page template

BAN Books

Short Stories

I've had to read a lot of short stories in college, so I kind of wanted a place to keep track of all of them. Many were great, a few are favorites, and some, not so much. But this section is basically for me to rate and keep track of all the short stories that come to mind, and hopefully I can find links for my favorites. Come on, it takes like five minutes to read, and you know as well as I do that you're procrastinating right now anyway.

10 Stars
Houston, Houston, Do You Read? by James Tiptree, Jr. 1976	James Tiptree, Jr. does not exist, as he is merely the alias of sci-fi genius Alice Sheldon, whose work I adore. This particular story is full of brilliance as men who went on a mission around the sun return to find humanity vastly different. Replete with Biblical imagery in a garden and gender themes deeply explored, this is my favorite Tiptree story I've read.
The Last Question by Isaac Asimov 1956	This one we didn't even read in my Sci-Fi class--it was recommended to me by Charlie--but it is outstanding. It spans eons and shows how inconsequential we are and how history occurs in cycles of cycles. The words are carefully chosen for just the right impact, and the end pseudo-twist is pretty cool.
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton 1934	If this were an MTV movie, the title would be changed to Bitches and Hoes (see Virgin Territory). But even in Edith Wharton's time, women were bitches, and she takes great pleasure in deliciously orchestrating the conversation/passive war between the two characters. It's one of my all-time favorite written works, and this is coming from a guy who's so not digging Ethan Frome.
9 Stars
Call Me Joe by Poul Anderson 1957	My very first assignment for my Sci-fi Lit class was to read this short story, and it is also one of my very first Pictures of the Day. But aside from that, the story blew me away, particularly its multi-layered interpretation. It's about a crew exploring Jupiter's surface by implanting their consciousness into these robots that can safely explore, and as you can guess, trouble ensues.
The Nine Billion Names of God by Arthur C. Clarke 1953	Read this along with The Last Question. Both involve a healthy mix of science and religion, and while both generally lean toward the inevitability of god (sort of), this one is a little more overt about it. These monks have a machine with an algorithm that can rapidly come up with all the names for God, the goal being to attain them all and achieve our purpose as humans. Four pages later, well, you should just read it, because it's really short.
The Screwfly Solution by James Tiptree, Jr. 1977	As I've stated, what I've read of Tiptree has been mostly glorious. This has been turned into a couple movies I believe, and it's basically about this disease that only affects men that makes them violently attack women. It's weird and thought-provoking and very animalistic.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman 1892	An epistolary novel (suck it!) written by a woman whose husband thinks it best that she be confined to a summer house so that she can recover from her madness. Is she crazy really, or is this a story of dominating men? Check it out, because it is glorious and has plenty of intrigue.
8 Stars
The Balloon by Donald Barthelme 1968	A wonderful symbolic meditation on the meaning of art in all forms, especially Barthelme's literature. The surface-level story is about a massive balloon that appears over Manhattan, enrapturing its citizens. While children play atop it, enjoying it for what it literally is, adults wonder at its deeper meaning and authority figures want to take it down. But the end is something truly special, particularly for those of us who agree with Barthelme's view of art as something intimate and personal, not that it can't also serve a universal purpose.
The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James 1903	I almost graduated without reading Henry James, which I would have considered a personal failure. Having conquered both him and James Joyce, I now feel I have sufficiently hit up all the "masters," and I must say I highly enjoyed my trip through James-ville. The story is about a man who has a sense of impending doom (a beast in the jungle) and the woman he confided in, and it depressingly shakes out exactly as you'd expect.
"Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison 1965	This Kafkaesque tale (man, I am nailing those spelling words) features an Orwellian society whose schedule gets altered by seven minutes one morning. And all Hell breaks loose. It's hilarious in that bookish way, and it mounts a pretty good attack on strict adherence to arbitrary human systems. It's also my new defense as to why I sleep when I'm tired and not when society dictates I must. Hm?
7 Stars
Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor 1955	The Southern Gothic tale of a grotesque young amputee and her encounter with a young Bible salesman. I don't want to ruin anything, but the characters are so believably annoyingly Southern. The writing is beautiful, satirical, and obviously Gothic, and I would definitely recommend it.
Everyday Use by Alice Walker 1973	A black mother's daughter returns from college talking a good talk about embracing one's heritage, but Walker juxtaposes college daughter with her sister, who is still at home and actually understands heritage. It's way better than I'm describing it, and one of my favorite postmodern heritage stories.
