The world described in this Ben Okri story is not a pleasant place. Cities are decaying, rivers and oceans are so polluted they contain no life, ground water is undrinkable, and households are limited to just fifteen minutes of tap water a day. When a couple discover this is synthetic and contains chemicals designed to reduce dissent among the population, they embark on a quest to find a source of pure water. The ambiguous denouement encourages readers to ponder what life would be like in a world without freshwater. Themes include environmental degradation, urban decay, government manipulation and control. More…
Category Archives: Short Stories
The Sisters
Several themes in this story by James Joyce (paralysis, corruption and abuse of authority) are said to represent major issues facing both Ireland and its Catholic Church in the early 1900s. The story, which takes place shortly after the death of a Catholic priest, is narrated by a boy who was friends with and mentored by the cleric. He is angered by insinuations the priest was involved in a scandal but also feels “freed”, presumably because he can resume a normal boyhood. Other themes include religion, secular vs. religious education, fall from grace, mental illness, loneliness, death, “freedom”. More…
The Switchman
In this story by Juan José Arreola, a man waiting for a train in Mexico is interrupted by a retired switchman who tells him that has little chance of getting to his destination. After outlining a long list of problems with the railway system and the hazards of using it, he “dissolves” at the sound of an approaching train whistle. The story has been variously labeled a satire of the Mexican railway system/government, and an existential horror story about the inability to exercise free will in a world governed by chance. Themes include absurdity, existentialism, corruption, determination, hope. More…
MS. Found in a Bottle
This story by Edgar Allan Poe is an MS. (manuscript) found in a bottle tossed into the ocean by a dying man. After outlining his once rational, skeptical outlook on life, he relates the story of how, after a series of misadventures at sea, he found himself on a huge ghost galleon speeding under full sail towards the South pole. He walks around the ship unseen by its crew of infirm old men, who become increasingly excited as they approach their doom. Themes include the power of nature, fear, exploration, rational thinking vs. the supernatural, compulsion to document the unexplainable. More…
The Homecoming Stranger
In this story by Bei Dao, a young woman in 1970s China has difficulty dealing with her father’s homecoming after being falsely convicted of literary crimes and spending twenty years in prison. She feels resentment, not only over what she sees as his ‘desertion’, but also over her mother standing by when she was imprisoned and tortured at age twelve. Fortunately, on coming to understand her father’s love and the courage he had showed, she realizes her selfishness and they reconcile. Themes include the unfairness and brutality of the Mao regime, resentment, hypocrisy, rejection, fatherly love, courage, selfishness, forgiveness, reconciliation. More…
Victory
The enigmatic nature of this Vasily Aksyonov story about a casual chess game between a Russian grandmaster and a chance acquaintance stems from its interwoven motifs. Allegorically, the game represents a battle between the intelligentsia (the well-travelled, Dior-wearing grandmaster) and the common people (the brutish stranger). Additionally, as the game progresses the narration is interlaced with temporal shifts where the grandmaster experiences grim visions of desolation, hiding, escape and death. As he is about to be executed in the last vision, his opponent shouts “checkmate”. Themes include Western influence on Russian culture, class struggle, memories, insecurity, fear, ‘victory’ in survival. More…
Because He Loved Them
This story by Samira Azzam highlights the catastrophic effect of the 1948 creation of Israel on the half-million plus Palestinians it displaced. A man working in a government food distribution agency is wrongly suspected of embezzlement. He documents two examples of lives ruined by the partition and the story of a “sonofabithch” camp informer who profited by it, then torches a food warehouse. He believes that if his people are hungry enough they will rise up and rebel, and claims to have done this “because he loves them”. Themes include displacement, corruption, injustice, suffering, violence, betrayal, rebellion. More…
The Girls
The evil, narcissistic, thirty-something sisters in this story by Joy Williams act more like petulant children than adults. They have no friends and no interest in boys, have never worked, and don’t intend to. Although concerned about the health of their wealthy parents crumbling in their eyes, they heartlessly manipulate them and delight in humiliating and driving away their houseguests. After revealing a damning family secret at a cocktail party, an intuitive houseguest points out too late that the girls’ behavior is killing their mother. Themes include family dysfunction, arrested development, narcissism, evil, cruelty, death, grief. More…
