This story by Laura E. Richards is about a poor farm boy who, at the end of most working days, would sit on top of a hill and look at a far-away house that appeared to have golden windows. As he did so, he wished that he could live in a wonderful house like that. One day he sets out to find the house. When he gets there, he is disappointed to learn that the house doesn’t have golden windows. A little girl takes him to the top of her hill and shows him the real house with golden windows. More…
The Street-sweeping Show
This story by Feng Jicai provides an insight as to how Chinese bureaucracy functioned under the Mao regime. A town Mayor, surrounded by groveling officials, puts on an artificial media show to be seen supporting National Cleanup Week. The event needs no publicity, as the town’s population is already out sweeping the streets. Moreover, the carefully choreographed newspaper and T.V. shoot is held in the Central Square, which has already been swept clean. When the Mayor’s grandson points out that he is on TV, he comments: It’s not worth watching! Themes include social class, propaganda, media manipulation, appearance vs. reality. More…
The Goose Father
In this story by Krys Lee, loneliness drives a South Korean gireogi appa (goose father) to take in a tenant after six months’ living alone. The tenant, an enigmatic young man half the landlord’s age, arrives on his doorstep with a goose he believes to be his reincarnated mother. As the mismatched pair get to know each other, sexual tension builds between them. Something unexpected occurs when the landlord finally comes to terms with his sexual inclinations and is about to express his feelings by kissing the younger man. Themes include family, loneliness, sexuality, love, betrayal, guilt, forgiveness, the supernatural. More…
The Water-Faucet Vision
In this humorous story by Gish Jen, a Chinese-American woman whose mother recently passed away reflects on a brief period in her childhood when her mother somehow fell out of their bedroom window. At the time of the fall she was a fifth grader in a Catholic school, obsessed with the idea of becoming a martyr and performing miracles. When her precious comfort beads fall through a drainage grate in the road, she wakes to a “vision” telling her how to recover them. Themes include religious belief, marital conflict, family, friendship, loss. More…
Youth
As is often the case with Isaac Asimov’s longer science fiction stories, Youth includes some profound “earthly” themes. Written in the early years of the Cold War, the first is the danger that atomic war poses to civilization. The second, which is strongly reinforced by the twist ending, is not to judge sentient beings (people) by their looks, no matter how strange they appear. A final theme, as reflected in the title and the Astronomer’s exasperated final exclamation (Youth!) is the naïve innocence of the young, and the responsibility that we as adults hold for their future. More…