The term Oedipus Complex has its roots in psychology and Greek Mythology. In this coming of age story by Frank O’Connor, a five-year-old boy’s ordered life and close attachment to his mother are disrupted, firstly by his father’s return from World War 1, and later by the birth of a baby brother. During the war, the boy’s father is a mysterious, occasional visitor to be prayed for. On his return, his father becomes a fierce rival for his mother’s attentions and later, a fellow victim of the newborn’s demands. Themes include childhood innocence and imagination, mother/father-son relationships, jealousy, anger, understanding. More…
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The Rats in the Walls
In this story by H. P. Lovecraft, the sound of a swarm of rats in the walls of his recently restored family castle causes the last of a long line of British aristocrats to lead a group of scientists to explore its long-sealed lower chambers. There they find a hidden city and evidence spanning many millennia of the capture and farming of human and quadrupedal sub-human beings for sacrifice and consumption. The excitement is too much for the owner, who quickly reverts to his old family ways. Themes include heritage and identity, genetic madness, paganism, human sacrifice. More…
Momotarō
In this famous Japanese folktale, a childless couple’s prayers are answered when a giant peach splits open to reveal a baby boy. The boy grows up to be the strongest and wisest lad in the land and, at fifteen, decides to give his poor parents an easier life by traveling to an island off the Northeast coast of Japan, destroying a band of cannibalistic demons that are terrorizing the land, and bringing back their treasure. Along the way he gathers troupe of anthropomorphic animal friends who, in predictable folktale form, help him easily win the day. More…
The Toxic Donut
In this story by Terry Bisson, a woman has been nominated from entries all over the world to represent humanity in an annual TV extravaganza. The focus of the show, set in the future and officiated over by world leaders, is Environmental Awareness. One of its features is a “Wonders of Science” film segment celebrating technology that can concentrate a whole year’s toxic wastes and pollutants into a single donut. In the finale, the donut for the previous year is presented to the world. The unwitting woman’s role is to eat it. Themes include environmentalism, science and technology, human sacrifice. More…
Testimony of Pilot
This powerful story by Barry Hannah follows the journey of a boy and several companions from youthful pranks to high school band competitions, musical success, fulfilling careers and, in two cases, premature death. Set between the mid-1950s and the late-1960s, the story highlights several aspects of the American South’s small-town culture of the day: family wholesomeness, racial segregation, the sexual revolution, the rise of rock and roll, and the Vietnam War. Themes include the transformative power of music, friendship and rivalry, sexuality, gender roles, misogyny, racism, isolation, patriotism, and social change. More…