Sunanda

Sunanda: Short story by BanaphoolThis story by Banaphool opens with a young Indian woman dreaming about what might have been… the power and prestige that comes with a good education. The dream ends with her contemplating revenge on a man who had recently rejected her as a prospective bride. We don’t learn the outcome, because she wakes to the grim reality of her miserable existence. Despite excellent grades at school, her father denied her a tertiary education. As her poverty-stricken family desperately tries to marry her off, she takes drastic action. Themes include poverty, the importance of education, rejection, despair.

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Drifting House

Drifting House: Short story by Krys LeeThis confronting story by Krys Lee opens in a remote North Korean village created for those the government called the “wavering or hostile class”. Government food rations have been cut off and two starving, malnourished boys abandoned by their mother struggle across a snow-covered mountain to try to join her in China. The older boy carries their dying infant sister. Unable to carry her any further, he humanely ends her suffering. Despite their dire circumstances, he reveres his country’s “Dear Leader”, and expresses hatred for the American imperialists said to be responsible. Themes include family, abandonment, hunger, despair, guilt, indoctrination.

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The Spinoza of Market Street

The Spinoza of Market Street: Short story by Isaac Bashevis SingerIsaac Singer’s protagonist is an aging philosopher who has struggled for thirty years to write a commentary on the 17th century philosophical treatise, Spinoza’s Ethics. Frustrated, sickly and too weak from hunger to get out of bed, a reclusive spinster nurses him back to health. Her kindness leads to marriage and a wedding night in which he miraculously regains his youthful virility and passion for life. The story’s denouement: Spinoza, forgive me. I have become a fool. could thus be taken several ways. Themes: obsession, isolation and loneliness, renewal through passion, the difficulty in reconciling Spinoza’s views with traditional religion.

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Javni

Javni: Short story by Raja RaoRaja Rao’s Javni highlights the inequity of India’s caste system and how it is so interlinked with religious beliefs that most of those affected accept their lot without question. (A Brahmin is not meant to work. You are the “chosen ones”… you are the twice-born. We are your servants — your slaves.) Javni, a devout servant, accepts the exploitation and indignities suffered at the hands of her employer as a normal aspect of working life. Sadly, being a widow, the poor woman faces even greater cruelty from her family and fellow villagers. Themes: compassion, innocence, religion, fate, superstition, cruelty, sacrifice, love.

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No Witchcraft for Sale

No Witchcraft for Sale: Short story by Doris LessingDoris Lessing’s years growing up on a Rhodesian farm add credibility to this story about a condescending white family’s relationship with their native cook who, it seems, doubles as a local medicine man. The closeness that exists between the cook and their young son evaporates as the boy ages and becomes aware of racial issues, but is rekindled when the cook uses “bush medicine” to save the boy’s eyesight. The parents’ gratitude turns to anger as the cook refuses to reveal the secret of the cure to a greedy scientist. Themes: racism, ancient wisdom, altruism vs. commercial exploitation, cultural conflict.

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Home

Home: Short story by Anton ChekhovThis story by Anton Chekhov explores the topic of parent-child communication. A court prosecutor learns that on two occasions his seven-year-old son stole some of his tobacco and was caught smoking. In true prosecutorial style, he does his best to point out the dangers of smoking. However, each time he raises an argument, the boy drifts off on a tangent and changes the subject. Recognizing he isn’t getting through to his son, he abandons logic and successfully communicates the message through a bedtime story. Themes include father-son relationships, punishment vs. discipline, logic vs. imagination, the power of storytelling.

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The Glass of Milk

The Glass of Milk: Short story by Manuel RojasIn this story by Manuel Rojas, a boy who has run away to sea finds himself stranded, penniless and hungry in a foreign port. He is too proud to beg for food on the dockside, and too timid to ask in the cheap taverns nearby. Rather than steal food, he decides to order something in a dairy (milk bar), even though he can’t pay for it, and accept the consequences. Instead of punishment, he is met with kindness and compassion. Themes include the lure of the sea, poverty, loneliness and isolation, pride, desperation, shame, honor and kindness.

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The Coffee-house of Surat

The Coffee-house of Surat: Short story by Leo TolstoyIn this story from Leo Tolstoy, customers in an Indian coffeehouse overhear a disillusioned religious scholar questioning his servant about the existence of God. This sparks a debate about which religion is God’s favorite. Arguments are put forward supporting most of the mainstream European and Asian religions of the day, as well as some unusual ones like idolatry and fire-walking. The answer (that God is not exclusive to any one system of beliefs) is provided in an allegorical tale from a Confucian scholar about a debate over the existence and path of the sun. Themes: diversity, bigotry, intolerance, religious pluralism.

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