Featured Stories

La Grande Bretèche

La Grande Bretèche: Short story by Honoré de BalzacIn this story by Honoré de Balzac, an elderly French doctor entertains guests at a dinner party by relating how he was able to solve the mystery of a dilapidated, abandoned mansion by seducing a hotel maid. Upon completion of his narration the story continues: all the ladies rose from table … But there were some among them who had almost shivered at the last words. Themes include social class, marriage, betrayal, vengeance, and gallantry (on the part of the Spanish noble for the way he faced death without giving his lover away).

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The Holiday

The Holiday: Short story by Lily BrettThis chapter from Lily Brett’s book Things Could Be Worse describes how several Jewish migrant couples meet at an inexpensive Australian holiday resort in 1950 and form a close-knit group that holidays together over the next thirty-two years. Despite their growing prosperity, they are still haunted by memories of the past. The group breaks up when a meddling member has a photograph taken that suggests the husband of one couple is having an affair with the wife of another. As couples take sides, relationships are destroyed for both members and their children. Themes include assimilation, friendship, memories, “Jewishness”, gossip-mongering, aging.

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The Spider Thread

The Spider Thread: Short story by Ryunosuke AkutagawaAlthough initially published in a children’s magazine, this story from Ryūnosuke Akutagawa is equally relevant to adults. Lord Buddha takes pity on a notorious criminal and sends a “life-line” in the form of a spider’s thread to help him escape from hell. For young readers, this is a parable about selfishness and sharing. For older readers, it is also a lesson on compassion. Kandata’s fate was sealed well before he screamed at those following to get off “his” thread. True compassion would have involved finding a way to share the thread with fellow sufferers before he started climbing.

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The Philanthropist’s Christmas

The Philanthropist's Christmas: Children's story by J.W. LinnIn this Christmas story by J. W. Linn, a philanthropist (a rich person who gives a lot of money to help make life better for other people) learns an important lesson. Eighteen months ago, the philanthropist helped rescue a puppy stuck in a drain. He bought the puppy, and it is now his closest companion. Recently, the puppy has gone missing. During the philanthropist’s search for it, a young boy takes him to the apartment of a poor family. As he helps with their Christmas preparations, he experiences a special joy that changes the way he thinks about his work.

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Menagerie, a Child’s Fable

Menagerie, a Child’s Fable: Short story by Charles JohnsonLike George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Charles Johnson’s confronting allegorical fable about animals left to fend for themselves in a locked pet shop is not for children. Some see the story as a religious allegory for the consequences (chaos and hell fire) of losing faith in God (Tilford) and listening to the devil (the monkey). Another interpretation is as a political allegory for the anarchy that can arise after a breakdown of authority and the rule of law, much like modern day (2024) Haiti. Themes include oppression, freedom and democracy, pluralism vs. racism, lawlessness and power (greed, violence, murder and rape).

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The Birthmark

The Birthmark: Short story by Nathaniel HawthorneIn this story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a brilliant scientist takes a break from his work to marry a woman of nearly perfect beauty. Her one “blemish” is a small hand-shaped birthmark on her left cheek. Much of the scientist’s work has involved (often unsuccessfully) trying to manipulate the laws of Nature. As he begins to obsess over the frightful birthmark, his wife agrees to allow him to remove it… even if it costs her life! The story’s message: the folly of pursuing human perfection; no one is flawless. Themes: perfection, obsession, hubris, religion, gender roles, submission/sacrifice, science vs. nature, mortality.

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The Smoothest Way Is Full of Stones

The Smoothest Way Is Full of Stones: Novelette by Julie OrringerThis story by Julie Orringer explores aspects of life and growing up in an American Orthodox Jewish community. Due to her mother’s illness, a teenage Jewish girl raised in a secular environment spends her school holidays living in the Orthodox community of an aunt. Despite community concern that she may be a bad influence on her cousins, she adjusts well to the Orthodox way of life. It is her rebellious, similar-aged cousin, beginning to explore her sexuality, who breaks the community’s strict behavioral rules. Themes include family, protectiveness and distrust, secular vs. Orthodox lifestyles, spiritual awakening, and emerging sexuality.

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Defender of the Faith

Defender of the Faith: Short story by Philip RothThis story by Philip Roth raises questions about the conflict between integrity and loyalty to one’s community group. A Jewish-American army sergeant returning from the European battlefields towards the end of World War 2 is assigned to a training unit in which there is an entitled Jewish recruit. The recruit exploits their common heritage, scheming, lying and manipulating the sergeant to receive special treatment. When the self-serving recruit goes behind the sergeant’s back to avoid serving in the Pacific, he is quickly put in his place. Themes include identity, integrity, “Jewishness”, antisemitism, manipulation.

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