Kurt Vonnegut described this semi-autobiographical tale, written in honor of his wife, as a sickeningly slick love story. A satire of the “love at first sight” romance cliché, it describes how, after a platonic friendship of almost twenty years, a single expression of love and two kisses is all it takes for Catharine to question her plans to marry another man and fall into Newt’s arms. Themes include communication (failure to express/discuss their feelings sooner), taking people for granted (Newt didn’t appreciate how much Catharine meant to him until almost losing her!), and fighting for what is important in life. More…
As If It Had Never Happened
In this story by Witthayakon Chiangkun, a busload of enthusiastic Bangkok college students descend upon an isolated, poverty-stricken rice farming village as part of a 1960s national community development program. Despite their best efforts, differences in speech, dress and perceived social class make integration difficult. They have been sent during their school vacation to build a Community Hall, something the contented villagers neither asked for or need. Apart from the narrator, a young teen, the Hall’s only users are water-buffaloes seeking shelter from the sun. Themes include identity, innocence, city vs. country cultural divide, politicization, benevolence, bureaucratic disconnection. More…
The Velveteen Rabbit
The major theme of this touching children’s fantasy (aka How Toys Become Real) from Margery Williams is the transforming power of love. A cheaply made stuffed toy (Rabbit) is made to feel inferior by the more “advanced” toys in the nursery. A wise but badly worn old toy (Skin Horse) gives it some memorable advice: Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child [someone] loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real. Other themes: being different, rejection, hope, loss, fulfillment. More…
The Son
In this emotionally charged story by Horacio Quiroga, a thirteen-year-old boy goes hunting in woods near his home. He is well aware of the dangers associated with hunting alone, and competent in the use of a gun. The boy’s father, who is not well and suffers from hallucinations, becomes concerned when he does not return at the agreed time. Fearing the worst, he begins a frantic search, growing increasingly anxious until finding, or thinking he finds, the boy safe and unharmed. Themes include parental love, isolation, nature and survival, trust, anxiety, fear, illusion, death. More…
The Sphinx without a Secret
In this story by Oscar Wilde, two old college friends discuss a mysterious woman one of them had fallen in love with. The relationship ended when she refused to reveal the secret behind her apparent paranoia about being contacted at home and a clandestine visit to a boarding house. The major themes of the story are love and trust, as evidenced by the narrator’s initial comment: women are meant to be loved, not be understood and his friend’s retort: I cannot love where I cannot trust. Other themes include the allure of mystery, obsession, insecurity, jealousy, privacy, escape. More…