In this moving story by Mary Gaitskill, a grief and guilt stricken woman accompanies a friend to adopt a child in Ethiopia. Because the friend had chosen to adopt independently rather than through an agency, they are initially stonewalled by bureaucrats and find official orphanages closed to them. They gain the necessary approvals after a poverty-stricken mother unselfishly gives up her malnourished two-year-old son, only to find themselves temporarily caught up in a violent civil uprising. The protagonist gains almost as much from the trip as her friend. Themes include love, grief, betrayal, healing, sexuality, determination, poverty, violence. More…
The Cat from Hell
In this story from Stephen King, an aging industrialist hires a hitman to kill an unusual target… his cat. The old man believes the cat, a stray taken in by his sister, is responsible for her death and that of two other members of his household, and fears he will be next. The hitman accepts the job and takes the cat, which was purring peacefully on his lap as they talked, away. Unfortunately for him, the tables are soon turned in a most gruesome way. Themes include appearance vs. reality, fear, animal testing and suffering, demonic retribution, the supernatural. More…
The Postmaster / Stationmaster
Set in early 19th century Russia, a fascinating aspect of his acclaimed story from Alexander Pushkin is its ambiguity. A beautiful, flirtatious girl leaves her impoverished village in the company of a passing army officer. When her distraught father tracks the officer to a distant city and finds them together, he concludes she is a “kept woman”. He returns home in disgust, turns to alcohol, and dies a lonely death. Years later a beautiful, obviously very rich woman weeps on his grave. Themes include class conflicts, poverty, moral corruption vs. romantic love, government bureaucracy, religion, misjudgement, loss, grief. More…
The Emperor’s New Clothes
The main theme of this famous children’s story from Hans Christian Andersen is, of course, vanity. Other themes include deceit, gullibility, honesty (fear of speaking up) and pride. The Emperor who puts appearance before the well-being of his people, and his courtiers who sense that something is amiss but don’t have the courage to report it, carry two important messages. We shouldn’t judge people by the clothes they wear, what brand of phone they carry etc., and children should be encouraged to speak up if safe to do so when they see something that is wrong. More…
Who Will Greet You At Home
In this surreal horror story from Lesley Nneka Arimah, children are created in the form of craft dolls by their mother, blessed by their grandmother or an elderly substitute, and nurtured for a year until they “become flesh”. In the interim they feed, move and act like babies, but in their doll form. The dolls can be made from any material (straw, sticks, clay, etc.) that is strong enough to last a year. But there are rules. When Ogechi, the impoverished protagonist desperate to have a child breaks one, bad things happen. Themes: magic, poverty, exploitation, isolation, obsession, motherhood. More…