The Right Kind of House

The Right Kind of House: Short story by Henry SlesarIn this story by Henry Slesar, a stranger in an expensive car visits a small-town real-estate agent to enquire about a dilapidated house that has a ‘For Sale’ sign out front. The agent advises that the owner (an elderly woman with an apparent sentimental attachment to the house) is insisting on over seven times a fair asking price. The man visits the woman to try to negotiate and is left with a bitter taste in his mouth when, after she proves inflexible, he is forced to agree to her price. Themes include crime, patience, appearances vs. reality, vengeance, justice.

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The End of Something / Three-Day Blow

The End of Something / Three Day Blow: Short stories by Ernest HemingwayThese two Ernest Hemingway stories should ideally be read together as they are linked by storyline (the end of a relationship) and major themes (change, friendship and moving on). The lumber town of Hortons Bay has died and its people have left because all the old-growth trees have been cut down. Like the townspeople, Nick Adams is planning a new beginning. He has decided to break up with girlfriend Marjorie, telling her “it isn’t fun anymore”. We learn the reason in the second story, which introduces additional themes of class and/or racial prejudice, selfishness, mateship and regret.

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The Tenant

The Tenant: Short story by Bharati MukherjeeIn this story by Bharati Mukherjee, a young Indian-American college professor struggles to make a new life after a series of “indiscretions”. She has sullied her reputation among her Brahman caste by marrying and later being left by an American graduate student, and compensated for the loss and shame through promiscuity. She finds solace as the lover of her armless landlord but, in the hope of reconnecting with her culture, abruptly leaves him when re-contacted by a “god-like” Indian man she had met through a matrimonial advertisement. Themes include identity, cultural confusion, social class, nonconformity, rejection, shame, alienation, loneliness, connection.

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The Empty House

The Empty House: Short story by Algernon BlackwoodAlgernon Blackwood’s most famous ghost story, The Empty House could best be described as a horror story without the horror (no blood, gore, demonic possession, attacks by spectral beings, etc.). The story’s power lies in Blackwood’s ability to inspire terror through atmosphere alone. Its major themes are fear and the interdependence of the two psychic sleuths in confronting their fears. Initially, the ghosts go about their nightly business seemingly indifferent to the visitors. The perceived threat from “IT” only emerges when one of them gives way to fear and they begin to flee. Other themes: curiosity, courage, the supernatural.

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Snow, Glass, Apples

Snow-Glass-Apples: Short story by Neil GaimanThis Neil Gaiman story is yet another re-invention of the Snow White tale. However, a shift in point-of-view from a third-person omniscient narrator to the first-person perspective of the Queen allows the story to be re-imagined in a way we are unlikely to see from Disney. The much-maligned Queen knows a little magic (enough to glimpse the future and enchant the King), but not enough to match her evil stepdaughter. In the end, the Queen’s fate adds a new meaning to the slang term to feel cooked. Themes include power, vampirism, murder, revenge, jealousy, cruelty, sexual depravity (necrophilia, pedophilia, incest).

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The Revolt of “Mother”

The Revolt of This Mary E. Wilkins Freeman story is an early example of American literary feminism. When Adoniram, an insensitive, authoritarian farmer decides to build a barn on the site of a promised new house and refuses to discuss the issue, his long-suffering wife takes a stand. Sarah, the hard-working and devoted “Mother”, sees his need to spend a few days away as a sign from God. Much to the surprise and amusement of the local community, she goes about turning the new barn into a home. Themes: gender roles/repression (male domination), insincerity (false promises), spirituality, rebellion.

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The New Constitution / Naya Qanun

The New Constitution / Naya Qanun: Short story by Saadat Hasan MantoA message of this story by Saadat Hasan Manto is to make sure you fully understand something you overhear before acting on it. An illiterate tongawala [coachman] learns about the world by eavesdropping on customers. Over several days, he overhears talk of a new “India Act”, which he misinterprets to be a new constitution that will free India from British rule. Having developed a hatred of the British for subjugating and exploiting his country, he is excited by the “news”. Unfortunately, acting on it lands him in jail. Themes include colonialism vs. freedom and self-determination, excitement, hope, disillusionment.

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Who Will Greet You At Home

Who Will Greet You At Home: Short story by Lesley Nneka ArimahIn this surreal horror story from Lesley Nneka Arimah, children are created in the form of craft dolls by their mother, blessed by their grandmother or an elderly substitute, and nurtured for a year until they “become flesh”. In the interim they feed, move and act like babies, but in their doll form. The dolls can be made from any material (straw, sticks, clay, etc.) that is strong enough to last a year. But there are rules. When Ogechi, the impoverished protagonist desperate to have a child breaks one, bad things happen. Themes: magic, poverty, exploitation, isolation, obsession, motherhood.

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