In this adventure story by H. G. Wells, two men arriving by canoe on a deserted Borneo island have killed another to get their hands on a map. As well as including some strange symbols and unintelligible Chinese writing, the map shows the location of a buried treasure. When the men reach the spot, they are delighted to find the treasure intact. As they carry some of it away, they learn to their cost the meaning of the symbols on the map, and why its owner was smiling as they killed him. Themes include greed, crime and punishment, karma. More…
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Indian Camp
This story by Ernest Hemingway tells how a young boy ‘comes of age’ as he witnesses the saving of a woman’s life, the birth of her baby, and the death of her husband – all in the space of just a few hours. A feature of Hemingway’s short stories is that he often leaves important details open to the reader’s interpretation. In this story, we come away wondering why the woman’s husband killed himself. Some people suggest that the boy’s Uncle George may have had something to do with it. Themes: birth and death, suffering, masculinity, suicide. More…
Bullet in the Brain
This Tobias Wolff story features a protagonist who is so unlikable that it seems a relief when a bank robber silences him. Sarcastic to the point of being obnoxious, Anders provides some humorous moments (Love the comment about The Killers!) before getting the richly deserved Bullet in the Brain. Unlike Bierce’s Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, where the protagonist enjoys an uplifting moment-of-death experience, Anders re-lives a childhood baseball game. The highlights of his life were the simple pleasures of youth (such as enjoying the musical quality of a strange accent), before losing his innocence to conceit, disillusionment and cynicism. More…
The Man Who Loved Flowers
In this story from Stephen King, people are cheered by the sight of a well-dressed young man walking down a New York City street one spring evening. He has the appearance of a man in love, which is confirmed when he buys a bouquet of flowers for his girlfriend Norma. The twist comes when he hands the flowers to a young woman and savagely beats her to death when she says her name is not Norma. Norma is long dead, but the obsessed former admirer is still looking for her. Themes include appearance vs. reality, love, obsession, denial, madness, murder. More…
Midsummer
This story by Manuel E. Arguilla describes an innocent but sexually charged encounter between a Filipino man and woman on a hot midsummer day. The man, who is driving a bullock cart along an isolated stretch of road, notices a young, surprisingly sweet and fresh woman on her way to collect water. He stops and follows her up a dry gorge to a well, where he watches her draw water. After she leaves and later returns for more water, they strike up a conversation. Themes include sexuality, physical attraction, shyness and respect. More…