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Anthony Doerr

The Shell Collector Kindle Edition

by Anthony Doerr (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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The showstopping debut from the author of the #1 Sunday Times bestseller ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE

A blind man spends his days roaming the beaches of Kenya collecting shells, classifying them by feeling their whorls, spines and folds in his fingers. A young woman discovers that she can explore the inner world of an animal’s mind by touching its freshly dead body. A refugee from Liberia, who cannot escape the horrors that he has witnessed, finds salvation in the clandesitne act of burying the hearts of beached whales.

In The Shell Collector Antony Doerr illuminates both the riotous dangers of the natural world and the rocky terrain of the human heart.

Print length

226 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Fourth Estate
Publication date

21 December 2011
File size

1227 KB
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Product description

From the Back Cover

'His fingers dug the shell up, he felt the sleek egg of its body, the toothy gap of its aperture. It was the most elegant thing he'd ever held. "That's a mouse cowry," the doctor said. "A lovely find. It has brown spots, and darker stripes at its base, like tiger stripes. You can't see it, can you?" But he could. He'd never seen anything so clearly in his life.’

In this assured, exquisite debut, Anthony Doerr takes readers from the African coast to the suburbs of Ohio, from sideshow pageantry to harsh wilderness survival, conjuring nature in both its beautiful abundance and its crushing power. The blind hero of the title story spends his days roaming the beaches of Kenya, his fingers ploughing through sandy granules of grace and intrigue, his German shepherd at his side. And then there are whale-watchers and fishermen, hunters and mystics, living lives uncompleted or undone, caught, memorably, as they turn toward the reader.

A natural storyteller, Doerr explores the human dilemma in all its manifestations: longing, grief, indecision, heartbreak and slow, slow recuperation. Shimmering with elegance and invention, The Shell Collector is an enchanting and imaginative book by a young writer just setting off on what will surely be a hugely compelling literary odyssey.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

The Shell Collector is breathtaking.... Perilously beautiful. --Boston Globe

"Anthony Doerr is a gifted and fearless new writer. He is absolutely unafraid to take on the biggest themes of the human condition, always writing about heroes and their various epic journeys. The Shell Collector is unforgettable--not so much a book of short stories as a book of short myths."--Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

"Doerr's prose dazzles, his sinewy sentences blending the naturalists' unswerving gaze with the poet's gift for metaphor."--The New York Times Book Review --This text refers to the paperback edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006K114FS
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fourth Estate (21 December 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1227 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 226 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 45,083 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 450 in 20th Century Historical Romance (Books)
- 1,294 in Literary Fiction (Kindle Store)
- 1,356 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
870 ratings

About the author

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Anthony Doerr

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Anthony Doerr has won numerous prizes for his fiction, including the Pulitzer Prize and the Carnegie Medal. His novel, 'All the Light We Cannot See,' was a #1 New York Times Bestseller and his new novel, 'Cloud Cuckoo Land,' published in September of 2021, was a finalist for the National Book Award. Learn more at www.anthonydoerr.com.

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Customer reviews

5 star		59%
4 star		21%
3 star		10%
2 star		5%
1 star		4%

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Transcendental...

Reviewed in Australia on 6 May 2017

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I generally don't pick up a collection of short stories, however decided to read this collection after becoming entirely immersed in 'All the Light we Cannot See'.

Anthony Doerr's style of writing is just so utterly beautiful it's quite transcendental transporting the reader from the coast of Kenya to the Montana winter, from Liberia in West Africa to Oregon, from Tanzania to Ohio. Of the 8 stories, these were my three favourites.

My reason for giving the collection only four stars was that I felt the stories were so complex that I would like to see them turned into novels.

However that being said these short stories will not disappoint, particularly if you enjoyed 'All the Light We Cannot See' as much as I did.

2 people found this helpful

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Anne Whight

Stunning. A sensory delight, created by a word artist.

Reviewed in Australia on 18 May 2017

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Anthony Doerr's writing is so visual; you can actually see it, but you can also smell it, hear it, feel it. Each of these stories paints a different picture of human life, love and frailities. The characters are so alive, and the narrow worlds they inhabit are vividly portrayed. I don't usually read short stories, but since I love Doerr's writing, I bought this collection - and I wasn't disappointed. It's a feast. Enjoy.

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Jen Medlin

á feast of beautifully written stories

Reviewed in Australia on 9 December 2015

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Ive never been a great fan of short stories. I usually feel I've been given a range of appetisers when what I really want is a substantial meal that will satisfy me. However, the series of stories in The Shell Collector was totally satisfying and I was happy to have a break after each one and fully digest what I had just read. They all fulfilled my criteria for beautifully written and absorbing tales.

2 people found this helpful

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Cathy Sutcliffe

Historical novel

Reviewed in Australia on 1 June 2017

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I enjoyed the story of a poor family in Ireland during the potato famine and looking forward to continuing the story in book 2.

2 people found this helpful

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Cheryl Freeman

and this one just didn't appeal to me like his other books did

Reviewed in Australia on 29 August 2016

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I have read all of Anthony Doerr's books, and this one just didn't appeal to me like his other books did.

2 people found this helpful

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Rosemary

Love this author

Reviewed in Australia on 11 April 2015

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Doerr has collected. Some wonderful short stories here, the range is great.

Reviewed in Australia on 31 July 2016

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Doerr writes gracefully, creating layer upon layer of imagery to draw you into a detailed world.

3 people found this helpful

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rolf peter-

Four Stars

Reviewed in Australia on 17 November 2015

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Something different but rewarding

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Neal Garratt

A delightful book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 November 2018

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What a delightful book- it’s so well written that in parts it’s like reading poetry- each story takes you into a different world and completely immerses you. I loved every page and didn’t want to finish each story. There is an art to writing a short story and this book paints each story beautifully. I can not recommend highly enough.

5 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

I need a relationship with the characters

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2015

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I read this collection of short stories after becoming entirely immersed in All the Light we Cannot See and, although I recognise that you cannot become as involved with the characters in a short story, I was a little disappointed in the the characters in the short stories in The Shell Collector. I loved the plots and the ideas behind them, but I do like to have a relationship with characters. What I did love about these stories was the language and Doerr's power of descriptive detail. I found The Caretaker quite disturbing, while my favourite stories were The Hunter's Wife and Mkondo.

12 people found this helpful

Baf

Brilliant

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2021

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I came to this after reading 2 of this author's other books. This is his first book - short stories. I think it's brilliant! All the stories "spoke" to me, even those quite diverse. This author is someone who understands the human condition in some depth. I am now reading ALL of his books!

One person found this helpful

rafa

Superb!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 February 2020

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Gloriously written - a wonderful read - I highly recommend this book. Anthony Doerr is a master!

Leitir

Some great short stories in this collection

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2021

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I read this as a recommendation from a book club that I’m in. One or two of the stories didn’t land with me at all. But overall the collection is very strong.

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The Shell Collector Kindle Edition

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Anthony Doerr

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