The Outsider

The Outsider: Short story by H. P. LovecraftH. P. Lovecraft was a pioneer of cosmic horror, a sub-genre in which gothic settings and “other-worldly” elements replace shock and gore. A feature of his writing is nightmare-like plot twists that defy logic or reason. Here, a man grows up alone in a decaying castle set among frightening woods. When he climbs the crumbling castle tower to look further afield, he finds a stone slab that leads to an earth-like world above the clouds. He is excited to encounter other people, but soon learns a frightening truth. Themes include alternative reality, isolation and loneliness, social rejection, alienation, self-discovery.

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A Day in the Dark

A Day in the Dark: Short story by Elizabeth BowenIn this story by Elizabeth Bowen, a woman recalls when, as a fifteen-year-old girl “platonically” in love with her uncle, she was forced to re-examine their relationship. The source of her concern were snide comments by an old woman the uncle had fallen into talk with, which caused her to think that their comings and goings were the subject of town gossip. A feature of the story is the ambiguity as to the true feelings between the main characters, and the reason for the uncle’s clandestine visit to a hotel. Themes include innocence and experience, sexual awareness, deception, guilt, rumour.

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Children of the Ash-Covered Loam

Children of the Ash-Covered Loam: Short story by N. V. M. GonzalezThis charming story by N. V. M. Gonzalez describes life and ritual during the planting season in a Philippine subsistence farming family. The major conflict in the story, where families band together to communally sow each other’s kaingin (slashed and burned fields), is with nature. A feature of the story is the coming of age of a seven-year-old boy as he receives his first farming responsibility and comes to understand how life emerges from the dark womb of the land. Themes include family, community, living in harmony with the land, the cycle of life, superstition and ritual.

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The News from Ireland

The News from Ireland: Short story by William TrevorThis story from William Trevor is set during the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s. It contrasts the comfortable lives of those living behind the walls of a large English-owned estate with the misery of the rural poor. The issues are considered from multiple points of view, including those of servants and staff. Two major themes are acceptance and complacency. Although the plight of the rural poor initially disturbs newcomers, they soon become desensitized to the suffering, considering it a normal aspect of Irish life. Other themes: the gap between rich and poor, heritage, gender roles, religious faith and conflict.

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The Young Man Who Flew Past

The Young Man Who Flew Past: Short story by Arkady AverchenkoWriters must have a disproportionate fascination with heights, because there are a number of well-known stories in world literature about people falling, jumping or being pushed/thrown from tall buildings. Published in 1915, this short satire of middle-class society by Arkady Averchenko may be one of the first. A husband throws his wife’s lover from the sixth floor window of their apartment building. Through the windows on the way down, the falling man sees different ways his life could have gone. As he reaches the bottom, he is happy with his gruesome fate. Theme: men’s ‘destiny’ (ambition, marriage, family, adultery, depression, death).

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A Guide to Berlin

A Guide to Berlin: Short story by Vladimir NabokovThis early story by Vladimir Nabokov is not about places to see in Berlin, but rather the narrator’s observations of some everyday aspects of city life. Through a series of vignettes he describes pipes left on the footpath, the streetcar system, people he sees working on the streets, the city zoo and the pub in which he is drinking with a friend. The major theme is the relationship between time and memory: how some things we experience today will become “future recollections”, and the artist’s duty to record his/her experiences in detail for the benefit of future generations.

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Henne Fire

Henne Fire: Short story by Isaac Bashevis SingerSet in pre-World War 1 Poland, this story by Isaac Bashevis Singer explores how a small Jewish community interacts with a seemingly deranged woman who the narrator describes as not a human being but a fire from Gehenna [hell]. Her abusive behaviour forces her family to flee their home and, in keeping with the biblical analogy, small fires tend to pop up around her wherever she lives. A major theme of the story is community, reflected in the support she receives despite her offensive behaviour and the fire risk to neighbors. Other themes include madness, fear, alcohol abuse, the supernatural.

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Bartleby the Scrivener: A Tale of Wall Street

Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street: Novelette by Herman MelvilleHerman Melville’s Bartleby the Scrivener is regarded as a classic of Modern Literature. A major theme is the depression that comes with being alone in the world and lacking a purpose in life. Other themes include exploitation, insensitivity and guilt (the Lawyer), conformity and coping with boring, repetitive work (Turkey and Nipper), alienation, apathy and passive resistance to one’s responsibilities (Bartleby), and loss of hope and the inevitability of death (symbolized by the Dead Letter Office). The Lawyer’s final words, Ah, Bartleby! Ah, humanity!, reflect the irony of Bartleby finding himself in the two worst possible jobs for his disposition.

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