The Overcoat (The Cloak)

The Overcoat (The Cloak): Short story by Nikolai GogolThis story by Nikolai Gogol, described by Vladimir Nabokov as the greatest Russian short story ever written, uses pathos and dry humor to get its messages across. The protagonist represents Russia’s working class, eking out a living in a tedious, low-level job. Things improve dramatically when a windfall allows him to buy a new overcoat. Sadly, after a mugger steals the coat, shortcomings in the justice system and failing health contribute to his death. Perhaps metaphorically, his ghost rises up and terrorizes the city in retribution. Themes: alienation, (lack of) connection and compassion, bureaucracy, materialism, social class, the supernatural, revenge.

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The Best Girlfriend You Never Had

The Best Girlfriend You Never Had: Short story by Pam HoustonIf you are looking for a story with a traditional plot structure, this work of contemporary fiction by Pam Houston is not for you. The story comprises fourteen anecdotes and observations about the life of a thirty-one-year-old woman who comes to San Francisco seeking order and romantic love. Instead, she finds chaos and frustration. Obsessed with finding the right man, she always seems to identify with the wrong ones. The one man in her life she has strong feelings for calls himself the best girlfriend you never had. Themes: order vs. chaos, friendship vs. romantic love, self-esteem, fear, enlightenment, change.

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The Company of Wolves

The Company of Wolves: Short story by Angela CarterThe early part of Angela Carter’s Company of Wolves comprises background and several anecdotes which build anticipation and atmosphere. The main story, which doesn’t start until one-third of the way through the text, is an adult-oriented adaption of Charles Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood. Carter reinforces Perrault’s original theme through eroticism. The addition of the wolf choir outside the cabin (“Who has come to sing us carols, she said.” “Those are the voices of my brothers, darling; I love the company of wolves.”) reflects the feminist view (and Carter’s?) that all men have an innate desire to deflower young women.

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Blood-Burning Moon

Blood-Burning-Moon: Short story by Jean ToomerSet in the American South during the days of enforced segregation, this story by Jean Toomer involves a love triangle between Louisa, an attractive young African-American woman and two men. Bob (the entitled son a white planter whose slaves were freed and landholdings reduced after the Civil War) picks a fight with his adversary Tom (a poor, quick-tempered black labourer). When Bob pulls a knife, Tom does likewise and kills him. In keeping with the times, Tom is gruesomely executed by a white vigilante mob. Themes: love vs. lust, racism/white supremacy, identity, violence, vigilante justice.

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Going Steady

Going Steady: Short story by Adam BagdasarianIn this story by Adam Bagdasarian, a boy cruelly asks a girl to go steady in order to win a bet. The girl, who he knew liked him, is free-spirited, controlling, and has highly romantic perceptions of what going steady should entail. He wasn’t looking for such a commitment, likening her to a boa constrictor, and after four days decides to call it off. He finds this easier said than done and, after finally plucking up the courage to do so, immediately puts himself in a similar position. Themes include teenage relationships and expectations, insensitivity, honesty, control, commitment.

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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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Magnificence

Magnificence: Short story by Estrella AlfonThis confronting story by Estrella Alfon explores one of a parent’s worst nightmares: the sexual abuse of a child by someone they know. An after-school tutor, loved and trusted by his two students, “loses control” and soils the dress of a seven-year-old girl he had placed on his knee. The major theme is the “magnificence” of the mother in confronting and humiliating the man. Set in 1950s Philippines, a secondary feminist theme is gender reversal and empowerment – the need for women to fight back against male mistreatment. Other themes include innocence, motherly love, child abuse, betrayal, absentee parenting (the father).

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Evening Primrose

Seventh Grade: Short story by Gary SotoIt is always nice to find a story with a quirky, innovative storyline. John Collier’s Evening Primrose is in the form of a journal describing the experiences of a failed poet who gives up the outside world to spend the rest of his life living in a department store. He plans to hide out by day and wander the store at night collecting food and other necessities. To his surprise, he finds that a small community of like-minded people already inhabit the store. The only things they fear are discovery by the night watchman and the gruesome “Dark Men.”

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