Top Shelf Short Stories: The Miniature Wife

The Miniature Wife
by Manuel Gonzales

How had I not heard about this short story collection before? Seriously, this author writes awesomely and I am so glad that I heard about the collection from my favorite podcase, Books on the Nightstand. 

This story, which also serves as the title of the collection, is truly one of a kind. It's about a man, the narrator, who "accidentally" shrinks his wife to miniature size. At first, he tries to protect her by taking away their pets, a bird and a cat, since they could kill her. Then he begins to build her a dollhouse that is a replica of their home. Just when he starts to contemplate making himself miniature in order to live with her some days a week, he finds her with an employee (soon, ex-employee, eesh) of his who shrunk himself in order to have an affair with her. And that's not even the worse of it yet!

It may seem that I'm giving away too much - but so much of the story lies in what is said between the lines! I believe that this story shows the manipulation and repression that some males bestow among women. First of all, how does the narrator "accidentally" shrink his wife when his experiments and all that take place at work and in a safe area? Second, instead of focusing all his attention on un-shrinking her, he spends it building her a replica-home dollhouse. Then he talks about being proud of making her so small while still maintaining her beautiful physical features. He also talks about how useless she was before having to force her to defend herself against the "elements" such as house flies which really bother her. 

Also - the narrator talks about shrinking himself for a few days a week then going back to full size in order to buy groceries and whatnot - um, hello? That means he knows how to un-shrink her! It was so infuriating to read! But that's what made it so good - it made me feel something. 

Verdict

Read it. Read it now and then tell me about all the other stuff I didn't mention or didn't catch. What are your theories? This is the kind of writing that makes me want to analyze and that means it's good. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: The Black Cat

The Black Cat
by Edgar Allan Poe

*sigh* Sorry readers - I'm trying to get over my Oscars-depression. I really wanted Leo to win. 

Anyway, today's story comes from a collection of Poe's stories and poems that I've had for oh-so-many-years and only today opened it up. The story is The Black Cat and it was fantastic!

The story is about a man who, at first, has his stuff together. He has a wife and a love of animals that results in their acquiring of many pets. Among them, a black cat named Pluto who becomes a favorite of the man. Slowly, however, the man delves into a downward spiral with his alcoholism. Then, one day, in a fit of alcohol-induced rage and frustration, the man kills the black cat. Believing he has cleaned up his tracks regarding the cat, he is astounded to find a cat who bears a striking resemblance to Pluto around. The cat follows him everywhere - haunting him.

That isn't the end of the story because you, dear reader, should really go and read this for yourself. Chilling and haunting - now I understand the lure of Poe's writing. 

Verdict

Read it because you deserve to read something good. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: Big Girls Do It Better

Big Girls Do It Better

By Jasinda Wilder

Synopsis

Gorgeous, rock-star guys like Chase Delany don't go for girls like me. They go for supermodels and actresses, skinny-girls who never eat and spend all day working out. I'm not that girl. So when he locked his fiery brown eyes on me for the first time, I couldn't quite believe it was really happening to me. It was the second night I spent with him that I'll never forget. 

Review

I don't know whT I expected from this short story. Sex? Yes. A big girl? Yes. But I didn't think it would the story would come out so...hurried? Unbelievable? I know it's fiction and all that! But I would have loved a more subtle attraction between the characters. I have no problem with reading about sex, but the scenes just seemed a bit much for me. 

Verdict

Lovers of steamy romances will love this short story. It just wasn't for me. 

So-Let's Try This Again

Due to health stuff (aka having the immune system of a baby chick), I ran behind my short story posts. So, I'm going to try again during the month of March. 

Here we go again!

Top Shelf Short Stories: The C-Word

The C-Word
by Don Pizarro

I don't know why I keep expecting this collection to be less weird haha. An interesting story of a guy who rekindles an old flame with an older woman. They share a great night together (sounds like they had fuuuuunnnn) and he refuses to give her up any longer the next day. The rest is left up to your imagination. The c-word indeed.  

Verdict

This short story had more erotica than cthulhu - do with that what you will. It was interesting for me. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: Faeries on Facebook

Faeries on Facebook
by Francesca Lia Block

If you, dear reader, want a glimpse of what it is to read  Block's writing, this short story is the perfect sample. 

