Featured Stories

Where Is Here?

Where Is Here?: Short story by Joyce Carol OatesOne of the beauties of this unsettling story by Joyce Carol Oates is that it is open to many interpretations depending on how much one reads into the visitor’s identity and purpose. At its simplest, the story involves a man behaving strangely as he confronts pleasant and unpleasant memories during a visit to his childhood home. More imaginative interpretations include revisiting a scene of child abuse and/or patricide, and a ghostly warning from the past or future about looming danger or a cursed house. Themes: (general) nostalgia, connection, domestic violence; (through the riddles) mortality, time, infinity.

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Suzy and Leah

Suzy and Leah: Short story by Jane YolenGiven the ever-increasing number of refugees across the world, the themes of this Jane Yolen holocaust survivor story are just as relevant today. The central theme is humanity. Despite their different backgrounds, the two protagonists show a similar desire to be treated with respect. The coldness between them stems from Suzy’s well-intentioned but insensitive attempts to be kind by giving candy and fruit to the orphaned children through the camp fence. Leah resents the gratuitous hand-outs; all she wants is a new, safe life for herself and friend Avi. Other themes: hardship, assimilation, appearance, misunderstanding, lack of communication, compassion, friendship.

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Happy-Endings

Happy Endings: Short story by Margaret AtwoodThe six “mini-stories” in this short meta-fictional narrative from Margaret Atwood satirize a common element of the story form. In the process, they touch on a myriad of themes including marriage and romance, family life, self-gratification, desperation, suicide, murder, virtue and compassion. The message seems to be that the ultimate denouement of a story matters little; the key is in its exposition and “How and Why” of events in between. The story also provides a lesson in life: What people will remember most about us after our book is closed is the how and why of the way we lived.

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Reunion

Reunion: Short story by Arthur C. ClarkeThis story by Arthur C. Clarke packs a powerful message into just two pages. It takes the form of a radio message reassuring the people of Earth that they have nothing to fear from a group of beings approaching from space. The visitors claim to share a common ancestry with man, both being descended from an advanced race of aliens who colonized Earth during the time of the dinosaurs. Those who could fled when a terrible genetic plague brought on division, conflict and savagery among the population. They are returning with a cure for any who might still be affected.

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Mitya’s Love

Mitya’s Love: Short story by Ivan BuninThis story by Ivan Bunin portrays the depths of love, and how insecurity and jealousy can destroy it. The story opens with a young Russian man (Mitya) so hopelessly in love with a woman that his jealousy stifles their relationship. They decide to separate for a short period to test their feelings, and he returns to his family estate in the countryside. The separation is torture as she fails to respond to his increasingly desperate letters, and when a “Dear Mikya” note finally arrives, things don’t end well. Themes include passion, sexuality, unrequited love, insecurity, jealousy, obsession, temptation, despair, death.

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Another Kind of Life

Another Kind of Life: Short story by Roderick FinlaysonPeople whose ancestors are not native to a country often underestimate the spiritual and cultural connection that indigenous inhabitants have to their traditional family lands. This melancholy story from Roderick Finlayson describes the disappointment and disillusionment of a city-based Maori man who takes advantage of a rare weekday off work to visit an uncle still living in his kainga (home village). He comes away with a great sense of loss, not only of his relationship with “home”, but also of his language. Themes: urbanization, connection (to family, land and culture); change (industrialization, land development), loss.

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The Memsahib of Mandla

The Memsahib of Mandla: Short story by Khushwant SinghIn this story by Khushwant Singh, nature and the ghost of a woman who founded an Indian missionary school combine to drive a British man and his family from a forest officer’s rest house. The rest house was the woman’s home before it was appropriated by the government, and hasn’t been lived in since she died. In addition to being insensitive and chauvinistic, the husband typifies the stereotype of arrogant, self-serving British officials during the Raj. He decides to shoot the ghost, but things don’t turn out as planned. Themes include colonialism, humanitarianism, loyalty, fear, justice, the supernatural.

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Foreign Shores

Foreign Shores: Short story by James SalterA feature of this story from James Salter is its ambiguity, starting with the identity of the protagonist. Is it Gloria, the young divorcee who is too caught-up in partying to take proper care of her demanding six-year-old-son? Or is it Truus, her conscientious nineteen-year-old au pair? And although Truss is certainly the erotic focus of the story, does she really develop the morals of a housefly? Alternatively, could she an exploited victim, guilty only of misguided love, or is everything an unfortunate misunderstanding? Themes: sexual grooming / exploitation, appearance, motherhood, condescension, judgmentalism, jealousy, insecurity, emptiness.

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