The Pose

The Pose: Short story by Anwar KhanIn this story by Anwar Khan, an attractive Indian college student makes a spur-of-the-moment decision to exchange places with a mannequin in a shop window. She feels an immediate sense of comfort in being able to watch passers-by without inhibition. Shortly afterwards, she realizes that she is as much an exhibit to them as they are to her. Thinking she is a mannequin, men and boys openly lust over her and women stop and admire her beauty. She leaves the shop empowered by the experience. Themes include identity, (repressive) social conventions, performance, liberation, self-discovery. empowerment.

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Come Rain or Come Shine

Come Rain or Come Shine: Short story by Kazuo IshiguroThis story by Kazuo Ishiguro is a farcical satire of a man trying to save his stagnating marriage. He manipulates a mutual friend living overseas into providing company for his wife while he is away on business. The friend has achieved little in life and the husband hopes that the contrast will make his wife appreciate him more. A hilarious sequence of events unfolds as the friend tries to cover up damage he caused to the wife’s appointment book after reading unflattering entries about himself. Themes include friendship, alienation in marriage, manipulation, sacrifice, disappointment, the power of music, memories, regrets.

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The Year of Spaghetti

The Year of Spaghetti: Short story by Haruki MurakamiThis story by Haruki Murakami describes how a reclusive man made 1971 his “year of Spaghetti”. After buying the necessary equipment and ingredients, he set out to cook spaghetti every day of the year. He cooked spaghetti to live and lived to cook spaghetti, comparing it to an act of revenge against his fears and feelings of meaningless isolation. Although he always eats alone, he often imagines someone standing outside about to visit. When his peace is shattered by a desperate phone call from an ex-friend’s ex-girlfriend, he declines to get involved. Themes include loneliness, self-alienation, obsession, futility.

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The Widow’s Walk

The Widow's Walk: Short story by Jack FinneyIn this entertaining story by Jack Finney, a woman plots the murder of her mother-who lives with them. She not only resents the loss of personal freedom, but also believes the old woman goes out of her way to annoy her. Having decided that an “accidental” fall is the best solution, she convinces her husband to build a small balcony off the second floor of their house. Although the balcony serves its purpose, it also lives up to its colloquial name. Themes include domestic tension, obsession, escape, manipulation, crime, unintended consequences.

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The Assignment

The Assignment: Short story by Saadat Hasan MantoThis story by Saadat Hasan Manto takes place during the rioting that followed India’s Partition. Set in an “Indian” border town from which most Muslims have fled, an elderly judge underestimates the carnage to come and insists on staying. After a stroke, he becomes bed-ridden and is unable to flee. Every night, his seventeen-year-old daughter watches Muslim houses burning in the city around them. When a Sikh man repays a kindness the judge had once done for his father, we learn the reason their house has (so far) been spared. Themes include religious conflict, denial, fear, innocence, duty, betrayal.

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Daisy Miller: A Study in Two Parts

Daisy Miller: A Study in Two Parts: Short story by Henry JamesHenry James’s “Daisy” Miller is a young American socialite traveling through Southern Europe with her mother and younger brother. Flirtatious, independent and free-spirited, she enjoys the competing attentions of several men who she subtly manipulates to do her bidding. Her behaviour, especially going about with men unchaperoned, is scandalous by American expat community standards, resulting in gossip and her ostracization. A question in the mind of a man smitten by Daisy is whether she could possibly be as innocent as she appears. Themes include social conventions (Europe vs. America), gossip, reputation (innocence vs. immorality), double standards (male vs. female independence).

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The Olive

The Olive: Short story by Algernon BlackwoodIn this lesser-known story by Algernon Blackwood, a playful girl accompanying her convalescing mother on the Italian Riviera rolls an olive across a restaurant floor to see who it chooses. A young man picks it up and takes it to his room. That night, he has an erotic dream featuring the girl, naked fauns, nymphs and satyrs, and an encounter with God. He meets the girl the next day and they begin a passionate affair during which she repeats several things she said and did in the dream. Themes include fate vs. chance, love, the supernatural.

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The Ingredients

The Ingredients: Short story by Jason ReynoldsA major theme of this story by Jason Reynolds is dreams vs. reality. Four African-American boys on the way to hang out at one of their homes after a day at the swimming pool try to outdo one another with descriptions of the exotic sandwiches they would like to eat when they get there. What they are served is very different to what they imagined. The sad message of the story is that in later life they are likely to encounter many similar reality checks. Other themes include Brooklyn life, social inequality, friendship, individuality, imagination, disappointment, acceptance.

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