The Cop and the Anthem
Written in 1904, the major theme of this story by O. Henry (the plight of the homeless) is perhaps even more relevant today. A homeless man who lives on the streets in the warmer months tries in vain to commit a petty crime so he can spend the winter in prison. After trying every trick he knows to get arrested, he stops outside a church. The ambience and stirring music being played bring about an epiphany, thoughts of reform … and jail. Other themes include social class, crime and punishment, resilience, poverty mindset vs. ambition and hope. More…
Sunbird
Once you get used to the preposterous names and characters, this Neil Gaiman story is a fascinating read. The five members of an exclusive club dedicated to tasting exotic food travel to Suntown in Cairo to capture and eat a rare Sunbird. They kill and cook the bird (which turns out to be a phoenix), and thoroughly enjoy the meal. Unfortunately, for all but one of them, it is their last. Themes include gluttony, exploitation (of vulnerable species), deception, the danger of seeking pleasure from the unknown, transformation and the enduring cycle of life, the supernatural. More…
Mechanopolis
In this story by Miguel De Unamuno a man dying of thirst in a desert is saved when he stumbles upon an oasis in which there is a mysterious train station. He boards a seemingly empty, waiting train and is whisked off to a magnificent, deserted, fully functioning city of the future. The city’s machines and infrastructure continue to operate with no apparent human involvement. His curiosity turns to horror when he realizes the machines are sentient and concerned about his psychological and emotional state. Themes include human extinction, the ascendency of sentient machines, loneliness, paranoia, mental instability. More…
Soldier’s Home
This story by Ernest Hemingway about an American soldier’s difficulty “fitting in” after returning from World War 1 is a wonderful example of the author’s Iceberg Theory, with much of the protagonist’s background hidden from readers. Upon return, the soldier finds himself alienated from his culture, community, friends, and family. He falls into depression and lethargy, obsessed with watching local girls go by, but avoiding contact with them. This may be due to an earlier failed relationship, or his distaste for his pious, controlling mother. Themes include PTSD, alienation, cultural and social change, fear of involvement and commitment. More…
The Greatest Gift
This story by Philip Van Doren Stern was the inspiration for the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. A depressed man standing on a bridge contemplating suicide confides to a stranger who joins him that he wishes he had never been born. His wish is mysteriously granted and he learns that, without his existence, his loved ones and the whole community would have suffered greatly. As he begs to be returned to his old self, he learns that God’s greatest gift of all is the gift of life. The major theme: every life has meaning and value. More…
The Address
Major themes of this story by Marga Minco are trust, betrayal, connection, and letting go. A young Jewish woman, the only member of her family to survive World War 2, visits a ‘friend’ of her mother’s with whom she had entrusted family valuables for safekeeping during the war. Her purpose is to ‘see, touch and remember’ the items, and perhaps to reclaim some to decorate her small rented room. The woman initially rebuffs her, and when she later returns and is admitted by the woman’s daughter, she sees her family’s prize possessions displayed and in daily use around the house. More…
Snowstorm
This story by Bruna Dantas Lobato describes the experiences of a Brazilian college student studying in Vermont after a snowstorm. The focus of the story is the girl’s relationship with her anxious mother, with whom she speaks daily over Skype. The girl has remained in her dorm over the winter break and as expected, her mother issues warnings about every possible danger, fuelled by media reports and watching horror movies. The girl is equally concerned for her mother, who appears to be having more difficulty coping with the separation than she is. Themes include mother-daughter connection, separation anxiety, isolation and loneliness. More…
Wakefield
