Featured Stories

A Family Supper

A Family Supper: Short story by Kazuo IshiguroA common feature of Kazuo Ishiguro stories is their ambiguous endings. A young Japanese man returns home after living in America following a falling out with his parents. His mother has died from eating poisonous fugu fish, and his father feels disgraced over the collapse of his business. As a matter of honour, his business partner killed his family and committed suicide following the collapse. At the end of the day, the family sits down to a delicious fish supper prepared by the father. Themes include change (heritage and tradition vs. modernity), generational conflict, family disconnection, grief, guilt, “honour”, murder-suicide.

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A Defenseless Creature

A Defenseless Creature: Short story by Anton ChekhovIn addition to his tales highlighting serious issues such as poverty, class, death and unfulfilled expectations, Anton Chekhov wrote dozens of comic short stories to support himself through medical school. In this story, a persistent, shrew-like woman wears down a sickly banker. The exasperated man finally pays money the woman claims is owing to her husband out of his own pocket, even though the alleged debt has nothing to do with his bank. Despite the woman repeatedly describing herself as such, readers are left wondering if the harried banker is the titular “defenseless creature”. Themes: bureaucracy, communication, desperation, persistence.

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A Point at Issue!

A Point at Issue!: Short story by Kate ChopinThis early Kate Chopin story explores the relationship between unconventional 1880s newly-weds. A progressive mathematics professor marries his ideal woman: independent, intuitive, intellectual and extremely good to look at. After a European honeymoon, they decide to live separate lives for one or two years. She stays in Paris to become fluent in French, while he returns to teaching in America. The relationship is tested when he writes about the interesting emotions a friend’s young daughter stirs in him, and she is caught with an embarrassed young man in her studio. Themes: independence and equality, trust vs. suspicion, jealousy, repression.

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Johnny Mnemonic

Johnny Mnemonic: Short story by William GibsonThe protagonist in this pioneering cyberpunk story by William Gibson is a data courier. To escape a Yakuza assassin, he must decode a message in a secure storage device implanted in his brain. When the client who holds the password is killed, he turns to razor-fingered Molly Millions, Jones the dolphin, and the “Lo Teks”, Molly’s anti-technology friends, for help. The major theme, given that every major character has some kind of bionic enhancement, is identity (how technology can blur the line between man and machine). Other themes: body augmentation, corporate power, organized crime.

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In a Grove

In a Grove: Short story by Ryūnosuke AkutagawaRyūnosuke Akutagawa‘s In a Grove, published in 1922, is based on a classical Japanese tale first documented in the 12th century. It comprises seven accounts, including three confessions, relating to the death of a young Samurai. There are differences between each account, and none of the confessions are totally convincing. The story shares similarities with Ambrose Bierce’s Moonlit Road, published fifteen years earlier. Both stories feature unreliable narrators (including the spirit of the victim speaking through a medium) and leave readers to draw their own conclusions about the crime and identity of the killer. Who do you think did it?

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The House Opposite

The House Opposite: Short story by R. K. NarayanIn this story by R. K. Narayan, an Indian “hermit” is both offended and titillated by the activities of a prostitute living opposite. His initial reaction is to label her a “monstrous” devil. However, imagining what she does night after night excites him to the point of obsession. There is a double irony here. The hermit, who has supposedly given up all pleasures, is consumed by desire. The prostitute, who regards him as a saint, respectfully seeks his blessing. It is not until this request that the hermit recognizes the woman’s humanity. Themes include spirituality, desire, self-righteousness, judging others, humanity.

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The Beast in the Jungle

The Beast in the Jungle: Novella by Henry JamesDespite a relatively simple plot and only two main characters, this short novella by Henry James can be hard-going on the first read. A man is obsessed with the feeling that misfortune of some kind will come into his life “like a beast in the jungle”. He shares the premonition with a female acquaintance, who is interested enough to agree to stay close and “watch his back”. In order to build suspense in the lead-up to the story’s heartbreaking conclusion, James shrouds the interactions between the two in confusion and ambiguity. Themes: fate, obsession, connection, insensitivity, suffering, death, guilt.

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Eyes of a Blue Dog

Eyes of a Blue Dog: Short story by Gabriel Garcia MárquezThis story from Gabriel Garcia Márquez takes place in the narrator’s mind. While in a dream state, the man’s unconscious reflects his lack of connection in the real world by conjuring up an ongoing relationship with a woman in which each desires the other but they cannot touch. In the man’s absence, the woman wanders the city searching for him, calling out and writing Eyes of a Blue Dog, code words by which they will recognize each other. When awake, the man has no recollection of the dreams. Themes include loneliness and isolation, love and desire, frustration, longing, connection.

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