The Skater

The Skater: Short story by Joy WilliamsIn this story by Joy Williams, parents (Tom and Annie) take their teenage daughter Molly on an awkward trip from California to New England to look at boarding schools. Sending Molly to school across the country is ostensibly so that the distance will help her deal with the recent death of her older sister Martha. Molly thinks her parents have an ulterior motive… to help them cope more easily with their own grief. Although Molly rejects all the schools, the trip helps all three on their road to recovery. Themes include family, death, grief, acceptance.

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The Red Convertible

The Red Convertible: Short story by Louise ErdrichThe titular car in this confronting coming of age story by Louise Erdrich symbolizes freedom and the youthful bonding of Native-American half-brothers Lyman and Henry. Lyman is good with money and responsible. Henry is older, stronger, and more impulsive. On buying the car, they take a summer road-trip through the wilds of Montana before picking up a hitchhiker and driving her all the way home to Alaska. Upon their return, Henry is drafted and sent to Vietnam. He comes back a changed man, suffering a downward spiral of depression and despair. Themes: brotherhood, youth, freedom, PTSD, alienation, suicide, loss.

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The Balek Scales

The Balek Scales: Short story by Heinrich BöllThis story from Heinrich Böll is a social commentary about a rich family’s exploitation of farm workers. This occurs on three levels, characterized by different forms of “scales”: 1) systematic cheating, involving an incorrectly balanced set of weighing scales; 2) legal injustice, where the scales of justice are weighted firmly in favor of the landowners; and 3) social injustice, where the imbalance of power results in poor pay, long hours, and dangerous working conditions. The workers are incensed by the cheating, but accept the other injustices. Other themes: the whistle-blowing family’s courage and pride, church and wider community apathy.

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The Third Level

The Third Level: Short story by Jack FinneyIn this story by Jack Finney, a harried office worker finds himself back in 1894 after discovering a “third level” of New York’s Grand Central Station that isn’t supposed to exist. He wants to buy two tickets so that he and his wife can travel back in time and live a less pressured life in his hometown. However, he doesn’t have old currency and by the time he returns with some, the level has disappeared. Ironically, a once skeptical friend succeeds in making the journey. Themes include nostalgia, the pressure of modern life, escapism, time-travel.

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Squeaker’s Mate

Squeaker's Mate: Short story by Barbara BayntonBarbara Baynton’s Squeaker’s Mate is an Australian bush story in which gender stereotypes are reversed and the man is found wanting when disaster strikes. The story raises some interesting issues. Why would a strong, capable woman like Mary choose and put up with a lazy, simple-minded weakling like Squeaker for a “mate”. Could it be that he was her only option? Is Baynton suggesting that other men were intimidated by Mary’s independence and masculinity, or possibly even hinting at sexuality issues that were taboo at the time? Squeaker may not be solely to blame for the outcome.

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The Sun, the Moon, the Stars

The Sun, the Moon, the Stars: Short story by Junot DíazThis story by Junot Díaz examines transnational relationships between young Hispanic Americans. It focuses on the doomed love affair between a Dominican-American man and his long-suffering Cuban girlfriend and, in doing so, the pressures they face from family and friends. It contrasts the woman’s desire for true love and commitment with the man’s unsuccessful attempts to shake off the stereotype of Latino machismo. The man maintains he is not a bad guy, but doesn’t seem to understand how to treat a woman with consideration and respect. Themes include responsibility in relationships, infidelity, self-deception, national pride, socioeconomic differences.

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Ahoy, Sailor Boy!

Ahoy, Sailor Boy!: Short story by A. E. CoppardThis story by A. E. Coppard takes a light-hearted look at death and what comes after. Following a discussion in an English pub about death and divine retribution, an off-duty sailor unsuccessfully tries to solicit an attractive ghost in a park. The woman’s sin was vanity, as represented by a huge collection of expensive clothing. In order to obtain redemption, she must re-wear and discard every item in the collection. She is wearing the last outfit, and the sailor eagerly watches as she undresses for the last time. Themes include death and the afterlife, vanity, sexuality, kindness, redemption, the supernatural.

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The Refugee

The Refugee: Short story by K. A. AbbasThis story by K. A. Abbas deals with the social upheaval caused by the 1947 Partition of India. Told from the perspective of an elderly Sikh woman, it compares the community spirit and religious tolerance that existed before Partition with the hatred, bloodshed and displacement of Sikh and Hindu families that occurred afterwards. The compassionate, once wealthy protagonist, who lost everything when forced to flee Rawalpindi, demonstrates neither bitterness nor self-pity. However, she still sheds a tear for the “soft” memories like ripe apricots and fragrant baggoogoshas… Themes include brotherhood and inclusiveness vs. religious hostility, alienation, suffering, identity, resilience.

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