Featured Stories

Where I’m Calling From

Where I'm Calling From: Short story by Raymond CarverThis Raymond Carver story describes how a friendship that develops between two strangers attending an alcohol drying-out retreat puts both on the road to recovery. The story’s message is that while acceptance that you have an alcohol problem is an important first step, true recovery begins when you acknowledge the damage it has caused to the lives of yourself and your loved ones, and are prepared to face up to your demons. The story also recognizes that, post-recovery, there is a high likelihood of a relapse. Themes: substance abuse, alienation, loneliness and the need for human connection, self-awareness, fear, hope.

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The Toxic Donut

The Toxic Donut: Short story by Terry BissonIn this story by Terry Bisson, a woman has been nominated from entries all over the world to represent humanity in an annual TV extravaganza. The focus of the show, set in the future and officiated over by world leaders, is Environmental Awareness. One of its features is a “Wonders of Science” film segment celebrating technology that can concentrate a whole year’s toxic wastes and pollutants into a single donut. In the finale, the donut for the previous year is presented to the world. The unwitting woman’s role is to eat it. Themes include environmentalism, science and technology, human sacrifice.

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Mateo Falcone

Mateo Falcone: Short story by Prosper MériméeThis disturbing tale by Prosper Mérimée has been called “the cruellest story in the world”. Although it deals with some complex issues, the plot is rather simple. Set in the wilds of Corsica, a bratty ten-year-old boy left home alone is confronted by a wounded criminal fleeing the police. He pays the boy to hide him but, when the police arrive and offer a bigger reward, the boy betrays the man. This brings shame upon his family, and forces his father to enforce the Corsican Code of Honor. Themes include greed, honor and betrayal, custom (vendetta), violence and brutality.

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Amnesty

Amnesty: Short story by Octavia E. ButlerIn this story by Octavia Butler, Earth’s economy collapses following the arrival of an advanced alien race that settles in the world’s deserts. A reluctant co-existence develops when it becomes clear that the aliens cannot be destroyed. The protagonist, kidnapped by the aliens at age eleven and subjected to cruel experiments, is now an Interpreter for one of their “communities”. Her current mission: to “calm” and prepare six recruits for well-paid positions translating for other communities. Although they need the job, the applicants are full of anger and hostility towards the aliens. Themes: fear, ignorance, social experimentation, torture, hatred, détente.

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The Leap

The Leap: Short story by Louise ErdrichThis Louise Erdrich story about the relationship between a former blindfold trapeze artist and her daughter involves three leaps. The first is the tragic failed leap that resulted in the deaths of the woman’s first husband and their unborn child. The second is the successful leap through which the mother saves the then seven-year-old girl from a house fire. The third is a leap of time. The now elderly mother is physically blind and requires her daughter’s help to engage her passion for books and reading. Themes: choice & consequences, mother-child relationships, love, courage, trust, aging, the joy of reading.

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The Boy in the Tunnel / The Boy on the Tünel

The Boy in the Tunnel / The Boy on the Tünel: Short story by Sait Faik AbasıyanıkThis story by Sait Faik Abasıyanık describes a man’s thoughts as he watches an unkempt boy make his first trip on the Tünel (Istanbul’s Beyoğlu – Karaköy funicular railway). The boy, who is clearly from a poor family, tries hard to supress his feelings of excitement and wonder. His joy turns to discomfort when he senses the man and other passengers taking notice of his faint smile. Themes include 1) how things some of us take for granted can create magic moments for others; and 2) how, as we age, society conditions us to hide our feelings in public.

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Shooting an Elephant

Shooting an Elephant: Short story by George OrwellThis story by Eric Arthur Blair (aka George Orwell) is a narrative essay in which the thesis is the wrongs of British Imperialism. A young officer in the British Colonial Police in the early 1920’s describes an experience with an elephant that had killed a villager. He tells how he felt pressured into shooting the animal, even though he knew this to be unnecessary. His fellow Europeans had mixed opinions but fortunately, none of them guessed the real reason for the shooting. Themes include culture clash, prejudice, the need to maintain authority, and moral conscience vs. pride/”face”.

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This Is Earle Sandt

This Is Earle Sandt: Short story by Robert Olen ButlerThis Robert Olen Butler story is loosely based on the death of American aviator Earle Sandt. A small town banker attends an aerial exhibition with his young son. It is the first time either has seen an aeroplane, and they witness the crash that killed the pioneer pilot. Both are traumatised. The boy recovers quickly, but not so the banker whose ordered world and religious faith have been shaken. He begins to identify with Sandt, asking: Did I sense a God all about me in the sky?, and answering: Forgive me, no. Themes include progress/change, mortality, faith, despair, identity.

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