The major messages of this story by Isaac Bashevis Singer are that there is a lot of kindness in the world for those who open their hearts to it, and to live life to the fullest. An elderly widow who has lived alone for almost twenty years has become a recluse. With no family or friends, she distrusts everyone and lives in poverty despite having a fortune hidden in her house. A broken key that causes her to spend a night on the streets is her “key” to understanding and redemption. Themes include ageing, isolation and loneliness, paranoia, redemption. More…
You’ll Learn Soon Enough
This tale by Lao Khamhom is a loosely based sequel to one of our earlier stories, As If It Had Never Happened. Road and bridge building projects have connected a once isolated Thai rice farming village to the outside world. A young girl, excited about her first bus-trip to a nearby town to sell vegetables, is befuddled by a petty extortion attempt at a government counterinsurgency checkpoint. Later, she experiences real graft when the “concessionaire” of a newly built highway refuses to allow her and other village busses to proceed. Themes include innocence, family, progress, connectivity, change, fear, oppression, corruption. More…
The Diamond as Big as the Ritz
This grim fantasy by F. Scott Fitzgerald satirises America’s mega-rich and, in a broader sense, the “American Dream” in which for some the pursuit of wealth becomes the most important goal in life. A school “friend” invites a young man to holiday at his luxurious family home deep in the Montana Mountains. The narcissistic family’s wealth comes from a secret diamond mine, which is so rich that strangers who enter their hidden valley are never allowed to leave. Themes include the potential corrupting power of great wealth, middle-class preoccupation with wealth, racism, restricted freedom (slavery, imprisonment and/or death), isolationism, escape. More…
The Sand Castle
The major theme of this story by Alma Luz Villanueva is climate change. Set over fifty years into the future, Earth has warmed so much that all birds and marine life are extinct and direct exposure to sunlight or seawater can be deadly. Although protective clothing must be worn when venturing outside during the day, an aging woman takes her grandchildren on monthly excursions to the beach. This time she has prepared a special treat. Spurred on by her own childhood memories, they are going to build their first sand castle. Other themes: memories, family, childhood wonder and imagination, hope. More…
The Hell Screen
In Ryūnosuke Akutagawa‘s re-working of this 13th century Japanese tale, a cold-hearted, conceited artist considered to be “the greatest in the land” insists upon personally experiencing the scenes he creates. When commissioned to paint a folding screen with a scene from Hell, he is able to complete all but the central image of a beautiful woman burning alive in a nobleman’s carriage. He asks for help from his Feudal Lord, who agrees to stage the event for him. As the artist watches, his emotions range from horror to ecstasy. Themes: hubris, inhumanity, obsession, inspiration in art, innocence, perception of truth. More…