In this story by H. E. Bates, a man sent to prison for killing a love rival in a jealous rage returns to the scene of the crime. His intent is to confront the woman they were fighting over, who was once his fiancé. As he knocks on her door he has a premonition that if she opened the door he might not be able to restrain himself but would rush straight at her and kill her. Fortunately for him, the person who opens it is a pleasant surprise. Themes: passion, jealousy and rage, choices and consequences, alienation and loneliness. More…
All posts by shortsonline
Minutes of Glory
This Ngugi Wa Thiong’o story highlights the human cost of progress in developing countries such as post-independence Kenya. Its main themes are exploitation, class differences, identity, loneliness and appearances. A young woman leaves her village in search of a better life in the city. She is poorly educated, and ends up working as a hostess in beer bars. Unhappy with the life, the money she makes and her appearance, she dreams of something better. Cut off from her family and alone in the world, she steals money from a customer and uses it to experience a few minutes of glory. More…
The Beast in the Jungle
Despite a relatively simple plot and only two main characters, this short novella by Henry James can be hard-going on the first read. A man is obsessed with the feeling that misfortune of some kind will come into his life “like a beast in the jungle”. He shares the premonition with a female acquaintance, who is interested enough to agree to stay close and “watch his back”. In order to build suspense in the lead-up to the story’s heartbreaking conclusion, James shrouds the interactions between the two in confusion and ambiguity. Themes: fate, obsession, connection, insensitivity, suffering, death, guilt. More…
Grandad’s Gifts
This story from Paul Jennings disproves the English proverb Curiosity killed the cat. When protagonist Shane’s family move into his deceased grandfather’s house, his father points to a cupboard in his bedroom and says: We can’t open that. I promised my father. Grandad locked it up many years ago and it’s never been opened. I lived in this bedroom for nineteen years and kept my promise. As might be expected, Shane develops a burning desire to discover the cupboard’s secret. Rather than killing a cat, his curiosity gives a different animal a new life. Themes: curiosity, disobedience, kindness, the supernatural. More…
The Good Doctor
This story by Adam Haslett explores the frustrations of a young government psychiatrist as he makes a house call to evaluate a remote patient. The woman, living with guilt, depression and fear after the death of her methamphetamine-addicted eldest son, wants to renew her prescriptions. The doctor strongly believes she is also in need of therapy, but faces two problems in providing it: distance (a five-hour round-trip to see her), and the woman’s refusal to participate. Themes include social change, rural poverty and lack of opportunity, shattered dreams, disillusionment, substance abuse, guilt, PTSD, alienation, biological psychiatry vs. clinical psychology. More…