The Best Girlfriend You Never Had

The Best Girlfriend You Never Had: Short story by Pam HoustonIf you are looking for a story with a traditional plot structure, this work of contemporary fiction by Pam Houston is not for you. The story comprises fourteen anecdotes and observations about the life of a thirty-one-year-old woman who comes to San Francisco seeking order and romantic love. Instead, she finds chaos and frustration. Obsessed with finding the right man, she always seems to identify with the wrong ones. The one man in her life she has strong feelings for calls himself the best girlfriend you never had. Themes: order vs. chaos, friendship vs. romantic love, self-esteem, fear, enlightenment, change.

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The Difference

The Difference: Short story by Ellen GlasgowA more apt title for this story by Ellen Glasgow would be The Differences. It explores differences in attitudes to love, marriage and infidelity between men and women, and between women born in the Victorian era and those born in the early 1900s. A middle-aged woman’s calm existence is shattered when she receives a letter from the much younger mistress of her husband of twenty years. She meets the woman, confronts her husband, and initiates a discussion about who loves whom and what is to be done about it. Themes include gender roles, love and adultery, the generation gap, sacrifice.

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Brownies

Brownies: Short story by ZZ PackerThe major theme of this story by ZZ Packer is how racial segregation breeds racial prejudice. At a summer camp, a Brownie troop from a black neighborhood decide to kick the asses of an all-white troop they see exiting a bus. A misunderstanding leads to a confrontation in the shower block, from which the black girls leave in shame. The story ends with the black narrator describing an interaction between her father and a white Mennonite family, and concluding that racism is something mean she cannot stop. Other themes include social class, resentment, anger, revenge, peer pressure.

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Looking for Mr. Green

Looking for Mr. Green: Novelette by Saul BellowA major theme of this story by Saul Bellow is work ethic. Times are tough in 1930s Chicago. An intellectual white man starts a much-needed job delivering unclaimed welfare checks to people in a depressed black neighborhood. On his first day his younger supervisor implies that, as a city worker, he isn’t expected to “push too hard”. That’s not the way he works: he wants to do well for doing-well’s sake, and goes above and beyond in a quest to find the elusive Mr. Green. Other themes include poverty, race, suspicion, duty, tenacity, identity.

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For Esmé with Love and Squalor

For Esmé with Love and Squalor: Short story by J. D. SalingerJ. D. Salinger’s Esmé is a precocious, orphaned teenage girl whose friendship and compassion help a young American soldier deal with the horrors of war. Salinger’s characterization of the soldier (Staff Sergeant X) in the second part of the story suggests first-hand experience with PTSD. This was misunderstood at the time, as reflected in the comment from Clay’s girlfriend: nobody gets a nervous breakdown just from the war and all. She says you probably were unstable like, your whole goddam life. Major themes: youthful innocence, the brutality of war and its effect on mental health, loss, humanity and hope.

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Holiday

Holiday: Short story by Katherine Anne PorterIn this disturbing story from Katherine Porter, a young woman suffering undisclosed “troubles” decides she needs a holiday. On the recommendation of a friend, she visits the farm of a German immigrant family. During her stay, she feels a special connection with a “crippled, badly deformed” serving girl. Later, she is concerned to learn that the girl is the parent’s older daughter who, because of her disabilities, has been consigned to a life of drudgery and is largely ignored by the otherwise loving family. Themes: family, gender roles, the beauty and power of nature, alienation, suffering, life and death, humanity.

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The Shell Collector

The Shell Collector: Short story by Anthony DoerrIn this story by Anthony Doerr, the life of a blind shell expert living alone with his dog on an island off the coast of Kenya is thrown into chaos. The aging man becomes world famous when two people suffering from malaria are cured by the venom of a deadly cone snail. Ailing people from all over the world converge on his tiny island, causing him to lose his privacy, much of his collection, the life of his son, and almost his own life. Themes include isolation, the dangers and benefits of the natural world, media power, desperation, hope.

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Winter Dreams

Winter Dreams: Short story by F. Scott FitzgeraldThe protagonist in this F. Scott Fitzgerald story has two dreams (three if you count defeating Mr. Hedrick at golf!) The first is the Great American Dream (to become wealthy despite humble beginnings), which he achieves. The second is to win the heart of the seemingly heartless Miss Judy Jones, which proves unachievable. He is a typical Fitzgerald male: driven, successful and passionate about marrying (possessing) Judy where others have failed. Spoiled Judy is a tragic figure: take away the thrill of being chased, and there is little left. Themes include social class, ambition, success, romance, hollowness, failure, disillusionment.

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