This Nathaniel Hawthorne story opens with a newspaper account of a man who ‘disappeared’ after telling his wife he was going on a week’s holiday, stalked her for twenty years, and then returned home as if nothing had happened. The narrator speculates that the man’s ‘holiday’ may have been a cruel joke to see how his wife would cope without him, and that he gradually became so enamoured with the isolated, clandestine existence that he found it difficult to return home to his former life. Themes include singularity, alienation and isolation, resilience (the wife’s life goes on), obsession, insignificance. More…
The Lottery
This story by Marjorie Barnard is set in 1930s Sydney. On the protagonist’s way home from work, friends draw his attention to a newspaper report that his wife has won first prize in a lottery. His initial reaction is to wonder “Why didn’t she contact him at work? and Where did she get the money? He later reflects on how great his wife and married life are, albeit in terms of gender norms of the day. When he gets home, his wife’s reaction to the win is not what he had expected. Themes include patriarchy, gender roles, complacency, alienation, rebellion. More…
Native Land / Lupang Tinubuan
Although this Narciso G. Reyes story was directed towards a Filipino audience, its major theme (connection to and love for one’s traditional lands) applies equally to many other cultures. A young boy accompanies an uncle and aunt to a funeral in his father’s home village. He bonds with extended family he has never met, connects with his father’s childhood, and comes to love and find peace in the land a carriage driver had described as having nothing beautiful except the sky. Other themes include identity, nostalgia, death and grief, colonialism and the need to fight for freedom. More…
Cold Spring
This story by Aharon Appelfeld describes the emergence of six Jews from their forest hiding place at the end of World War 2. Each has been physically or mentally scarred by the experience. One rushes off immediately, but the others are reluctant to move. They feast on food and alcohol abandoned by departing soldiers, leaving only when thawing snow fills their bunker with water. They then join a long line of refugees, their presence among whom is met with surprise, prejudice and kindness. Themes include camaraderie, survival, the aftermath of war, uncertainty, superstition/sorcery, hope. More…
Midnight Mass
This story, hailed as one of Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis’s best, involves a seemingly innocent but sexually charged conversation between a seventeen-year-old boy and the thirty-year-old wife of his landlord. The boy is staying up to attend midnight mass, the woman’s husband is away for the night with his mistress, and the woman, who has not slept, appears in her nightgown. Interpretation of the conversation is made all the more difficult because it is related by the boy many years afterwards. Themes include coming of age (sexual stirrings) and ambiguity (as to what might be implied or is unsaid). More…
The Five-Forty-Eight
This story by John Cheever puts into perspective the plight of women in the workplace before the terms sexual harassment and unfair dismissal were coined. A disdainful, misogynistic businessman takes advantage of the attentions and weakness of a new secretary, then immediately has her fired. Six months later the woman, who appears mentally unstable, confronts him with a gun and avenges herself by humiliating the vile man. Sadly, although the woman’s actions may have helped her in regaining her self-respect, they seem to have little effect on the man. Themes include alienation/isolation, family, power, narcissism, misogyny, sexuality, revenge, mental illness. More…
Lakshmi’s Adventure
This story from Manoj Das contrasts the innocence of a six-year-old girl with the intolerance of her village priest and the hypocrisy of corrupt temple officials. After dreaming that her deity spoke to her, the girl sneaks into the temple and has a wide-ranging “discussion” with him, including his problems (hearing and too many bananas), hers (arithmetic), and her family’s (an aggressive money-lender). On leaving with two bananas from his shrine, she is chased by an angry mob into a pond in which she catches a fatal fever. Themes include innocence, faith, family, poverty, righteous indignation, guilt and remorse. More…
Weight
In this story by John Edgar Wideman, a writer calls his mother and reads her a draft of a story he has written. It opens with the metaphor My mother is a weightlifter, and goes on to admire the way she has shouldered so many burdens throughout her life. She is not impressed. Two days later, she dies. As he reflects on the call he realizes it wasn’t the story that upset her, but his opening words: This is about a man scared he won’t survive his mother’s passing. Themes include motherhood, love, racial inequality, suffering, strength, dependence, grief, fear. More…
The Key
