A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain

A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain: Short story by Robert Olen Butler In this story by Robert Olen Butler, an aging Vietnamese-American immigrant prepares for death. As he bids farewell to his family, the restless ghost of his once good friend, Ho Chi Minh, visits him over several nights, triggering memories of the past. He is proud of his daughter, who maintains Vietnamese traditions, but not so his son-in-law and grandson, who have been involved in a political murder. All he wants now is to be reunited with his wife and other dead loved-ones in the “village square”. Themes include aging and death, memories, family, friendship, tradition, politics and war.

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The Fun They Had

The Fun They Had: Short story by Isaac AsimovThis story by Isaac Asimov is set in the year 2155. A boy shows a friend something strange he found hidden away in his family attic. Neither of them has seen one before… it is a book! First, they discuss how wasteful paper books were compared to electronic books of their day. The book is about school, and they go on to compare home schooling of the future with “going to school” in the past. Themes include technological progress, human connection (computer-driven vs. classroom learning), paper-based vs. electronic reading, memories, longing for aspects of the past.

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He-y, Come On Ou-t!

He-y, Come On Out!: Short story by Shinichi HoshiIn this parable by Shinichi Hoshi, a landslide opens up a seemingly bottomless hole in the ground. A businessman obtains the rights to fill the hole. He gets permission to dispose of toxic waste, and soon hazardous materials from nuclear power plants and contagious disease experiments are being poured into the hole along with domestic waste and classified government documents from a nearby city. The city and ocean are cleaner, and even the sky seems clearer than before. That is until a workman atop a tall city building hears a voice from above shouting: He-y, come on ou-t!

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Little Claus and Great Claus

Little Claus and Great Claus: Short story by H. C. AndersenThis children’s story by Hans Christian Andersen caused a stir among critics when first released because of the violence involved. A poor farmer who develops a talent for swindling people invents stories to explain the source of his newfound wealth to an envious neighbor.. When the greedy neighbor tries to make money the same way, he suffers greatly. In a fit of anger, the neighbor tries to kill the farmer. However this, too, results in an unexpected windfall for the unscrupulous fraudster. Themes include cleverness, fraud, greed, envy, death, turning the tables.

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A Painful Case

A Painful Case: Short story by James JoyceThe title of this James Joyce story could refer to both the protagonist and the poor woman he drove to alcoholism and possible suicide. James Duffy is a loner who lives an orderly, spartan life. He meets and becomes close friends with the neglected wife of a sea captain. When she hints at feelings stronger than friendship, he immediately terminates the relationship. This and the cryptic sentence he wrote afterwards about such a friendship being impossible because there must be sexual intercourse highlight the major theme (repressed sexuality). Other themes include loneliness, isolation, order, morality, emotional paralysis, guilt.

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The Daffodil Sky

The Daffodil Sky: Short story by H. G. BatesIn this story by H. E. Bates, a man sent to prison for killing a love rival in a jealous rage returns to the scene of the crime. His intent is to confront the woman they were fighting over, who was once his fiancé. As he knocks on her door he has a premonition that if she opened the door he might not be able to restrain himself but would rush straight at her and kill her. Fortunately for him, the person who opens it is a pleasant surprise. Themes: passion, jealousy and rage, choices and consequences, alienation and loneliness.

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Minutes of Glory

Minutes of Glory: Short story by Ngugi Wa Thiong'oThis Ngugi Wa Thiong’o story highlights the human cost of progress in developing countries such as post-independence Kenya. Its main themes are exploitation, class differences, identity, loneliness and appearances. A young woman leaves her village in search of a better life in the city. She is poorly educated, and ends up working as a hostess in beer bars. Unhappy with the life, the money she makes and her appearance, she dreams of something better. Cut off from her family and alone in the world, she steals money from a customer and uses it to experience a few minutes of glory.

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The Beast in the Jungle

The Beast in the Jungle: Novella by Henry JamesDespite a relatively simple plot and only two main characters, this short novella by Henry James can be hard-going on the first read. A man is obsessed with the feeling that misfortune of some kind will come into his life “like a beast in the jungle”. He shares the premonition with a female acquaintance, who is interested enough to agree to stay close and “watch his back”. In order to build suspense in the lead-up to the story’s heartbreaking conclusion, James shrouds the interactions between the two in confusion and ambiguity. Themes: fate, obsession, connection, insensitivity, suffering, death, guilt.

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