Novelettes

One Day

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One Day: Short story by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson In this story by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, a timid Norwegian teenager becomes infatuated with an older villager whose voice moves her to tears at a choral performance. In his absence overseas, she is wooed by and finally marries a handsome sea captain. Within five years, she has two children and lives in fear of her dominating, hard drinking husband’s homecomings. She is enlivened when her teenage idol returns and is a regular visitor. They become close, but her hopes are crushed when, on a special outing together, he reveals his true self. Themes include unrequited love, obsession, loveless marriage, alcoholism, heartache.

A Simple Heart / Soul

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Seventh Grade: Short story by Gary Soto Set in nineteenth century France, this story by Gustav Flaubert portrays the life of an uneducated, simple-minded country girl who lives through fifty years of drudgery as house servant to a “disagreeable” woman who has fallen on hard times. The girl’s story evokes feelings of both admiration and sympathy: Admiration for her loyalty, piety, kindness and failure to give in to despair; Sympathy for her shameless exploitation, history of disappointment and loss, and misery and suffering approaching death. Themes: innocence; duty, faith and virtue; love and compassion; social class; wealth, poverty and exploitation; suffering, loss and death.

Pigeon Feathers

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Pigeon Feathers: Short story by John Updike John Updike’s Pigeon Feathers is a web of conflicts and satire. The central conflict is thirteen-year-old David’s crisis of faith, which he ultimately resolves through an epiphany born out of bloody violence. David’s questioning leads to conflict with the family church minister, who dismisses his concerns by inanely equating Heaven to the “goodness” of Abraham Lincoln. Unresolved conflicts include country vs. city living, and the organic (the land has a soul) vs. chemical (the earth is nothing but chemicals) farming debate between David’s parents. Themes: environmentalism, aging and death, family, isolation, spirituality, science vs. religion, the wonder of nature, faith.

Neighbour Rosicky

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Neighbour Rosicky: Short story by Willa Cather This heart-warming story from Willa Cather exemplifies all that is said to be good about life in rural America. Anton Rosicky followed other impoverished Czech immigrants seeking a better life overseas. Assisted by small acts of kindness along the way, he reaches America where he acquires a modest farm and raises a large, contented family. This is quite a long story with many themes: love, family values, neighborliness, doing what’s right vs. chasing money, city vs. country living, connection, hard work, contentment, reminiscing and (with a grandchild on the way as Anton dies) the cycle of life.

The Overcoat (The Cloak)

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The Overcoat (The Cloak): Short story by Nikolai Gogol This story by Nikolai Gogol, described by Vladimir Nabokov as the greatest Russian short story ever written, uses pathos and dry humor to get its messages across. The protagonist represents Russia’s working class, eking out a living in a tedious, low-level job. Things improve dramatically when a windfall allows him to buy a new overcoat. Sadly, after a mugger steals the coat, shortcomings in the justice system and failing health contribute to his death. Perhaps metaphorically, his ghost rises up and terrorizes the city in retribution. Themes: alienation, (lack of) connection and compassion, bureaucracy, materialism, social class, the supernatural, revenge.

Sorrow-Acre

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Sorrow-Acre: Short story by Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixen) This story by Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixen) has an “overall” plot, a “subordinate” plot, and an “incomplete” plot. The overall plot considers how moves towards democracy elsewhere in Europe might affect late eighteenth-century Danish society. The subordinate plot (the tragic story of a mother given a near-impossible task to save her son) illustrates why change is necessary, and the difficulty the ruling class will have in adjusting to it. The incomplete plot (see below) foreshadows a possible affair between the protagonist and his seventeen-year-old love-starved aunt. Themes: culture and tradition, birthright, duty, feudalism vs. democracy, injustice, motherhood, suffering.

The Colour Out of Space

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The Colour Out of Space: Short story by H. P. Lovecraft In this cosmic horror story by H. P. Lovecraft, a surveyor becomes curious about five acres of grey desolation known as “blasted heath”. He learns that a meteor like no other found on earth had landed near a farmhouse on the site. Within the meteor scientists found a globule of unearthly colour which, when cracked open, released a presence that caused every living thing nearby to mutate. Plants grew unnaturally large but were inedible. Animal life, including the farming family, went mad and deformed into grotesque shapes before dying. Themes include curiosity, fear, scepticism, the supernatural, realms beyond human understanding.

The Million Pound Bank Note

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The Million Pound Bank Note: Short story by Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) This humorous story from Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) explores two themes related to the power of money. The first is the different attitudes people have towards the rich and the poor. The second, which is particularly relevant today, is the power the rich (influencers) can exert over the decision-making of admirers (followers). Other themes: enduring love (Portia and Henry’s relationship prospers, despite their playful deceptions); honesty (Henry’s intention to pay back his debts); and the peculiarities of British High Society (settling arguments with bets, determining social position through gossip columns, and missing meals if unable to decide seating precedence).