The major messages of this story by Isaac Bashevis Singer are that there is a lot of kindness in the world for those who open their hearts to it, and to live life to the fullest. An elderly widow who has lived alone for almost twenty years has become a recluse. With no family or friends, she distrusts everyone and lives in poverty despite having a fortune hidden in her house. A broken key that causes her to spend a night on the streets is her “key” to understanding and redemption. Themes include ageing, isolation and loneliness, paranoia, redemption. More…
The Final Problem / Empty House
Today we have two stories by Arthur Conan Doyle dealing with the “death” and “rebirth” of Sherlock Holmes. In The Final Problem, Holmes has his first and last encounter with master criminal and his intellectual equal, Professor James Moriarty. After a pursuit across Europe, the pair are believed to have perished when they tumbled off the Reichenbach Falls during a struggle. In the Adventure of the Empty House, Holmes miraculously returns to bring three remaining members of Moriarty’s criminal network to justice. In capturing the first, he solves an important murder investigation. Themes include justice, pursuit, deception, courage, sacrifice, death. More…
The Tiger
In this moving tale by S. Rajaratnam, a pregnant Malay villager bathing in a river notices a tiger watching her from tall grass near the riverbank. Initially too scared to move, she is surprised as the tiger takes less and less interest in her. Eventually able to swim away, she immediately tells fellow villagers about the encounter. She feels uneasy when a party of men set out to shoot the apparently harmless animal, and is horrified by what they find after killing it. Themes include: fear, connection, compassion, bloodlust, motherhood, conservation (co-existence with vs. destruction/exploitation of nature). More…
She
This story by Jason Brown contrasts the platonic first love a junior high schooler feels for the boy she has been going with since sixth grade to intense feelings she develops for a classmate with a “bad boy” reputation. Initially, the new relationship appears perfect as he treats her with respect and they discuss dreams and plans for the future. However, things take a potentially tragic turn when, confused and ashamed, she calls it off after experiencing a moment of sexual arousal during a petting session in the backseat of a car. Themes: love, sexuality, desire, passion, guilt, shame, retribution. More…
My Oedipus Complex
The term Oedipus Complex has its roots in psychology and Greek Mythology. In this coming of age story by Frank O’Connor, a five-year-old boy’s ordered life and close attachment to his mother are disrupted, firstly by his father’s return from World War 1, and later by the birth of a baby brother. During the war, the boy’s father is a mysterious, occasional visitor to be prayed for. On his return, his father becomes a fierce rival for his mother’s attentions and later, a fellow victim of the newborn’s demands. Themes include childhood innocence and imagination, mother/father-son relationships, jealousy, anger, understanding. More…
Skin
The most frequently used adjective in describing this story by Roald Dahl is macabre. A former tattooist, who once had a struggling artist friend tattoo a picture of his wife on his back, has fallen on hard times. Destitute and too old to work, he comes across an exclusive gallery featuring an exhibition of his now famous friend’s work. He learns that his tattoo is now worth a small fortune, and is tempted by two offers to capitalize on its value. Themes include artistic struggle and appreciation, poverty, desperation, objectification, greed, temptation, deception. More…
When Anklets Tinkle
In this story by Anjana Appachana, life changes for a retired, middle-class Indian couple after renting the barsati [rooftop rooms] of their Delhi home to a likeable “Madrasi man” who plays a cruel trick on them. The detached, opinionated husband and his hard-working, under-appreciated wife struggle to deal with a noisy ghost, their visiting, unmarried daughter who defies tradition and asserts her independence and sexuality, and the idiosyncrasies of their long-time servant and his astute, seemingly ever-pregnant wife. Themes include family, ethnic identity, racism, social class, gender roles, tradition, double standards, sexuality, and superstition. More…
(Because) We’re Very Poor
This story by Juan Rulfo describes the devastating impact of an unexpected flood on a post-revolutionary Mexican farming family and, in doing so, highlights the limited life choices available to children of the rural poor. Told in the form of a narrative by a boy, we learn that in addition to losing their entire crop, his family lost a precious cow intended to provide “capital” to prevent his twelve-year-old sister from following their older sisters into prostitution. His mother questions God; his father accepts their fate. Themes include family, poverty/social injustice, the unpredictability and power of nature, helplessness, fatalism, prostitution.
