02-18

Entertaining and relatable stories

Entertaining and relatable stories. The characters feel real and alive. I'm looking forward to more of Packer's writing.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • La Mer Kyle-Griffiths
  • 19-09-17

A struggle

Each story felt somehow unfinished but I wanted them all to end earlier. A very one sided portrait of various black experiences.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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  • Gatster
  • 25-10-14

Lousy chapter breaks

Any additional comments?

The chapter breaks in this book are awful making it very difficult to go to a specific short story when you want to. This also goes for "Fine Just the Way It Is" by Annie Proulx.

1 person found this helpful