Quick Reads

Last Day at School

Post category:Quick Reads

Last Day at School: Short story by Giovanni Mosca This very short story describes the feelings of a teacher on the last day of a school year. It is clear from the story that the teacher cares greatly for his students. Grades have been sent home and the long holiday is about to begin. For the teacher, it is an especially memorable day. As well as being the end of the school year, he is leaving teaching and moving on to a different career. Last Day at School was written by Italian teacher-turned-journalist Giovanni Mosca, and presumably talks about his own feelings on leaving teaching in 1936.

The Disk

Post category:Quick Reads

The Disk: Short story by Jorge Borges Jorge Borges gives this story a timeless quality by setting it in medieval times and framing it like a fairy-tale. A traveler arrives at an isolated woodcutter’s hut claiming to be an exiled king descended from Odin, the Norse king of the gods. He supports this by showing the woodcutter what he claims is the disk of Odin, the only one-dimensional object in the universe. Ironically, the woodcutter answers: I do not worship Odin, I worship Christ… and then kills him to possess Odin’s disk. Major theme: the desire to own something that holds power over the world around us.

There’s a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head with an Umbrella

Post category:Quick Reads

There's a Man in the Habit of Hitting Me on the Head with an Umbrella: Short story by Fernando Sorrentino The long title of this absurdist story from Fernando Sorrentino neatly summarizes the plot. The only other thing readers need to know is that the protagonist reaches the point where he does not think he can live without the torment of the “umbrella man”. I have seen a number of metaphoric interpretations of the story. Most involve successfully dealing with the constant pressures (deadlines, annoyances and interruptions) of modern life. A more concerning interpretation is our growing indifference towards things we know to be wrong (e.g. third-world hunger and disease) as a result of being reminded about them so often.

The Censors

Post category:Quick Reads

The Censors: Short story by Luisa Valenzuela Written during the early days of Argentina’s Videla dictatorship, this story by Luisa Valenzuela satirizes the use of censorship in limiting free speech. A man worried that government censors may misinterpret an innocent letter he wrote to a woman in Paris gets a job at the censorship office to recover it. Ironically, he becomes so immersed in the job that his values change to embrace censorship. His dedication results in promotion to a top position and, when his letter finally reaches him, he dutifully censors it, bringing about his own downfall. Themes include censorship, oppression, paranoia, love, alienation, identity, duty.

A Dead Woman’s Secret

Post category:Quick Reads

A Dead Woman's Secret: Short story by Guy de Maupassant We get a sense at the beginning of this Guy de Maupassant story that the dead woman lying peacefully in her bed may not have led as ‘saintly’ a life as is described. She has been hiding something from her family for most of her life. When going through some old letters, her son and daughter discover the secret. The son, a sanctimonious magistrate, judges her harshly. The daughter, who has devoted herself to the Church, says nothing but may harbor a secret of her own. Themes: things are not always as they seem, passion, adultery, rash judgement, hypocrisy, forgiveness

Ruthless

Post category:Quick Reads

Ruthless: Flash story by William C. de Mille The protagonist in this story by William C. de Mille is a narcissistic businessman. One of its themes is excessive materialism. The man is so obsessed with his possessions, including small items such as a bottle of Bourbon, that he would kill to prevent other people from having them. The major themes are vengeance and justice. The man’s wife points out that his actions in trying to take revenge on those who drank some of his liquor the previous winter go beyond justice: the law doesn’t punish burglary by death; so what right have you? In the end, justice prevails.

With the Photographer

Post category:Quick Reads

With the Photographer: Short story by Stephen Leacock This story by Stephen Leacock makes use of irony and hyperbole to satirize artistic arrogance. A man who visits a professional photographer to have a portrait taken is humiliated during his sitting. The photographer not only criticizes every aspect of his facial features, but also insists on a number of different posture changes to hide what he considers flaws. Later, when the man views the developed product, his face has been so artificially altered as to be unrecognizable. Other themes include appearance and the disconnect between self-perception and the way others see us, insecurity, body shaming, humiliation, anger and frustration.

Crossing the Zbrucz / My First Goose / Salt

Post category:Quick Reads

Red Cavalry: Short stories by Isaac Babel Today we have three stories (Crossing the Zbrucz, My First Goose and Salt) from Red Cavalry, a collection of edited entries from the war diary of Russian author Isaac Babel. The stories reflect his time as a journalist / propagandist attached to the First Cavalry unit of the Red Army during the Polish-Soviet War of 1920. These are not typical war stories involving great battles and inspiring heroes. Instead, the book provides a graphic insight into the human impact of the war on those fighting it, as well as the casualties and brutalities inflicted by both sides on innocent civilians.