A Country Doctor
In this dream-like story by Franz Kafka, a country doctor experiences an existential crisis when his response to a call for help during a severe snowstorm sets off a surreal chain of events. The doctor’s horse has died, and a mystery groom who appears out of his pigsty with two unearthly horses rapes his housemaid as he leaves. When it becomes clear that the patient’s wound is incurable, the doctor is stripped naked in a pagan ritual and laid beside the dying man. Themes include isolation, duty, powerlessness, inner conflict, existentialism, loss of faith (in himself and his profession). More…
The Water-Faucet Vision
In this humorous story by Gish Jen, a Chinese-American woman whose mother recently passed away reflects on a brief period in her childhood when her mother somehow fell out of their bedroom window. At the time of the fall she was a fifth grader in a Catholic school, obsessed with the idea of becoming a martyr and performing miracles. When her precious comfort beads fall through a drainage grate in the road, she wakes to a “vision” telling her how to recover them. Themes include religious belief, marital conflict, family, friendship, loss. More…
The Underground Gardens
This story by T. C. Boyle is a fictional account of the founding of California’s Forestiere Underground Gardens by an Italian immigrant in the early 1900s. The immigrant is initially disheartened to find that 70 acres of land he bought by mail order is too dry and hard to farm. He survives by working as a day laborer on other farms and, spurred on by a love interest, hand digs a subterranean mansion in his spare time. When the woman rejects him, he keeps on digging. Themes include faith in oneself, self-sufficiency, infatuation, appearance, perseverance, vision. More…
Africans
Said to be an allegory of power relations between individuals in a colonial setting, the major themes of this story by Sheila Kohler are oppression and betrayal. An Afrikaner betrays his family through a combination of physical assaults, homosexual encounters, and inappropriate touching of his son’s classmates. His wife betrays him with an overseas affair, and her son and his classmates by not reporting his paedophilic tendencies to the police. Lastly, the wife’s “loyal” African servant since childhood betrays her in a moment of need. Other themes include family, gender roles, sexuality, domestic violence, fear, loyalty vs. duty. More…
Menagerie, a Child’s Fable
Like George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Charles Johnson’s confronting allegorical fable about animals left to fend for themselves in a locked pet shop is not for children. Some see the story as a religious allegory for the consequences (chaos and hell fire) of losing faith in God (Tilford) and listening to the devil (the monkey). Another interpretation is as a political allegory for the anarchy that can arise after a breakdown of authority and the rule of law, much like modern day (2024) Haiti. Themes include oppression, freedom and democracy, pluralism vs. racism, lawlessness and power (greed, violence, murder and rape). More…
The Mesmerizer
In this story taken from the Autobiography of Mark Twain, the author reminisces about a childhood prank that still haunts him in adult life. When a traveling mesmerizer (hypnotist) came to town, young Twain volunteered as a subject to show off before the public … and make the people laugh and shout and admire. His performance was so convincing that he fooled everyone in town. Later in life he comes to regret the deception, but learns that it can sometimes prove very difficult to undo a lie. Themes include showmanship, deception, the temporary nature of fame, cruelty, gullibility. More…
Black Is My Favorite Color
In this cynical take on 1960s race relations by Bernard Malamud, a Jewish-American shopkeeper turns the traditional racial discrimination debate on its head. Claiming to be open-minded and desirous of not only integrating with his local African-American community but also marrying into it, he finds himself shunned, vilified, beaten and rejected for his efforts. Some reviewers suggest that he has brought these problems upon himself by trying to be “too kind” and unintentionally coming across as privileged and condescending towards those he tries to help. Themes include racial inequality, racial and religious discrimination, interracial relationships, violence. More…
The Sailor-Boy’s Tale
Told in the form of a fairy-tale, this story by Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixon) includes the rather unusual suggestion that manhood comes with killing someone, kissing a girl and accepting one’s destiny. A young sailor is hurrying to visit a girl who the previous night had promised him his first kiss. After accidentally killing an aggressive Russian sailor who tries to delay him he flees, gets his kiss, and is saved from an angry mob by a grateful shape-shifter returning a good deed. Themes include innocence, romance, coming of age, destiny, karma (good deeds returned), the supernatural. More…
At the Jim Bridger
In this story by Ron Carlson, a man regrets having used a censored version of a story about how he saved the life of a hiker to seduce a woman. The hiker was suffering from hypothermia and, trapped in a small tent during a blizzard, the only way to warm him up was to lay naked together in the same sleeping bag. Nature took its course and, although the hiker either isn’t bothered by what happened or doesn’t remember, the protagonist has trouble coming to terms with it. Themes include marriage/relationships, male bonding, fatherhood, betrayal, guilt. More…
Fountains in the Rain
In this quirky story by Yukio Mishima, an arrogant young man courts, seduces and sleeps with a woman. He has no feelings for her, and does so purely for the “pleasure” of seeing the reaction when he says to a woman for the first time, It’s time to break it off!. Her immediate reaction is a river of tears. When he gets up to leave, she follows, still crying uncontrollably. To dump the tearbag, he decides to humiliate her in front of the royal fountains. The result is not what he expected. Themes include “manliness”, manipulation and deception, cruelty, love. More…
The Kiss
In this Anton Chekhov story, a mistaken kiss in a darkened room temporarily transforms the life of a shy, insecure army officer. He returns to duty on a high, wondering who the woman was and fanaticizing that he could be as successful in love and life as his fellow officers. Some weeks later, he eagerly returns to the scene. When nothing special takes place, he sees the folly of his summer dreams and fancies. In addition to Chekhov’s common message of the cruelty and unpredictability of life, themes include misunderstanding, human desire, self-delusion, raised hopes and shattered dreams. More…
The Drowned Giant
In this story by J. G. Ballard, the body of a giant man is dehumanized because of its otherworldly size. Left to rot on a beach, it first becomes a tourist attraction and later a source of exploitation as various body parts are taken for commercial purposes or as souvenirs. The narrator, who is clearly disturbed by the disrespectful way the body is treated, perceives it as having a transcendent, Homeric quality. This begs a fascinating question: What does it take to be considered human? Themes include humanity, identity, mortality, curiosity, fear (of a potentially superior race), fame, exploitation. More…
The Crooked Man
Set 500 years in the future, this story by Charles Beaumont envisions a dystopian world where homosexuality is the norm, heterosexuality is not only frowned upon but illegal, and children are tube-born and machine-nursed. Although the male protagonist is strongly attracted to a young woman, both struggle to deal with physical contact due to their social conditioning. As they cannot show affection in public, she disguises herself and they meet in a sleazy “men only” bar. In the end, she gets what she came for and his concerns are resolved. Themes include oppression, prejudice, sexual orientation, depravity.