The story is about a lovely girl Daphne and the sudden disappearance of her magical mother, Sylvia. Daphne doesn't know what to do with Sylvia's disappearance and so she lives on missing her mother but also focused on living her life, which was so often shadowed by Sylvia. 

She meets a boy, Caden, on Facebook and is enamored by his own magical ways when they meet in person. But there is so much to Sylvia and Caden than what Daphne realizes. 

Verdict 

A fantastic taste of Block's writing: magically realistic. You'll definitely love this story and her writing if you're into magical realism. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: Pilot, Copilot, Writer

Pilot, Copilot, Writer
by Manuel Gonzales

Awesome story about a man who is on a plane that's been hijacked. The Pilot hijacker has the plane circling above Dallas with "perpetual oil". They stay encircling the area for years and years. People pass away. A woman gives birth to her son. They learn of news down below from their old lives. The narrator's wife remarries and his parents pass away. There is more to the story, but I don't want to ruin it for you! 

It is truly an intriguing story definitely worth the read. 

Verdict

I've only read this first story in the collection, and I hope the rest of the book is like this. It's so good!

Top Shelf Short Stories: Descent of the Wayward Sister

Descent of the Wayward Sister
by Gabrielle Harbowy

Yeah, you read right...erotica.

Double yeah, you read right...Cthulhurotica. 

I never EVER would have read anything in this book about a week ago. And now I'm considering buying the ebook (I read this from an Amazon sample) - all because of Bonnie Burton from Vaginal Fantasy. This online book group has made me become more open-minded in what I read.

So - that's how Cthulhurotica happens. 

First, a little background for those of you who may not now what a Cthulhu is. Cthulhu is this this creature (or type of creature) created by H.P. Lovecraft. It's basically this creature with tentacles (see cover of this book). 

Now, onto the story. It was a steamy interesting read. It surprised me because it had the idea of attraction and/or lust at the center of it instead of the story being about attaining a man. The story takes place during the time of servants and before televisions. It is about a woman who is staying at her brother's place for awhile. The woman becomes bored because her brother is never around and she is never introduced to anyone else who visits the home. 

One day, she's roaming the home and then hears a pleading coming from the basement. Thinking that a maid has locked herself in, the woman heads down to help her. What she finds goes beyond anything she could possibly imagine. 

I found this story to be interesting and unlike anything I've read. Of course, I don't read much erotica, but I found the monster link to be a great twist (even though I knew it was going to happen). Also, I don't know if the stories are meant to have some humor in them, but the last sentence of this story made me laugh out loud - in a good way. 

Verdict

Obviously skip if you're not into erotica, much less monster erotica. However, if you're feeling adventurous, try a sample from Amazon and see what you think!

Top Shelf Short Stories: Dead After Dying

Dead After Dying
by Dan DeWitt

A zombie story! No short story reading marathon would be complete without a zombie story! And this was a really good one - touching even. The story is about the narrator and his friend Donnie - who is a zombie. 

The storyline basically follows the narrator who has realized his friend is now a zombie and is trying to kill him. The narrator fights him off again and again, but finds it difficult to place the final blow. He says it's so because he keeps remembering the promises they made to each other, that they would go "beyond the end." 

This story is quite different than any other zombie story I've read. It's very sad and thus, very very good. 

Verdict

Read it because you, dear reader, deserve to read a good zombie story. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: Hope

Hope
by Dan DeWitt

Maybe I'm sleepy? Maybe I really shouldn't piggy back my posts anymore? Maybe...I don't know. 

I really enjoyed this short story. That was not the problem. There was no problem really, just this feeling that I'm not "getting it." 

Let's assume that I know what I'm talking about.

So, the narrator in this story is traveling to a town named Haber in search of that "one" person. I don't believe he says it directly, but I believe he's implying the "one" who will fall in love with him and vice versa. The reader basically follows the narrator as he's traveling and he's having these thoughts about what he wants to happen and who he wants to eventually find. Then there are certain instances where these random thoughts pop up. Well, I say random - but I'm sure they're planted purposely. 

