Major Issues
Author Links
Essay Questions

Major Issues

Tobias Wolff’s short fiction has drawn comparisons with that of many other writers: including Flannery O’Connor, Chekhov, and Maupassant. It has also been noted that Wolff shares with O. Henry a penchant for surprise endings, in Wolff’s case through an unexpected humorous or ironic twist. Reviewers have remarked on Wolff’s ability to create eccentric, but believable characters and bizarre, but believable, situations. Other critics have discussed the unexpected insights that emerge through Wolff’s often dark, grotesque scenarios and humor.

Author Links

An Optimistic Act
A brief bio-critical overview of Wolff from New York State Writers Institute.

Book Review
Review of "In the Garden of North American Martyrs."

An Eye For What Is Human
In this 1996 interview Wolff discusses ambiguity, aberrations, autobiography, and other topics.

Tobias Wolff
Scroll down for links to interviews with and profiles of Wolff.