In this story by Anton Chekhov, sledge driver Iona Potapov is distraught because his son has died and he feels alone in the world. Another translation of the title is “The Lament” (a show of sorrow for someone who has died or something that is gone). The story addresses the question: What could be worse than the sadness associated with losing a loved one? Chekhov’s answer: To feel so lonely and cut off from the world that you have no one to talk to about it.. Themes include grief, discomfort, indifference, cruelty, loneliness, the healing power of animals. More…
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Amnesty
In this story by Octavia Butler, Earth’s economy collapses following the arrival of an advanced alien race that settles in the world’s deserts. A reluctant co-existence develops when it becomes clear that the aliens cannot be destroyed. The protagonist, kidnapped by the aliens at age eleven and subjected to cruel experiments, is now an Interpreter for one of their “communities”. Her current mission: to “calm” and prepare six recruits for well-paid positions translating for other communities. Although they need the job, the applicants are full of anger and hostility towards the aliens. Themes: fear, ignorance, social experimentation, torture, hatred, détente. More…
The Pearl
This novella from John Steinbeck describes a battle between good and evil and exposes the best and worst in human nature. Sadly, evil wins out. An uneducated Mexican-Indian pearl diver from a poor fishing community outside a Spanish town dreams of a better life for his family after discovering a pearl as large as a sea-gull’s egg on the ocean floor. After multiple instances of townspeople trying to manipulate and cheat him and later, to violently steal the pearl, his dream turns into a tragic nightmare. Themes: family/community, racism, colonialism, oppression, materialism, greed, corruption, fate. More…
Fairy Ointment
In this folktale, a strange looking little old man asks a nurse to come to his house to help his sick wife look after their baby boy. The man’s wife gives the nurse some ointment to put on the baby’s eyes. Being curious, the nurse puts some of it on one of her own eyes. The family seemed normal enough up to this point. However, the ointment helps her to learn their secret. The nurse pays a heavy price for her actions when the old man finds out what she has done. More…
The Schreuderspitze
In this story by Mark Helprin, a grieving German photographer finds a unique way of getting over the accidental death of his wife and son. Two years after the accident, he disappears without trace. Leaving his lodgings and photographic equipment behind, he relocates to a small, remote town in the Alps. There, he decides to become a mountain climber and ascend the dangerous Schreuderspitze peak alone. He trains hard, teaches himself how to climb from books, buys the necessary equipment, and “succeeds” in a most unusual way. Themes include loss, grief, escape, isolation, a quest, dreams vs. reality, renewal. More…