I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream: Short story by Harlan EllisonThis story from Harlan Ellison is an example of New Wave Science Fiction, a literary movement that flourished in the 1960s and 1970s. Distinguishing features are storylines that are intellectually implausible, and disturbing themes that would not normally be included in traditional science fiction. A sentient supercomputer has destroyed the human race other than five ‘specimens’. With no creative outlet for its powers, it has kept these alive and subjected them to torturous challenges for over one hundred years as revenge against humanity for creating it. Themes: humanity vs. technology, godhood, individualism, revenge, cruelty, violence, misogyny, self-sacrifice

Continue ReadingI Have No Mouth and I Must Scream

Black Tickets

Black Tickets: Short story by Jane Anne PhillipsThis heavily poetic steam of conscience narrative by Jayne Anne Phillips is not an easy read. Bouncing backwards and forwards in time, a former rapist and now imprisoned drug dealer recalls his obsessive love for and unpredictable, often violent relationship with, his unconventional “boyish” girlfriend. The drugs were pedaled in the seedy movie theatre in which she worked, and it unclear whether she, their “brotherly” hunch-backed supplier, or even the old theatre owner she was “in good with”, set him up. Themes include love, alienation, jealousy, violence, drug dealing and abuse, betrayal.

Continue ReadingBlack Tickets

In Another Country

In Another Country: Short story by Ernest HemingwaySet during World War 1, the major theme of his story by Ernest Hemingway is courage: courage to face an enemy in war, and courage to try to rebuild one’s life after being badly injured or suffering a major setback. A wounded American, thought to be Hemingway’s alter ego Nick Adams, visits a Milan hospital every day for exercises to rehabilitate a wounded knee. He shares his fears about returning to the front, and his relationship and experiences with five Italian soldiers undergoing treatment. Other themes: dealing with disability and loss, fear of death, camaraderie, dignity vs. bravado, alienation, loneliness.

Continue ReadingIn Another Country

Man from the South

Man From the South: Short Story by Roald DahlThis story by Roald Dahl is about gambling, greed, appearances and ‘face’. A young man accepts what appears to be an easy bet. If he is successful, he will win an expensive car. If he loses, he must give up a small body part. Many reviews suggest that the English girl is not important to the story. I disagree. The young man was at first unhappy with the bet. If he was alone at the time, he could well have walked away. But this is not something a young sailor out to win a girl would do!

Continue ReadingMan from the South

Bigfoot Stole My Wife / I Am Bigfoot

Bigfoot Stole My Wife / I Am Bigfoot: Short stories by Ron CarlsonToday we have two linked stories from Ron Carlson: Bigfoot Stole My Wife and I am Bigfoot. In the first, despite a host of context clues suggesting that the protagonist’s wife has left him, shame and denial lead him to believe that the legendary Bigfoot has abducted her. Using flawed logic, he argues that this must be true because another seemingly impossible event in his life was also true. The story opens with the line: “The problem is credibility.” In the ironic second story, credibility comes as Bigfoot issues a fearful warning to all men of the world.

Continue ReadingBigfoot Stole My Wife / I Am Bigfoot

The Secret Cause

The Secret Cause: Short story by Joaquim Maria Machado de AssisCharacters in Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis stories often have a causa secreta (ulterior motive) for their actions. When a young doctor opens a hospital in partnership with a forty-year-old acquaintance, he is amazed by the older man’s dedication to nursing the most seriously ill and injured patients. A visit to his partner’s house explains why. He is a sadist who finds pleasure in inflicting pain on animals and observing the suffering of others. The doctor suppresses a growing love for the man’s frightened wife, only letting it show on her deathbed. Themes include sadism, cruelty, and secret love.

Continue ReadingThe Secret Cause

Dahong Palay

Dahong Palay: Short story by Arturo B. RotorThe Filipino term dahong palay has several meanings: a rice leaf, a single edged sword and, as in this story by Arturo B. Rotor, a deadly viper. A young man is the butt of constant jokes about his timid nature and slight build. An attempt to prove himself at a community rice-pounding gathering leads to further ridicule. Later, when bitten by a dahong palay to save his prospective girlfriend, he proves that resourcefulness, strength and courage aren’t dependent upon how well-built you are. Themes: community, body image, bullying, young love, courage.

Continue ReadingDahong Palay

Filial Sentiments of a Parricide

Filial Sentiments of a Parricide: Short story by Marcel ProustFilial parricide is the murder of a parent by a son or daughter. This story by Marcel Proust, originally published as a newspaper article and full of classic literary references, discusses a parricide-suicide committed by a highly respected French businessman. Written shortly after the death of Proust’s mother, he philosophizes about memories, the nature of death, the observation that all children commit a slow form of parricide through the anxiety and pain they cause their parents, and the question of whether, if they knew this, some may feel that life is worth living. Themes include memory, death, madness, parent-child relationships.

Continue ReadingFilial Sentiments of a Parricide