Featured Stories

Shadows

Shadows: Short story by Richard PeckThis Richard Peck story leaves readers with a question. A lonely child grows up in an old Louisiana plantation-house that she believes to be haunted. On turning five, she befriends the shabbily dressed spirit of a boy (Seth) that not only can talk, but also wants to learn reading, writing and basic arithmetic. As school and real friends take up more of the girl’s time, Seth stops visiting. He makes one final appearance as she prepares to leave for college, leaving her puzzled and very confused. Themes: loneliness, friendship, coming of age, alienation, literacy, the supernatural.

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The Bear

The Bear: Short story / novel by William FaulknerWilliam Faulkner published several versions of this classic story, the most notable of which are a short story that appeared in the Saturday Evening Post and a novel-sized chapter in his book, Go Down, Moses. In the short story, an unnamed boy becomes a skilled woodsman over six years of annual hunting trips. His dream is to bag “Old Ben”, a huge bear that has terrorized farmers on the fringes of their hunting grounds for years. When he finally gets the chance, he doesn’t shoot. Themes: family, land and people ownership, racial identity, love of and respect for the wilderness.

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The Two Brothers and the Gold

The Two Brothers and the Gold: Short story by Leo TolstoyIn this story by Leo Tolstoy, two devout brothers who have dedicated their lives to helping the needy react very differently to finding a heap of gold. One leaps aside and runs away; the other takes it into town and puts it towards building and provisioning an asylum for widows and orphans, a hospital for the sick, and a hospice for the poor and pilgrims. Returning home penniless after basking in the praise of the townspeople, he is castigated by an Angel for allowing himself to be corrupted by the devil. Themes include religion, selflessness, brotherly love, temptation, hubris.

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Why I Learned to Cook

Why I Learned to Cook: Short story by Sara FarizanIn this story by Sara Farizan, a bisexual Iranian-American teen makes her grandmother’s day by asking her to teach her to cook Persian food. Her request has an ulterior motive… to introduce the grandmother to her girlfriend. The teen had come out to her parents twelve months earlier, and her girlfriend felt left out by not being included in family dinners with her grandmother. Over dinner, the observant grandmother guesses the true nature of the girls’ relationship. Themes include family, love, sexuality, insecurity, fear of rejection vs. pride in who you are, acceptance.

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Neighbours

Neighbours: Short story by Moe Moe (Inya)Set in 1970s Burma, this story by Moe Moe (aka Inya) uses the experiences of a young couple with a four-month-old child to explore the theme of “neighborliness”. Moving to the suburbs after living with family “downtown”, they find the neighbors friendly and helpful but also experience incidences of prying, malicious gossip, quarreling, greed, and pressure to keep up appearances. Moving to an apartment closer to the city, they find an individualistic environment where nobody even talks to their neighbors. This leaves the poor protagonist with no idea what sort of neighborhood she wants to live in.

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How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife

How My Brother Leon Brought Home a Wife: Short story by Manuel E. AguillaIn this popular Filipino story from Manuel E. Arguilla, a son brings his city-based bride home to the countryside to “meet the family”, only to have the poor woman tested by his father before she even arrives. The father has his younger son meet them with a bullock cart rather than horse and carriage, and bring them home via a stony “short-cut” along a dry creek bed rather than the smoother main road. The apprehensive but charming girl (in high heels no less!) passes the tests with flying colors. Themes: love, fear, perseverance, patriarchy, reputation.

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Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman

Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman: Short story by Harlan EllisonThis story by Harlan Ellison takes a satirical look at the way people can become slaves to time. In a future dystopian world, everyone and everything must be on time. The Master Timekeeper (aka the Ticktockman) is responsible for policing this. He has a special power: if someone is late to work or causes something to be delayed, that person has the lost time deducted from their lifespan. Only one man stands against him: a disruptive rebel who calls himself the Harlequin. Themes include totalitarianism, obsession with timeliness and productivity, misused technology, social regimentation, individualism, the futility of individual revolt.

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Almost No Memory

Almost No Memory: Flash story by Lydia DavisWhen Lydia Davis wrote this flash story, she may have been reminded of a quote attributed to Albert Einstein: Never memorize what you can look up. Some people have a knack for remembering almost every detail of past events; others have a talent for putting names to faces or remembering facts and figures. However, most of us forget more than we remember. A word that often comes up in describing Davis’s writing is “playful”. Here she takes a playful look at memory (or rather lack of it!), and then moves on to memories and their relationship to original thought.

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