Novelettes

Youth

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Youth: Short story by Joseph Conrad This story from Joseph Conrad is more than a survival tale about an unseaworthy ship beset by bad luck. Central themes are youthful exuberance bordering on recklessness, regret for its passing, and the romance of the sea. The explosion that sinks the vessel marks a turning point for a young ship’s officer. Up until then, his enthusiasm had been fueled by a youthful desire to experience the wonders of the East. He discovers a new side of himself (leadership ability) when he temporarily takes command of the crew’s evacuation to the lifeboats. Other themes: courage, duty, misfortune, survival, self-discovery, pride.

The Argentine Ant

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The Argentine Ant: Short story by Italo Calvino This story from Italo Calvino starts off aslike a horror story. A young couple with a baby move to a peaceful seaside village looking for work, only to discover that the whole place is crawling with ants. After they find the baby covered in ants and their food destroyed, Calvino takes a playful turn. He goes on to describe the sometimes farcical ways villagers try to exterminate and/or pretend they are not affected by the invaders, and the couple’s embarrassing confrontation with the reportedly self-serving government “Ant Man”. Themes: co-existing with nature, powerlessness, futility, tolerance/accepting the inevitable, mob hysteria.

Old Love

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Old Love: Novelette by Jeffrey Archer In this story by Jeffrey Archer, a couple go from rivalry-inspired hatred at first sight to literally being unable to live without each other. From the time they meet as Oxford undergraduates in the 1930s, a fierce sense of competition between the gifted pair spurs them on to topping their class, attaining coveted professorships, and earning royal honours. After tragedy brings them together, the caustic relationship morphs into a life-long love affair during which legend has it they were never apart for more than a few hours. Themes include competiveness, lasting love, literature and the arts, dedication, achievement.

A Small, Good Thing

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A Small, Good Thing: Short story by Raymond Carver In this heart-wrenching story by Raymond Carver, parents mount a vigil by their unconscious son’s hospital bed after he was struck by a car on his eighth birthday. On the few occasions one of them goes home to freshen up and feed the family dog, they receive prank phone calls, often mentioning the boy’s name. The boy dies after three days, but the calls continue. The mother soon realizes the caller is a baker from whom she had ordered a birthday cake, and insists on immediately confronting the man. Themes include family, tragedy, helplessness and isolation, compassion, connection, loneliness, forgiveness.

Secret Worship

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Secret Worship: Short story by Algernon Blackwood In this story by Algernon Blackwood, a man makes a spur of the moment decision to visit his old boarding school in a remote German village. Although life and discipline inside the fortress-like school operated by a devout Protestant brotherhood was strict, he recalls his time there fondly. When he arrives, everything appears unchanged and he is welcomed with open arms. However, leaving is not so easy… the not-so-devout brotherhood was a cover for a satanic cult which now has eyes on his soul! Themes include nostalgia, isolation, appearances vs. reality, satanism, human sacrifice, chance, the supernatural.

Odour of Chrysanthemums

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Odour of Chrysanthemums: Short story by D. H. Lawrence D. H. Lawrence’s Odour of Chrysanthemums begins with an introduction to a woman living in a coal-mining village who feels trapped in an unhappy world of her husband’s making. Although her father is working-class (an engine-driver), her speech and behavior suggest that she aspires to a better life. The accidental death of her husband (a miner) triggers an epiphany in which she realizes that they never really knew each other, and that their problems were equally of her own making. The main theme is superficial (physical) attraction vs. love. Other themes: industrialization, social class, sex roles, isolation, mother-child connections, death.

The Ghost upon the Rail

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The Ghost upon the Rail: Short story by John Lang This supposedly true story by John Lang is set in the early 1800s. John Fisher had come to Australia as a convict. He worked hard, won his freedom and became rich. One day a neighbor tells everyone that Fisher has returned to England. A year later, he says that Fisher has written asking him to sell all he owns and send the money to him. According to this version, at about the same time three men (one a policeman) are returning home late one night. Sitting on a rail beside the road is Fisher’s ghost. This spoils the neighbor’s plan.

Interpreter of Maladies

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Interpreter of Maladies: Short story by Jhumpa Lahiri Interpreter of Maladies is the titular tale in Jhumpa Lahiri’s award-winning debut short story collection. The stories deal with different aspects of the cultural and relationship issues facing people of Indian heritage in the modern world. This story contrasts two empty marriages. The Indian protagonist (a doctor’s translator who moonlights as a tour guide) fantasizes that the wife in an Indian-American family he takes sightseeing has a romantic interest in him. Rather than love, she wants his help to find a “cure” for a foolish mistake she once made. Themes include marriage, communication, poor parenting, loss, guilt, loneliness, self-esteem.