In this Jhumpa Lahiri story a Bengali-American woman successfully navigates growing up in a strict environment where her parents compensate for their lack of love for one another by high expectations of their children. This is not true of her more academically gifted younger brother, whose alcohol abuse shames her parents in the eyes of the local Bengali diaspora. She feels partly responsible for his drinking and subsequent fall, and makes a foolish decision that destroys her husband’s trust and almost costs the life of their child. Themes include cultural identity, sibling relationships, parental expectations, alcoholism, rebellion, alienation, guilt, trust. More…
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Jaycee
Frederic Brown is well known for the irreverence of some of his stories, but this one takes the cake. Scientists have discovered a way for women to asexually reproduce, allowing those who are single or have a sterile husband to have a family without the need for a sperm donation. Fifty million such children now exist, all of whom are males. The oldest has just reached puberty, and has started to exhibit behavior similar to the only previous virgin birth, which took place over 2,000 years ago. Themes include scientific hubris, the dangers of technology, unexpected consequences. More…
Because He Loved Them
This story by Samira Azzam highlights the catastrophic effect of the 1948 creation of Israel on the half-million plus Palestinians it displaced. A man working in a government food distribution agency is wrongly suspected of embezzlement. He documents two examples of lives ruined by the partition and the story of a “sonofabithch” camp informer who profited by it, then torches a food warehouse. He believes that if his people are hungry enough they will rise up and rebel, and claims to have done this “because he loves them”. Themes include displacement, corruption, injustice, suffering, violence, betrayal, rebellion. More…
The Girls
The evil, narcissistic, thirty-something sisters in this story by Joy Williams act more like petulant children than adults. They have no friends and no interest in boys, have never worked, and don’t intend to. Although concerned about the health of their wealthy parents crumbling in their eyes, they heartlessly manipulate them and delight in humiliating and driving away their houseguests. After revealing a damning family secret at a cocktail party, an intuitive houseguest points out too late that the girls’ behavior is killing their mother. Themes include family dysfunction, arrested development, narcissism, evil, cruelty, death, grief. More…
The Higgler
In this story by A. E. Coppard, a higgler (peddler) faces a difficult choice. Although not formally engaged, he has been “keeping company” with a girl everyone expects him to marry. Life gets complicated when one of his suppliers, a wealthy widow in poor health, asks him to marry her beautiful, well-educated daughter. Though strongly attracted to the girl, she has shown little interest in him. He makes his decision thinking the mother’s offer must have a hidden catch. When she dies, he learns something that may have changed his mind. Themes include struggle, choices and consequences, suspicion, unconsummated love. More…