Inconstant Moon by Larry Niven 1971	This is the story of the day the Moon gets a little too bright, and it slowly sucked me in. The ending is kind of action-packed for a short story, and I don't want to ruin what's going on, because I really enjoyed the story. It's a little uneven, I guess, but I ultimately really enjoyed it.
The Luck of Roaring Camp by Bret Harte 1868	Bret Harte was kind of a brilliant anti-establishment writer, this particular story taking on religion. It's about a boy who's born at a mining camp by the only woman in town, and she dies in childbirth. The obnoxious men find the baby a good luck charm, and they reform so as to give the baby a good home, but that's as far as I'll say. I recommend checking it out on your own.
Powerhouse by Eudora Welty 1941	Lyrical and a little bizarre, this is the story of a black jazz musician playing at a white club. He's a little weird in the head, but Welty's musical style really augments the power of the story.
Sandkings by George R. R. Martin 1979	A brilliant story of a man who gets some pets that he pits against each other in fights for the purpose of gambling. Martin has some clever foreshadowing, and his themes are carefully realized, and I highly recommend the story.
Who Can Replace a Man? by Brian Aldiss 1958	After humans die out, a bunch of robots try and carry on, rather unsuccessfully, as Aldiss kind of hilariously demonstrates. I really enjoyed this one, and it was fairly short, as we follow a squad of robots failing to replace mankind.
Winter Dreams by F. Scott Fitzgerald 1922	All the themes of Gatsby are on display here in a story marking the transition between Romanticism and Modernism. A young man in pursuit of wealth often escapes into dreams of great success, but that's just the background. Fitzgerald crafts a deceptively engaging story that I highly recommend.
Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros 1991	This proves that The House on Mango Street isn't all Cisneros is capable of (not that I didn't love that work), this one full of complex sentences and actual structure. It's about a woman who fantasizes about telenovelas in her marriage to a beer-gutted, abusive Texan man, ultimately seeking empowerment.
A Worn Path by Eudora Welty 1940	My favorite of the Welty stories, this one is about an old woman walking the road to town. It's very allegorical, full of symbolism and metaphor, and Welty's style is again to be lauded.
6 Stars
Almost Browne by Gerald Vizenor 1991	About a Native American who is born in a car almost on the reservation, he grows up between two cultures, and accordingly falls through the cracks. It's really interesting and features some sophisticated thoughts, but it isn't something I'm likely to read often or even again.
Cathedral by Raymond Carver 1983	This is about a guy who bonds with his wife's former employer, a blind man, and how they draw a cathedral together. It seems to me the story's about their religious views, given the husband's impiety and his pretending to accept but feeling empty. I'll be honest though: I enjoyed the story for what it was, but I'd need some convincing that it represents the apex of Carver's career.
A Clean Escape by John Kessel 1985	This was the story that became the first episode of Masters of Science Fiction. I enjoyed both, and I refuse to yield any of their surprises, but I take issue with the melodramatic or unrealistic actions. Definitely check it out though.
A Jury of Her Peers by Susan Glaspell 1917	I've now read both this and Trifles, Glaspell's play version of the same story. Both stories are interesting, but I've been more intrigued by better captive-women stories (The Yellow Wallpaper, for instance).
The Revolt of "Mother" by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman 1891	A strange look at gender relations way back when. I thought it was all right, but like many of the 6-stars, it's not my favorite, and I'll probably never re-read it.
A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett 1886	Certainly a worthy story, full of literary merit, and one I enjoyed. It's just not one I'm anxious to re-read, but I'd still definitely recommend it.
Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty 1941	I enjoyed this story but not as much as some of Welty's other work. Still, you could do worse.
The Wide Net by Eudora Welty 1943	This was a weird Welty story that failed to intrigue me. What can you do?
The Women Men Don't See by James Tiptree, Jr. 1972	This was a pretty good story from Tiptree, but it wasn't quite as interesting to me, and not really up to the fabulous standards set by her other work.
5 Stars
A New England Nun by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman 1891	Not my favorite, but I can see the value. It definitely has some literary merit, but it also definitely won't be ready by these eyes again. It's not exactly boring, it's just not my cup of tea so much, and I gave plenty of women's lit high scores.
The Tunnel Under the World by Frederik Pohl 1955	My least favorite sci-fi story from class, but it wasn't really a disaster. I think it was a bit too long, and the ending was a little confusing, but overall I just never got captivated by it. It's worth checking out, but I'd wait until you've read everything above it.

Return to home page.