This story by R. K. Narayan starts by contrasting the village of Somal’s poor utilities and sanitation practices with the almost idyllic existence of its inhabitants. Set before the coming of electronic media, the only regular source of entertainment is Nambi, the village storyteller. As de-facto village priest, Nambi is also the focal point of its culture and traditions. Sadly, he is getting old. He forgets prepared stories, and has difficulty coming up with new material. Fortunately, he has the good sense to make his ‘greatest’ story his last. Themes include storytelling, community, aging, knowing when to stop, spirituality.. More…
Bread of Sacrifice
Set during the 1947-1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, this story by Samira Azzam describes a tragic romance between a Palestinian fighter defending the city of Acre and a young nurse who elected to remain after her family had fled. Both are idealistic and prepared to die out of love for their homeland. The girl is shot delivering a basket of bread to the starving men on the soldier’s roof-top barricade. The men face a dilemma… eat something prohibited under Islamic law (a dead dog), or bread soaked in the martyred woman’s blood. Themes include love, patriotism, courage, death. More…
The Tale of the Two Oxen / Do Bailon Ki Katha
This story by Premchand has three important themes: kindness to animals, friendship and faith. A series of adventures begin for two oxen (Hira and Moti) when Jhuri, their much-loved owner, lends them to his wife’s brother who lives far away. The brother-in-law mistreats the poor animals and, with the help of a kind girl, they run away. Their friendship gives them the strength to endure an attack by a raging bull, beatings and starvation before being sold to a butcher. As they almost lose hope and begin to question their faith in god, a ‘miracle’ helps them return home. More…
The Totara Tree
This light-hearted story from Roderick Finlayson is set in 1930’s New Zealand. A small Maori community is in conflict with the Pakeha (white European) authorities who plan to cut down a sacred tree to build new power lines. An old woman climbs the tree and refuses to come down. After an initial confrontation, the authorities depart for the night. This leads to a drunken celebration, which causes a house-fire that threatens the tree. When rescuers discover that the old woman in the tree has died, one of them comes up with a foolproof plan to save the tree. More…
My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn
Many of Sandra Cisneros’s stories are vignettes (narrative descriptions without a plot). This one provides a snapshot of a young girl’s relationship with her friend Lucy. The two girls identify as Chicanos (USA born Mexican-Americans). Cisneros makes extensive use of Chicano dialect and fragmented sentences to create a realistic atmosphere. The narrator’s tone (feisty) is also typical of Chicano youth. The main theme is, of course, friendship. However, a closer read will reveal deeper themes and emotions beneath the narrator’s bravado. These include ‘aloneness’ (the wish for a large, close family like Lucy’s) and envy for Lucy’s freedom and independence. More…