Featured Stories

The Ultimate Safari

The Ultimate Safari: Short story by Nadine GordimerSet during the Mozambican Civil War, this story from Nadine Gordimer follows a family as they undertake an arduous journey to a South African refugee camp through Kruger Park. The story is told through the eyes of a nine year-old girl who understands little about the war other than that her father is away fighting for the government. Following her mother’s disappearance while buying cooking oil, the rest of her family join a group of other displaced villagers for the dangerous 40-mile (65 km) trek through the park. Themes include family, war, loss, lawlessness, displacement, fear, endurance, hope.

Continue ReadingThe Ultimate Safari

Testimonial

Testimonial: Short story by Edwidge DanticatThe major theme of this Edwidge Danticat story is cultism. A woman dies after 25 years in prison for murdering her baby son. Her daughter has had to keep a terrible secret. Her mother was a member of a bizarre sisterhood made up of descendants of former Haitian slaves. The killing of her brother was a sacrifice to restore the daughter’s failing health. For years, she has been trained in the ways of the cult. She must now unwillingly take her mother’s place among its membership. There appears no way out. Other themes: motherhood, fear, superstition, destiny.

Continue ReadingTestimonial

What You Pawn I Will Redeem

What You Pawn I Will Redeem: Short story by Sherman AlexieIn Sherman Alexie’s typical witty style, this story recounts what turns out to be a very special day in the life of a homeless, alcoholic Native American man. The central theme, symbolized by his grandmother’s stolen ceremonial regalia, is the importance of Native Americans being able to preserve and connect with their tribal culture. A second theme is how past injustices and support system failures have resulted in Native Americans having the highest homelessness and poverty rates in the country. Other themes: identity, alcoholism, community, kindness, perseverance, connection. A possible moral: never give up if you really want something.

Continue ReadingWhat You Pawn I Will Redeem

Jacklighting

Jacklighting: Short story by Ann BeattieIn this story by Ann Beattie, a troubled couple who have travelled from New York to Virginia each year to visit a free-spirited friend and his brother on his birthday, make the trip once more on the birthday following his death. The trip is ostensibly to comfort the friend’s brother. Ironically, although each of them clearly loved the dead man and is in need of closure, they suppress their feelings and do not even talk about him. Themes include friendship, the burdens and unpredictability of life and death, death as relief from suffering, grief and mourning.

Continue ReadingJacklighting

A Cold Autumn

A Cold Autumn: Short story by Ivan BuninIn this story by Ivan Bunin, a Russian woman reflects on a cold autumn morning thirty years earlier when she saw her fiancé off to war, never to return. After this, despite moments of happiness, her life spirals downward … she loses her parents and the family estate during the Revolution, ekes out a living in a Moscow market, marries but loses her husband two years later, and toils to raise his nephew’s infant daughter. She struggles on thanks to his commitment to wait for her in the afterlife. Themes include love, death, loss, time, memories, displacement, perseverance..

Continue ReadingA Cold Autumn

After the Ball / Dance

After the Ball / Dance: Short story by Leo TolstoyThe major themes of this story from Leo Tolstoy are the circumstances that determine “good” and “evil”, and the morality of blaming a child for the actions of his/her father. The protagonist is captivated by a beautiful woman. They attend an elegant ball, where he is impressed by the demeanor of her father, a senior military officer. His feelings change the next morning when he witnesses the father officiating at the brutal punishment of a deserting soldier. Other themes: romance, judging by appearances, point of view (cruelty vs. duty), class, moral indignation vs. naivety.

Continue ReadingAfter the Ball / Dance

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.

Continue ReadingChristmas Every Day

The Goose Father

The Goose Father: Short story by Krys LeeIn this story by Krys Lee, loneliness drives a South Korean gireogi appa (goose father) to take in a tenant after six months’ living alone. The tenant, an enigmatic young man half the landlord’s age, arrives on his doorstep with a goose he believes to be his reincarnated mother. As the mismatched pair get to know each other, sexual tension builds between them. Something unexpected occurs when the landlord finally comes to terms with his sexual inclinations and is about to express his feelings by kissing the younger man. Themes include family, loneliness, sexuality, love, betrayal, guilt, forgiveness, the supernatural.

Continue ReadingThe Goose Father