One is where he mentions a previous friend he knew, Dave, and Dave's wife who fell ill and died soon after getting sick. The narrator's thoughts focus on his reaction to the wife's death - and the fact that he kept her wedding ring on a necklace around his neck. 

Second is where he mentions a sickness as he nears the town (or is in the town). The sickness isn't mentioned anywhere else (unless I totally missed it) and it honestly made me think that he's a vampire or something of the like and perhaps he's the reason his friend's wife died? Maybe why his friend disappeared?

Third is when the narrator mentions as a cliffhanger at the end (yup, spoiler) when he notices the other wedding ring on his finger and thinks, "Oh yeah, I once had a friend..." I took this to mean that either (1) yup, he killed another friend's wife or (2) that is his wedding ring of a time long long ago (and maybe, vampire?). 

So, I did enjoy the story, but it made me have a lot of questions - which isn't a bad thing.

Verdict

Read it. Give it a shot. If you don't like not knowing, maybe move along. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: Revenant's Anonymous

Revenant's Anonymous
by Francesca Lia Block

I have had a life-long love affair with Block's writing. I remember bidding on her book Dangerous Angels (a compilation of all her books in the Weetzie Bat series at the time). I don't remember where I heard or read her name. I don't know what possessed me to bid on her book. I just can't remember, but I'm so glad that I did because her books are full of magical realism. There is family and love and pain and it just all fits together and makes sense. 

It has been a long time since I've read a Block book. I lost touch with her writing simply because I got too busy in my real life to read anything that wasn't printed in some scholarly journal. 

So, how thrilled was I last night when I read that Block was making her collection of short stories, Lay Me Out Softly, in ebook free for today??? (It's also still available as I write this, click here) I made sure to remember, quite a feat for me, and here I am about to review the first one I read :)

So, I read "Revenant's Anonymous". I did not know what a revenant was before I started reading this story. I thought, hey, I learned how to use context clues, I'll just do that to figure it out. Ha! I was so confused by the second paragraph! Just so we're clear, a revenant is like a zombie.

With that said, this is a unique story about a group of revenants that meet for their Revenant's Anonymous every so often to talk about their experience and basically what they are now that they are dead. The story is specifically about Casey and Ed. Both are dead and both, through talking to each other, begin to remember what it was like to be alive. The reader basically joins Casey as she comes alive with Ed as she's falling for him. She begins to notice the "little" things, like a ghostly pulse under her skin when he touches her, the blush that doesn't stay on her cheeks and the nervousness at being around Ed. Through getting to know each other, Ed and Casey learn how it is to live with a soul, even if it is a ghostly one. 

Truly a beautiful story that made me think about what a soul is and how falling in love or just crushing on someone...feeling a touch, even, can make someone feel alive. This story made me fall in love with Block's writing all over again and I can't wait to read more from this collection. 

Verdict

Read it if you love zombies and/or love stories. It is unlike other zombie stories (even Warm Bodies) and other love stories. I hope it gets the reader interested in reading some more from Francesca Lia Block.

Also, zombie sex. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: Lawyer's League

Lawyer's League
by Sherman Alexie

Alexie's short story, "Lawyer's League," is about Richard, a half Indian half African American who believes he's on the road to the White House. He talks about how he's spent his life getting a good education and being semi-good at basketball while trying to convince Indians to vote. 

Racism is really the core of this story. Richard experiences racism throughout the story, like when he talks about how any college would want him due to being Indian and then his encounter with Big Bill. 

However, that isn't the only kind of racism the reader sees in the story. Richard shows his tendency to be racist as well. This comes off the best when he meets a woman at a dinner that he really likes. He talks about how he'd love for her to "rain" on him and even compares himself to a teenage girl drooling over a wedding magazine. In the end, Richard decides to pass on making any leeway with the woman. Why? Because she's blonde and blue-eyed and how would that look in the media? As much as Richard is aware of how people look at him, he has no self-awareness of his own prejudices. What's heartbreaking is that Richard deprives himself of what could possibly make him happy - just because of how it would look on the outside to everyone else. 

