| The Best American Short Stories 1988 | |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | The Best American Short Stories |
| Published: | 1988 |
| Publisher: | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Media Type: | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Isbn: | 0395442575 |
| Preceded By: | The Best American Short Stories 1987 |
| Followed By: | The Best American Short Stories 1989 |
The Best American Short Stories 1988, a volume in The Best American Short Stories series, was edited by Shannon Ravenel and by guest editor Mark Helprin.[1] In announcing the publication of this annual edition, Publishers Weekly noted that it is an "at times inspired anthology which draws from small and big-gun literary magazines in equal measures [and] is heralded by a sonorous, sagacious introduction..."[2] while the reviewer at Kirkus Reviews described Mark Helprin's introduction as a "John-Gardneresque screed."[3]
| Author | Story | Source |
|---|---|---|
| "Cats and Students, Bubbles and Abysses" | Carolina Quarterly | |
| "Police Dreams" | The Atlantic | |
| "The Taming Power of the Small" | Epoch | |
| "Errand" | The New Yorker | |
| "Waiting for Trains" | North American Review | |
| "Snares" | Harper's Magazine | |
| "Dédé" | The New Yorker | |
| "Wonderland" | The Iowa Review | |
| "Way to the Dump" | The Atlantic | |
| "No Friends, All Strangers" | The Agni Review | |
| "The Water-Faucet Vision" | Nimrod | |
| "Victoria" | StoryQuarterly | |
| "Still Life with Insects" | Fiction | |
| "The Natural Father" | Crazyhorse | |
| "Inn Essence" | The Atlantic | |
| "Entrechat" | The Kenyon Review | |
| "Still Life" | The Georgia Review | |
| "Helping" | The New Yorker | |
| "Banana Boats" | The Paris Review | |
| "Smorgasbord" | Esquire | |