Featured Stories

Stay True Hotel

Stay True Hotel: Short story by Shihab Naomi NyeIn this story by Naomi Shihab Nye, a teenage girl grieving over her mother’s death is initially unhappy when yet another job change by her father results in yet another relocation, this time from the UK to Germany. Once there, she finds exploring the vibrant, unfamiliar streets of Berlin strangely exhilarating. In a sudden epiphany, she realizes that to “stay true” to her mother, she must let go of the gloom and look positively on life. Themes include grief, depression, acceptance, and that sometimes a change of environment can provide a fresh perspective on one’s problems.

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Land Deal

Land Deal: Short story by Gerald MurnaneAustralians recently voted (No) on a proposal to change their Constitution to recognize its First Peoples by establishing an advisory body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. In recognition of this, it seems appropriate to feature this acclaimed story by Gerald Murnane. It provides a surreal interpretation of an early (afterwards deemed void) “treaty” between men from overseas and representatives of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Aboriginal Nation. The Wurundjeri narrator rationalizes the events as a dream (or perhaps nightmare) within a dream that must one day end. Themes: manipulation, exploitation, indivisibility of the land, restoration.

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Nightfall

Nightfall: Short story by Isaac AsimovNightfall: Short story by Isaac AsimovAs once described by Isaac Asimov himself, Nightfall (is) the tale of a world with eternal sun that is suddenly plunged into total darkness and utter madness. Hailed as one of the greatest Science Fiction stories ever written it tells how, in preparation for the potential end of their civilization, a group of forward-thinking scientists have created a safe place to store their world’s accumulated knowledge and hide a select group of “survivors”. Themes: science vs superstition (cultism), having the courage of one’s convictions, sensory deprivation, insanity, mob hysteria, scientific hubris.

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A Respectable Woman

A Respectable Woman: Short story by Kate ChopinKate Chopin’s ‘respectable woman’ is happily married and looking forward to spending quality time with her husband. She is so disappointed when he invites an old school friend to visit that she decides to be polite but not friendly towards him. At first, the two barely communicate. However, there is a growing chemistry between them. This disturbs the woman, who finds an excuse to visit an Aunt for the remainder of his stay. When the woman learns the man will visit again, she tells her husband: I have overcome everything! Overcome what? Does she plan to remain a ‘respectable woman’?

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The Wall

The Wall: Short story by Jean-Paul SartreIn this story by Jean-Paul Sartre, a foreign volunteer in the fight against Franco’s Nationalists during the Spanish Civil War is arrested. He and two other men are put in a cell where they learn they will be shot the following morning. Most of story is about how each deals with the prospect of death. After the other two are led away, the narrator is given a choice: to follow them or give up the location of a Republican leader. Themes include the brutality of war, death, existentialism (free will to determine the meaning and purpose of our life).

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(Because) We’re Very Poor

(Because) We're Very Poor: Short story by Juan RulfoThis story by Juan Rulfo describes the devastating impact of an unexpected flood on a post-revolutionary Mexican farming family and, in doing so, highlights the limited life choices available to children of the rural poor. Told in the form of a narrative by a boy, we learn that in addition to losing their entire crop, his family lost a precious cow intended to provide “capital” to prevent his twelve-year-old sister from following their older sisters into prostitution. His mother questions God; his father accepts their fate. Themes include family, poverty/social injustice, the unpredictability and power of nature, helplessness, fatalism, prostitution.

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A Spinster’s Tale

A Spinster's Tale: Short story by Peter TaylorIn this story by Peter Taylor, an aged woman looks back at a traumatic period in her youth that may have shaped her life and led to spinsterhood. Her mother’s religious condemnation of alcohol sets the scene for the story. The subsequent loss of her mother following a still-birth, growing up in a (drinking) male-dominated household, and her phobia about the town drunk at a critical period in her life (as she enters puberty) leave her isolated and in fear of the masculine world. Themes include family dynamics, personal growth, isolation and loneliness, fear, cruelty, sexual conflict.

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Roses, Rhododendron

Roses, Rhododendron: Short story by Alice AdamsThis enchanting story by Alice Adams is about friendship, love (for people and places), and marriage. The narrator recalls how, after she and her mother moved from Boston to North Carolina, a lifelong friendship developed after she fell permanently in love with a house, with a family of three people and with an area of countryside. She forms a strong bond with each member of the family, and later learns that their shared fondness for her may have been the only thing that kept them together. Themes include friendship, mother-daughter relationships, marriage, city vs. country living, the beauty of nature.

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