Featured Stories

The Happiest I’ve Been

The Happiest I've Been: Short story by John UpdikeThis acclaimed story from John Updike concludes with the protagonist attributing his overwhelming happiness to driving a powerful car through the stunning Pennsylvania countryside, blessed irresponsibility, a waiting girl who would marry him, and twice being trusted enough for someone to fall asleep beside him. The second-year university student is on the cusp of manhood. Observing the party he had been going to all his life the previous night taught the shy loner that he, along with his friends, have out-grown childhood and need to move on with their lives. Themes: solitude, nostalgia, transition (from childhood to adulthood), looking ahead.

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This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen: Short story by Tadeusz BorowskiThis almost clinical account of Tadeusz Borowski’s holocaust experiences explores an often overlooked aspect of the so-called “final solution”: how general prisoners forced to assist in sending the condemned to gas chambers became so desensitized to the brutality that many actively participated in it. Because of their access to discarded food and clothing, these men formed the “elite” among the prisoner hierarchy. In camp, their insensitivity to suffering prevailed and many looked down on and showed little compassion for the plight of “less fortunate” fellow inmates. Themes: man’s inhumanity to man, death and suffering, the survival instinct, detachment, guilt, rationalization.

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The Canterville Ghost

The Canterville Ghost: Short story by Oscar WildeOscar Wilde is known for his comedic, usually satirical stories that focus on the shallowness and hypocrisy of the Victorian upper class. He goes several steps further in this playful ghost story, also mocking the brash practicality of wealthy Americans and some of the common devices used in horror and romantic literature. A fascinating aspect of the plot is the way Wilde builds sympathy for his spectral protagonist before revealing the petty reason the cruel man murdered his unfortunate wife. Themes: (general) British vs American culture, tradition, compassion; (the ghost) duty, artistry, suffering, atonement, redemption, peace.

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Kate Crackernuts

Kate Crackernuts: Scottish folktale from Joseph JacobsWhat’s this? A folktale where a wicked queen doesn’t come to a terrible end and stepsisters love each other! Where’s the fun in that? A queen is unhappy that her stepdaughter is more beautiful than her own daughter. So, with a little magic, she pops a sheep’s head onto the prettier one’s shoulders. The two girls run away together and of course marry handsome princes. However, I am a bit worried about a possible message from the story, which seems to suggest that it is OK to steal from babies as long as you do it for a good cause.

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Yellow Woman

Yellow Woman: Short story by Leslie Marmon Silko“Yellow Woman” is a central, usually heroic figure in the folklore of Pueblo Native Americans. Like Leslie Marmon Silko’s protagonist, she is often portrayed as an independent, sexually uninhibited character who connects with the spirit world. This story blurs the lines between that myth and reality. The “real world” presented is full of conflicts: old ways vs. new; pristine landscapes vs. ranches and highways; law and order vs. cattle theft and murder; faithfulness vs. desire. In the end, it is this reality that wins the day. Themes: storytelling, myth vs reality, identity, interconnectedness with nature, empowerment through sexuality.

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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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The Willow Walk

The Willow Walk: Short story by Sinclair LewisIn this story by Sinclair Lewis, twins Jasper and John Holt couldn’t be more different: Jasper, a well-dressed, respectable bank teller and admired member of a community theatre group; John, a disheveled, reclusive religious fanatic and admired member of an obscure religious cult. Yet they are the same person, a skilled actor carrying out an elaborate bank heist. The robbery goes off perfectly… “Jasper” mysteriously disappears, and John, who no one suspects, has the money. All goes well until John’s conscience causes him to descend into madness. Themes include crime, dissimulation, social class, religious zealotry, guilt, madness, atonement, despair.

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Cold Spring

Cold Spring: Short story by Aharon AppelfeldThis 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.

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