H. 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. More…
All posts by shortsonline
A Day in the Dark
In 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. More…
Children of the Ash-Covered Loam
This 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. More…
The News from Ireland
This 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. More…
The Young Man Who Flew Past
Writers 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). More…