A Short Story a Day #14

Tim Winton’s “Big World”, from his collection The Turning, is a story about chasing a dream and escaping small-town Australia in a “garden shed on wheels”.  It revolves around the prickly relationship of the narrator and his friend “Biggie”, two young men “with beanies on our heads and the horizon around our ears”.

The writer’s touch here is deft and assured, the use of present tense lending immediacy, the descriptions apt and memorable (“sky blue as mouthwash”, “the sunlight is creamy up here”).  But what really sticks is the sense of the unbound freedom of the young, even if the multitude of ties that bind you back to where you came prove this liberation to be fleeting and illusory.

Literary Fruit rating: 8 out of 10.

A Short Story a Day #13

“Puppy” by George Saunders is a short story about a family on its way to purchase a puppy.  From such a simple premise the author weaves two very different, but equally compelling, narrative voices, both mothers, and draws quite a contrast between them.  Themes include the divide between rich and poor, and the way in which the two women think about and interact with their respective families.  The blackly comic unfolding collision of these two worlds will likely resonate with most readers in some way.

Literary Fruit rating: 7 out of 10.

A Short Story a Day #12

Today’s short story is “Bullet in the Brain” by Tobias Wolff, which seems to be a well-known and well-loved story.  It is a tale of a book critic who is caught in a bank near closing time when things go very south (let’s just say the title gives it away…)

On one level Wolff is clearly taking aim at critics, exaggerating their perspective for darkly comic effect.  But there are other subtle themes here at work as well: what really makes us who we are, and the unexpected import of particular moments in our lives.

And indeed this story is excellently crafted, particularly in the way that it segues from a distanced third person point of view to a poetic, time-dilated inner world.

Literary Fruit rating: 8 out of 10.

A Short Story a Day #11

“Italy” by Antonio Elefano is a short story about the history of a relationship, where a holiday to Italy features prominently.

Although well told, with something of a ring of truth, it feels a little unbalanced.  For example, the story begins as if the difference in the characters’ personalities will be a strong theme – in particular, the male narrator appears to be cut from the same cloth as the professorial narrator of the excellent novel The Rosie Project, but this sense, despite being a factor in the story’s strong start, dissipates somewhat as the story develops.

Literary Fruit rating: 5 out of 10.

A Short Story a Day #10

Ernest Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants” is a puzzling story about two characters waiting for a train in Spain, that may have you reaching for the Cliff’s Notes to find out just what is going on.

The two main protagonists are simply called “the man” and “the girl” and we are told nothing about them, except that he is an American and her nickname is “Jig”.  Similarly the real subject of their conversation lies very much below the surface; this is a masterclass where the dialogue suggests all sorts of undercurrents, where what they say can be in direct opposition to what they think, and how they say it reveals volumes.  Plenty of room for interpretation here!

Literary Fruit: 7 out of 10.

A Short Story a Day #9

A short story today from seasoned English novelist Richard Beard: “Hearing Myself Think”.  It starts as the story of a man on a self-imposed quest at London’s Heathrow Airport on a Tuesday morning.  This is a character piece, so there is very little action.

What’s interesting about this story is how it circles around its emotional core, slowly revealing more and more about the protagonist and his circumstances and backstory.  It encourages empathy from the reader with an initially conversational style, gradually unmasking the devastations felt in an ordinary life.

Literary Fruit rating: 7 out of 10.

A Short Story a Day #8

A curious story today, found more or less at random: “Evil Days and Countless Wonders” by Patricia Russo.  It’s ostensibly a story of a village struck by a curse, but the real attraction lies in the various sub-stories that are told, and the vexing interplay between the story-telling characters (including the amusingly-named Very Stubborn Woman).  The aspect that is somewhat jarring is the point of view, which is inconsistent: the real narrator is largely suppressed, yet offers up sweeping omniscient narrator-style statements, so as a whole it doesn’t cohere quite as well as it could.

Literary Fruit rating: 5 out of 10.

A Short Story a Day #7

Paddy O’Reilly’s “The Salesman” is a very unsettling short story set in a working-class suburb and featuring a disabled young woman, her boyfriend and his mate, and the entrance into their world of Pran, a Hindu salesman.  The woman is strangely attracted to Pran, and is especially interested in his spiritual beliefs, perhaps as an escape from the listless toil of her mundane life and the xenophobia of those around her.  The tension builds as the men simmer with suppressed violence against the salesman and the ending, whose pivotal event happens off-stage, is peculiarly affecting.

This is a beautifully, expertly crafted and written story, that will likely have you feeling compelled and uncomfortable in equal measure.

Literary Fruit rating: 8 out of 10.