I was asked to review another candidate for San Jose State Universities Campus Reading Program. Drinking Coffee Elsewhere is a series of short-stories by ZZ Packer.
The collection of short stories found in Drinking Coffee Elsewhere is rich with events that people often live but rarely have the talent (or courage) to write. As someone who enjoys the slice of life genre that Packer has so eloquently composed, I would highly recommend reading Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, but not as part of the San Jose State University Campus Reading Program.
The themes of Packer’s stories revolve around African-Americans and women, both of which need people with a strong voice to bring attention to their stories. However, I feel that a work of fiction whose focus is so narrow would alienate many of the students at SJSU and would recycle ideas that the majority of the student population has already been exposed to. This would go against the very idea of what I believe this program should be about, which is to generate discussion of problems unique to our generation. This is not to say that the struggles of African-Americans and women are of no concern to the student body, but rather these issues have had their opportunity to be discussed. My fear, if the committee chooses Drinking Coffee Elsewhere, is that many students will tune out before they take the time to read Packers work.
Furthermore, the idea of presenting a series of short stories to the students of SJSU and expecting them to read them all in their entirety is an absurd notion. Though there is a common thread in the stories, they are unique to themselves and would present a difficult challenge to most students, in the event they are assigned work related to the book. On a more personal note – think about how you read a collection of short stories. Do you read them from cover to cover? Do you read all of them? Chances are you read the ones that interest you and leave the others alone. To assign every story in Drinking Coffee Elsewhere would go against the principles of how one should read such a collection. With that said, I encourage you to select a different book for the Campus Reading Program, but please, do spread the word of the undeniable talent of ZZ Packer.
Miss Packer - if you come across this, I aspire to write even 1/10 as well as you ...no, 1/20.
