In this story by Juan José Arreola, a man waiting for a train in Mexico is interrupted by a retired switchman who tells him that has little chance of getting to his destination. After outlining a long list of problems with the railway system and the hazards of using it, he “dissolves” at the sound of an approaching train whistle. The story has been variously labeled a satire of the Mexican railway system/government, and an existential horror story about the inability to exercise free will in a world governed by chance. Themes include absurdity, existentialism, corruption, determination, hope. More…
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MS. Found in a Bottle
This story by Edgar Allan Poe is an MS. (manuscript) found in a bottle tossed into the ocean by a dying man. After outlining his once rational, skeptical outlook on life, he relates the story of how, after a series of misadventures at sea, he found himself on a huge ghost galleon speeding under full sail towards the South pole. He walks around the ship unseen by its crew of infirm old men, who become increasingly excited as they approach their doom. Themes include the power of nature, fear, exploration, rational thinking vs. the supernatural, compulsion to document the unexplainable. More…
The Homecoming Stranger
In this story by Bei Dao, a young woman in 1970s China has difficulty dealing with her father’s homecoming after being falsely convicted of literary crimes and spending twenty years in prison. She feels resentment, not only over what she sees as his ‘desertion’, but also over her mother standing by when she was imprisoned and tortured at age twelve. Fortunately, on coming to understand her father’s love and the courage he had showed, she realizes her selfishness and they reconcile. Themes include the unfairness and brutality of the Mao regime, resentment, hypocrisy, rejection, fatherly love, courage, selfishness, forgiveness, reconciliation. More…
Victory
The enigmatic nature of this Vasily Aksyonov story about a casual chess game between a Russian grandmaster and a chance acquaintance stems from its interwoven motifs. Allegorically, the game represents a battle between the intelligentsia (the well-travelled, Dior-wearing grandmaster) and the common people (the brutish stranger). Additionally, as the game progresses the narration is interlaced with temporal shifts where the grandmaster experiences grim visions of desolation, hiding, escape and death. As he is about to be executed in the last vision, his opponent shouts “checkmate”. Themes include Western influence on Russian culture, class struggle, memories, insecurity, fear, ‘victory’ in survival. More…
Gren’s Ghost
In this story by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick, a usually timid 6th grader who is ridiculed at school because of his unusual name has an experience that boosts his pride and self-confidence. At midnight, he sneaks out of his house to help a classmate with a task he says needs two to pull off. Despite concerns about being set up for some kind of hazing, the boy goes to the meeting-place at the Seven Castles ruins and learns that their objective is to capture a photograph of the famous Priory Ghost. Themes include identity, fear, courage, pride, self-confidence, “friendship”, manipulation. More…