The Soft Touch of Grass
In this story by Luigi Pirandello, a “not old and yet no longer young” man is full of emptiness and despair following the death of his wife. In accordance with Italian tradition, his married son becomes “man of the house” and consigns him to a remodeled servant’s room in the courtyard. Alienated, he spends his days watching children play in a nearby park. A misunderstanding by a young girl when he bends to take off his shoes so he can feel the grass under his feet sends him home in misery. Themes include loss, grief, despair, aging, alienation/isolation, loneliness, relativism. More…
The Devil and Daniel Webster
In this American tall tale by Stephen Benét a hapless farmer sells his soul to the devil in exchange for seven years of good luck. When the time comes to “pay up”, he asks Daniel Webster, famed lawyer, orator and all around good guy, to help him get out of the deal. After attempts at compromise fail, Webster insists on a trial according to American law. Although the devil whips up a stacked judge and jury comprised of dead scoundrels, Daniel’s speech about American values wins the day.. Themes include patriotism, temptation, good vs. evil, “neighborliness” (helping others), and righteousness. More…
The Indian Uprising
If you like stories with a traditional plot, this experimental story from Donald Barthelme may not be for you. Having said this, many reviewers rank it as one of Barthelme’s best. The narrator is the leader of a city besieged by “Comanches”. Interspersed with recounting the battle he shares random, disjointed memories, often expressed in unconventional language. A major theme is rebellion: the “Indians” are attacking the city, many of its unhappy citizens revolt and help them, and his girlfriend supports the Indians and wants nothing more to do with him. Other themes include violence, male-female relationships, deception and betrayal. More…
Roses, Rhododendron
This enchanting story by Alice Adams is about friendship, love (for people and places), and marriage. The narrator recalls how, after she and her mother moved from Boston to North Carolina, a lifelong friendship developed after she fell permanently in love with a house, with a family of three people and with an area of countryside. She forms a strong bond with each member of the family, and later learns that their shared fondness for her may have been the only thing that kept them together. Themes include friendship, mother-daughter relationships, marriage, city vs. country living, the beauty of nature. More…
The Garden of Stubborn Cats
In this Italo Calvino fantasy, a bored man spends his lunch breaks following a neighbourhood cat on its afternoon rounds through his rapidly growing the city. Thanks to the cat, he discovers a secret world within the city known only to its feline inhabitants. The story takes a grim turn when the cat steals a fish and leads the man to an overgrown garden that provides the last sanctuary for stray cats in the city. When progress tries to claim it, the cats and other animal residents fight back. Themes: social class, the negative aspects of progress, adaptivity, rebellion. More…
Good Advice is Rarer than Rubies
This story by Salman Rushdie satirises several aspects of life in post-colonial Pakistan. When an attractive woman steps off a bus outside a British Consulate for a visa interview, wily “advice expert” Muhammad Ali sees her as any easy mark. However when they meet, he is so struck by her beauty that he offers to help for free. Muhammad is confused when the woman rejects his assistance, attends the interview, and comes back into the street very happy, having failed to get her visa. Themes: power, emigration, deception, tradition (women’s subservience, arranged marriages) and change (women’s growing independence and freedom). More…