The Short Story: Five Noteworthy Collections

I love short stories! They offer the fun of fiction without the commitment. It’s like the opposite of the series; one sitting long, and you’ve got the plot, characters, and the closure. Here are a few sets I’ve enjoyed:

The Anastasia Syndrome
Mary Higgins Clark

These are slightly eery stories by a bestselling novelist reknowned for her ability to surprise. The author took her gift for creating suspense in some new and well-crafted directions with these, and they are well worth a perusal. The Anastasia Syndrome has a fantasy element to it, unlike her typical fare of crime/mystery novels, and is the longest story in the set, but still a short and easy read.

My favorite from this would be the title Lucky Day, a bittersweet tale of love and irony that has been rightly compared to O Henry’s The Gift of the Magi. I won’t say anymore about the plot, but it will leave you stinging and wanting more.

Collected Stories of Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl

Compiled by Everyman’s Library, these are classic Roald Dahl at his weird best. Murky and macabre, and disturbingly entertaining, his stories for grownups remind me a bit of John Grisham’s writing, in that there is often no real good guy. The hero of the story is as unworthy as the villain, and meets as bad an end, and the rest of the world around them is unfair and unsafe. Yet in spite of that dreary outlook, all the stories ring so pessimistically true that you almost can’t help but smile your way through them. Roald Dahl is a master of dramatic irony, and this copy is the first complete collection of his short stories in hard back.

A Fine and Pleasant Misery
Pat McManus

Humorist and outdoorsman Pat McManus is a gem and a tribute to American backwoods culture. His self-deprecating style and, um… picturesque descriptions of backwoods life not only make me roar with laughter, but they make me wanna go camping too. I can’t explain it- he talks about everything that’s uncomfortable about being in the woods, exaggerating the worst of it, dramatizing the suffering of sleeping on the ground and playing up the potential dangers, and yet leaving it to sound “fine and pleasant” indeed.

His cast of characters, being his friends, family and a disgusting pet dog named “Strange,” are as colorfully bereft of character and quality as his outdoor excursions, and yet equally appealing. Don’t ask me how he does it; I really couldn’t say. All I know is that when I was a little girl, I used to look forward each new issue of my dad’s Outdoor Life subscriptions, just so I could read the next ridiculous installment of McManus’ cartoon life in the sticks. This is Americana humor at its finest.

Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
David Sedaris
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Funny, intelligent, and full of fluffy anthropomorphic animals doing the kinds of things you don’t generally respect in people. These stories are witty if a little rye, and the characters are likable because of what they are- a couple lab rats, a journalist parrot preying on a museum curator pig. The illustrations are fun and the plot concepts are original. Both playful and sarcastic, enjoy these bite-sized narratives in your lunch break at work, and they’ll keep you thinking (and smirking about them) for the rest of the day.

The Four Million
O Henry

A classic name in short storydom, The Four Million can occupy a long bored plane trip or a few minutes in a waiting room at the doctor’s office. I find I can always read ten at a time and enjoy each as much as one. Famous for his trademark twist endings, O Henry is kind of like watching Alfred Hitchcock Presents for me.

I began reading O Henry as a kid, and enjoyed their ageless construction then as much as I do now, and let me just add- I always feel like my vocabulary swells a little after I’ve spent some time with this material.

Reading Material for the Season

I loved reading ‎the Hunger Games. I picked it up on the recommendation of a friend and took to it in ‎keeping part of my current favorite genre -preteen fiction. As novels go, I do love me some ‎good Tom Clancy and Charles Dickins is peerless, but I have really come to enjoy the lightness ‎and ease of kids’ books. ‎

As Summer reading goes, this one is a real stand out piece that will satisfy your thirst for ‎action, tension, interpersonal drama, a little bit of romance and science fiction. What it won’t ‎do is last for more than a few days.

It’s a lightning fast read, so once you’ve devoured this set, ‎here are a few comparably enjoyable works of the genre:‎

‎We Have Always Lived in the Castle‎

Written by Shirley Jackson 1962‎

This is a disturbing tale of two sisters and their uncle who live holed up in their house, rarely ‎leaving for fear of the other inhabitants of their ordinary-seeming neighborhood. The backstory ‎is that some years before the story, their family had several other members murdered over ‎dinner one night. The prime suspect was the elder sister, but she got off on some lack of ‎evidence. The town never believed in her innocence, and deep animosity developed between ‎the surviving trio and their neighbors, a problem which is augmented by the psychosis of the ‎younger sister who narrates the book. ‎

‎A Single Shard‎

Linda Sue Park 2001‎

If personality studies and local color appeal to you, then you should check out some Linda Sue ‎Park. A Single Shard is the story of an orphan boy in ancient Korea who takes on work assisting ‎a potter in his village. Of all Ms. Parks’ excellent books, this one stands out especially to me ‎because of the endearing lead character. Orphan stories are hit or miss; they can be very sappy ‎or charming, and this one is well written.‎

‎The Thief of Always‎
Clive Barker 1992‎

If you like a story with a little of the creepy factor, Clive Barker has penned some decently dark ‎material. The Thief of Always is a monster that lures bored children in and devours them. ‎Reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, there is no explanation for the creature, except that it ‎seemingly exists to feed off little boys and girls who aren’t satisfied with what they have. It’s ‎unsettling like Pinnochio.‎

‎The Boy Who Reversed Himself‎
William Sleator 1986‎

Ignore the hideous cover. This is science fiction about a suburban girl named Laura. She ‎reluctantly befriends a neighbor boy whom, she learns, is somehow entrusted with ‎communication with the fourth dimension. Yes indeed. Alien creatures and strange landscapes ‎in tow, the fourth dimension is described as a set of directions which are so inaccessible to ‎common 3D humans that they can exist around us like a whole other world without our even ‎noticing. It’s creative and a fun read.‎