Featured Stories

The Man Who Lived Underground

The Man Who Lived Underground: Novella by Richard WrightThis is the shortened, anthologized version of this Richard Wright title, not the recently released (2021) novel. Having said that, it is still a very powerful story. An innocent man, tortured by police into confessing to murder, escapes and takes refuge in the sewers and basements of an unnamed city. As he struggles for survival, uncertainty and sensory deprivation cause him to lose touch with reality. He comes to believe that all men are inherently evil and, unable to go on, decides to face his guilt by handing himself in. Themes: guilt vs. innocence, isolation, identity, racism, police brutality.

Continue ReadingThe Man Who Lived Underground

Mr Know-All

Mr Know-all: Short story by W. Somerset MaughamThis story by W. Somerset Maugham takes place at sea. A narrator we learn almost nothing about is forced to share a cabin with a man he takes an instant disliking to because of little more than his name. The other man plays an organizational role in many aspects of ship life to the point of being everywhere and always. The narrator finds him hearty, jovial, loquacious and argumentative. He calls him the best hated man in the ship. It is not until the man ‘loses’ a bet about pearls that the narrator develops a grudging respect for him.

Continue ReadingMr Know-All

The Feather Pillow

The Feather Pillow: Short story by Horacio QuirogaIn this story by Horacio Quiroga a healthy young woman slowly wastes away and dies over the three months following her wedding. Her husband’s impassive manner, coupled with spending her days alone in his cavernous, unwelcoming house, destroy her childhood fancies of married life. Her fate is sealed when she decides to cast a veil over her former dreams and live like a sleeping beauty in the hostile house. Later, we learn that it is not their house that is hostile, but her feather pillow. Themes include innocence, love and marriage, isolation and loneliness, disillusionment, depression and death.

Continue ReadingThe Feather Pillow

Born of Man and Woman

Born of Man and Woman: Short story by Richard MathesonIn this moving story by Richard Matheson, what appears to be a mutant eight-year-old child has been locked in a basement for most of its life because of his/her monstrous form and size. The child does not appear to be possessed by an evil or supernatural force and is inquisitive about the outside world. Sadly, it is beaten every time he/she ventures upstairs or attempts to look outside. The horror aspect comes from the cruelty the child suffers and the threat of impending violence if it continues. Themes include appearance, alienation, isolation and loneliness, desire for acceptance, cruelty, retaliation.

Continue ReadingBorn of Man and Woman

The Patient Cat

The Patient Cat: Short story by Laura E. RichardsThis short fable by Laura E. Richards teaches a lesson about patience. The cat showed patience in waiting for the bird to lay all of its eggs, and then waiting until the eggs had hatched. It also showed patience in not pouncing as soon as the chicks were born, but leaving them until they started to get fat. There was a point shortly after this where the cat should have enjoyed its meal. This leads to the moral of the story: being patient is a good thing, but it is equally important to know the right time to act.

Continue ReadingThe Patient Cat

Greyhound People

Greyhound People: Short story by Alice AdamsThis story by Alice Adams consists of several “snapshots” of the narrator’s encounters with fellow passengers on Greyhound buses. Recently divorced and facing potential homelessness, the woman’s self-esteem is at an all-time low. Taken in by an overbearing friend, her life has deteriorated into a daily grind. Faced with an inter-city bus commute morning and evening, the situations she encounters and people she meets awaken her to a whole new world. For perhaps the first time in her life, she begins to act independently and step out of her comfort zone. Themes: isolation, insecurity, friendship, dependency, anxiety/fear, personal growth.

Continue ReadingGreyhound People

The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

The Prisoner Who Wore Glasses: Short story by Bessie HeadThis story from Bessie Head is about a group of political prisoners who unite to survive the harsh South African penal system. Physically, the main character (Brille) is the weakest of the span of ten prisoners. This is reflected in his build, his clumsiness, and his poor eyesight. Brille compensates for these weaknesses with strength of character and insight. A beating from a warder helps him see that he entered politics for the wrong reason; it also shows him a way to manipulate the warder to improve things for the whole span. His glasses symbolize both weakness and perceptiveness.

Continue ReadingThe Prisoner Who Wore Glasses

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man: Short story by Fyodor DostoevskyFyodor Dostoevsky’s thought-provoking story of a man who thinks he and his life are so ridiculous as to not be worth living packs a powerful message. Having decided to commit suicide, his life is turned around by a chance encounter with a young girl asking for help on the street, and a dreamed journey to a utopian world. He learns that meaning and happiness come through suffering and love (kindness), and that indifference (lack of concern for others) can destroy them. Themes: nihilism, despair, suffering, compassion, meaning in life.

Continue ReadingThe Dream of a Ridiculous Man