Featured Stories

Who Will Greet You At Home

Who Will Greet You At Home: Short story by Lesley Nneka ArimahIn 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.

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The Werewolf

The Werewolf: Short story by Angela CarterAlthough the beginning of this Angela Carter “wolf tale” resembles the Charles Perrault children’s story Red Riding Hood things soon take a very different turn. A wolf loses a paw, grandma is missing a hand, and the villagers show their bravery by beating the old woman to death. Carter uses foreshadowing and omissions in the storyline to leave readers with a question: Was the grandmother really a witch/were-woman, or was the “good child” one of those northern country people with a cold heart mentioned in the opening sentence?. Themes include female empowerment, self-reliance, courage, betrayal?, superstition, mob violence.

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The Miracle of Purun Bhagat

The Miracle of Purun Bhagat: Short story by Rudyard KiplingThis story from Rudyard Kipling’s Second Jungle Book is about a high-ranking, British educated, Indian government official who gives up everything he owns and begins a new life as a wandering holy-man. He experiences earthly peace in a mountainside shrine high above a small village, and reverence and permanent peace under a tree on the opposite side of the valley. The story shows how sometimes the Hindu concept of acceptance of one’s fate needs to be countered with an authoritative (Western-style) call to action. Themes: Western vs Hindu values, search for enlightenment, human-animal bonding, spiritualism, faith.

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Toy Shop

Toy Shop: Short story by Harry HarrisonIn this story by Harry Harrison, an Air Force scientist buys a trick rocket from a toy fair. A thin piece of string makes the rocket rise and fall, and he plans to entertain some other scientists with it at a poker party. At the party, the scientists discover that the trick only works in certain conditions. They are curious as to why, because it seems that the toy may break a basic law of physics. What they don’t know is that this is all part of a plan for them to help make someone else very rich.

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The Verger

The Verger: short story by W Somerset MaughamThis story by W Somerset Maugham is about man named Albert who has worked hard as a church official for 16 years. When a new vicar learns Albert cannot read or write, he tells him that he must leave the job. Rather than go home immediately, Albert walks the streets trying to think of what he can do. During the walk, he decides to open a business. He soon proves that you don’t need a good education to be a success. All you need is the ability to think creatively, and the courage to back your ideas.

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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.

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Because He Loved Them

Because He Loved Them: Short story by Samira AzzamThis story by Samira Azzam highlights the catastrophic effect of the 1948 creation of Israel on the half-million plus Palestinians it displaced. A man working in a government food distribution agency is wrongly suspected of embezzlement. He documents two examples of lives ruined by the partition and the story of a “sonofabithch” camp informer who profited by it, then torches a food warehouse. He believes that if his people are hungry enough they will rise up and rebel, and claims to have done this “because he loves them”. Themes include displacement, corruption, injustice, suffering, violence, betrayal, rebellion.

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Kate Crackernuts

Kate Crackernuts: Scottish folktale from Joseph JacobsWhat’s this? A folktale where a wicked queen doesn’t come to a terrible end and stepsisters love each other! Where’s the fun in that? A queen is unhappy that her stepdaughter is more beautiful than her own daughter. So, with a little magic, she pops a sheep’s head onto the prettier one’s shoulders. The two girls run away together and of course marry handsome princes. However, I am a bit worried about a possible message from the story, which seems to suggest that it is OK to steal from babies as long as you do it for a good cause.

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