Featured Stories

The Embroidered Towel

The Embroidered Towel: Short story by Mikhail BulgakovIn this story by Mikhail Bulgakov, a Russian doctor fresh out of medical school is assigned to an isolated rural clinic. Inexperienced and intimidated by the staff’s praise of his predecessor, he is terrified at the prospect of failure. As fate would have it, his first emergency is a girl whose legs have been mutilated by agricultural machinery. Despite the operating theatre staff saying she is beyond saving, he remains calm and rises to the occasion. As a thank-you gesture, she embroiders a gift he treasures for years. Themes include isolation, self-doubt/fear of failure, professional awakening, composure under pressure, gratitude.

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The Ambitious Guest

The Ambitious Guest: Short story by Nathaniel HawthorneBased on a true event, this Nathaniel Hawthorne story illustrates the power of nature and the futility of man in trying to best it. A young man stops at an inn high on a mountain pass and boasts to the family inside about his ambition to do something great to be remembered by. Above the inn are towering mountains from which rocks and boulders are frequently dislodged. The family have built a safe house nearby in the event of an avalanche, but when the ‘slide’ comes, nature wins. Other themes include hubris, ambition, contentment, connection, fate.

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Dead End

Dead End: Short story by Rudolfo AnayaThe protagonist of this coming of age story by Rudolfo Anaya faces a difficult decision: to honor a promise made to her dying mother, or risk ending a budding romance with the most sought after boy in school. Whichever choice she makes is likely to lead to a “dead end” of sorts. She comes close to a decision while ‘making out’ with the boy in his car. Fortunately, a childhood memory and plaintive sob from a passing bag lady help clear her mind. Themes: determination, family responsibility, dreams (a better future vs. ‘fitting in’ with the gang), sexuality, life choices

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Sweet Porridge

Sweet Porridge: German folktale from the Brothers GrimmIn this German folktale (also known as The Magic Porridge Pot), a kind old woman gives a magic pot to a poor girl looking for something to eat in a forest. When someone says special words, the pot cooks sweet porridge. The only problem for the girl, her mother and the village they live in is that you need to say special words to make the pot stop cooking. This is a popular teaching story for 3-5 year-olds, made more so because the poem that inspired it was also the source for a famous Disney film segment.

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Christmas Every Day

Christmas Every Day: Short story by W. D. HowellsThis children’s story by W. D. Howells is actually a ‘story within a story’. A demanding daughter insists that her busy father tell her a Christmas story. Perhaps with his daughter in mind, he makes up a tale about a little girl who makes a selfish Christmas wish. She wants it to be Christmas every day so she can get presents and eat Christmas treats all year long. The wish comes true but in so doing causes problems for almost everyone in the world. Although told in an amusing way, you could call this a Christmas horror fairy-tale.

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The Elephant Vanishes

The Elephant Vanishes: Short story by Haruki MurakamiThe major theme of this surreal mystery by Haruki Murakami is how commercialism and modernization have upset Japan’s traditional social order. Other themes include unity, perception, disillusionment, alienation, paralysis, isolation and connection. An aging elephant and keeper symbolize the old ways, destined to vanish when displaced by urban development. The city’s absurd responses to the disappearance signify the uneasiness and confusion brought about by the changes. The narrator, a loner used to unity and balance in his life, becomes so disoriented by what he saw on the night of the disappearance that he is unable to make important decisions.

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Come Rain or Come Shine

Come Rain or Come Shine: Short story by Kazuo IshiguroThis story by Kazuo Ishiguro is a farcical satire of a man trying to save his stagnating marriage. He manipulates a mutual friend living overseas into providing company for his wife while he is away on business. The friend has achieved little in life and the husband hopes that the contrast will make his wife appreciate him more. A hilarious sequence of events unfolds as the friend tries to cover up damage he caused to the wife’s appointment book after reading unflattering entries about himself. Themes include friendship, alienation in marriage, manipulation, sacrifice, disappointment, the power of music, memories, regrets.

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The Censors

The Censors: Short story by Luisa ValenzuelaWritten during the early days of Argentina’s Videla dictatorship, this story by Luisa Valenzuela satirizes the use of censorship in limiting free speech. A man worried that government censors may misinterpret an innocent letter he wrote to a woman in Paris gets a job at the censorship office to recover it. Ironically, he becomes so immersed in the job that his values change to embrace censorship. His dedication results in promotion to a top position and, when his letter finally reaches him, he dutifully censors it, bringing about his own downfall. Themes include censorship, oppression, paranoia, love, alienation, identity, duty.

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