Some of My Favorite Short Stories
Hey so by not so popular demand, I’m compiling a list of some of my favorite short stories.
Here’s the short stories, with some short explanations and links! The last two stories will be linked in a reblog.
Girl by Jamaica Kincaid-This is pretty much a flash fiction. It’s about 650 words. I don’t have much of a synopsis beyond “a mother’s instructions for her daughter” because it’s so short, you’re better off just reading it.
The Third and Final Continent by Jhumpa Lahiri (Content warning for feces in the middle.)-A young man travels from Calcutta, India to the UK, then to America to attend MIT. He finds a kindred spirit in the extremely elderly woman whose house he stays at.
A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri (Cw: mentions of child death)-Reeling from the death of their child, a couple is forced to reconnect with one another as scheduled blackouts sweep their neighborhood every night at dinnertime.
The Gilded Six Bits by Zora Neale Hurston (Cw: use of n-word among Black characters)-A couple’s relationship is tested when a charismatic newcomer passes through town.
The Man to Send Rain Clouds by Leslie Marmon Silko-The death of an elderly Puebloan man shakes up the Laguna Pueblo community, while his family scramble to prepare his burial.
In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried by Amy Hempel-A woman visits her friend, who is terminally ill at the hospital. She struggles with her desire to run from the grief that is charging her head on. One of the most devastating closing paragraphs I’ve ever read.
Women Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros (Cw: domestic abuse, sexual harassment)-A woman finds herself disillusioned with her marriage, which is nothing like telenovelas have led her to believe. Her desire to escape is further complicated by her shame, and the fact she lives in the U.S., and her family in Mexico.
The Sugar Shell by Cynthia Struloeff(Cw: domestic abuse)-To escape her home environment, a young teenager takes up a job at the local cake decorating shop. She finds a friend and mentor in her boss, and someone to butt heads with in her boss’ unlikely friend, who frequents their shop.
Bullet in the Brain by Tobias Wolff (Cw: death)-A jaded and cynical book reviewer gets caught in the middle of a bank robbery.
Mia and Maya by Yah Yah Scholfield (Cw: death and murder)-Years after the death of her sister, Mia begins to see a familiar face around her work.
How to Be an Other Woman by Lorrie Moore-A woman discovers that the man she is seeing is married, and navigates their new dynamic and her fear of change. One of the few stories written in the second person that I like.
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor (Cw: death and use of n-word)-A family goes on a road trip, much to the family matriarch’s chagrin.
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