In commenting on this story, Isaac Asimov once wrote: This is by far my favorite story of all those I have written. After all, I undertook to tell several trillion years of human history in the space of a short story…. I also undertook another task, but I won’t tell you what that was lest I spoil the story for you. Although there is very little character development or action, the ending is so powerful that almost everyone who reads it remembers it. Themes include technological change, the search for knowledge, entropy and the fate of mankind, religion (omniscience, creation). More…
Fatso
The concept of shapeshifting is not new. Examples exist in mythology, fairy-tales, and innumerable science fiction plots. The protagonist in this Etgar Keret story falls in love with a woman who is beautiful by day but, in a twist on Princess Fiona of Shrek fame, turns into a fat, hairy man by night. The man and womanly side remain lovers and even contemplate a family (ugh!), while he and the fat man become good friends. As absurd as the story might seem, it contains an important message about the role of friends in ensuring a complete and fulfilling life. More…
The Pugilist at Rest
This story by Thom Jones is unusual in that the protagonist, a reflective American Marine, freely admits committing unspeakable war crimes (and getting medals for them) after the rest of his reconnaissance patrol was slaughtered in Vietnam. Post-war PTSD leads to excessive drinking and a vicious boxing match in which he suffers serious brain damage. He must now choose between a life of seizures in a drug-induced haze, or risky surgery that could turn him into a vegetable. Themes include friendship, masculinity, the brutality of war, morality, violence and suffering, choices and consequences, philosophy and art. More…
Train
In this story by Joy Williams, a sensitive, compassionate girl (Dan) rides a long-distance train with the family of a rude, cynical, self-absorbed friend (Jane). The two ten-year-olds spend much of the time walking through the train interacting with Jane’s argumentative, pretentious parents and other passengers. Dan, who has problems of her own at home, “comes of age” as she realizes the world is not always a happy place, and that Jane is unfit to be her friend. Surprisingly, Jane’s father seems to have a similar opinion of his daughter! Themes include friendship, family dysfunction, conflict, loneliness, epiphany. More…
Goodbye, Columbus
Major themes of this captivating story by Philip Roth are passion, sexuality, Jewish identity, and social class. When Neil, a twenty-three-year-old man from a working class Jewish family falls for Brenda, a spoiled college student from a wealthy one, the relationship appears doomed. Brenda’s competitive nature, Neil’s idealism, and his daily encounters with her emotionally dysfunctional family, lead to snide comments and constant bickering between them. The glue that holds their relationship together is sex, and readers are left to decide if Brenda ended it accidentally or deliberately. Other themes include family, materialism, manipulation, and control. More…