Verdict

It's Alexie so, of course, I'm going to recommend it. Racism is described in the best way in this story - subtle and heartbreaking. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: Death is Not the End

Death is Not the End
by David Foster Wallace

(I am a day late omg but I swear to you, reader, I read this story yesterday, but I was too busy out and about and doing stuff and eating that I forgot to post this so please forgive me.)

I have not read any David Foster Wallace work. I wanted to start with Infinite Jest, that mammoth of a work, but I knew that Wallace had a plethora of short stories, so I thought - why not?

It takes awhile to get used to the author's writing. I will say that. But once I did (especially the footnotes - I haven't read those since my history classes), I could understand (kinda) where he was going (I think).

This is what reading David Foster Wallace did to me. Talking in parentheses.

Anyway, just like Kafka, I had to Google the meaning to this story - just in case I missed something? But it turns out that I didn't (I think). This story is about a writer who has done all the things - he's won awards, he's renowned and he can basically afford to hang around the house doing his thing. Which is exactly what he's doing during this story. And that's all he does. Wallace is basically letting the reader be a fly on the wall allowing us to watch this author be a person. I believe that the whole point of this story is showing us that although a person may have all these accolades, at the base of it - a person is just a person.

The tricky part is understanding the title. "Death is Not the End" - is it because he's a writer and what he writes will most likely survive after he "ends"? Is it because the author is a has-been and he technically "died" a long time ago? I'm not sure and I don't think Wallace cared to share the meaning. (if he did, please link down below)

Verdict

Wallace's writing is definitely not for everyone. I don't even know if it's for me, but it's intrigued me enough to keep reading until I'm completely turned off. So, try it if you're feeling adventurous and equal parts patient. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: My Heart is Either Broken

My Heart is Either Broken
by Megan Abbott

I have been skipping around different volumes since I started this short story project (which, btw, aren't you proud I haven't abandoned??? Please leave words of encouragement below haha). However, I was in a coffee house (the "just right" environment) when I started reading this volume and I found myself curious as to how the rest of the stories would be since the first one (see yesterday's post) was awesome. 

Well, I'm so glad I did! Abbott has created an absolutely awesome story that could easily be seen (and has been seen) on the evening news. 

The story is told from Tom's perspective and the reader is thrown right in the middle of his and his wife, Lorie's, horror story. The story revolves around the couple's missing daughter, Shelby. Shelby was last seen with Lorie at a coffee shop. It was apparently at that coffee shop where Lorie asked one of the shop workers, whom Lorie had encountered before, to watch Shelby while she cleaned up in the restroom. When Lorie came out, Shelby and the worker were no where to be seen.

So started the couple's horror. What makes it worse is that from day one, Lorie is the main suspect. This is something Tom finds impossible...until Lorrie starts going to bars dressed as if she were 10 years younger and begins sunbathing in a bikini in the front yard. Then Tom starts remembering details from their past - details he wishes he didn't remember. 

And that's as far as I can go because, damn, this story is really great! It's sad and creepy - a total chiller. Of course, the concept is disturbing, but trust me when I say that what the reader thinks is happening is not the final story. 

Verdict

If you like chillers and mysteries, this one is for you. Dangerous women indeed. Take caution, definitely adult themes involved. Think sex, chilling ideas, etc. 

Top Shelf Short Stories: The Search Engine

Ten Little Indians
by Sherman Alexie

Book Synopsis

Sherman Alexie is one of our most acclaimed and popular writers today. With Ten Little Indians, he offers nine poignant and emotionally resonant new stories about Native Americans who, like all Americans, find themselves at personal and cultural crossroads, faced with heartrending, tragic, sometimes wondrous moments of being that test their loyalties, their capacities, and their notions of who they are and who they love. 

In Alexie’s first story, “The Search Engine,” Corliss is a rugged and resourceful student who finds in books the magic she was denied while growing up poor. In “The Life and Times of Estelle Walks Above,” an intellectual feminist Spokane Indian woman saves the lives of dozens of white women all around her to the bewilderment of her only child. “What You Pawn I Will Redeem” starts off with a homeless man recognizing in a pawn shop window the fancy-dance regalia that was stolen fifty years earlier from his late grandmother. 

 Even as they often make us laugh, Alexie’s stories are driven by a haunting lyricism and naked candor that cut to the heart of the human experience, shedding brilliant light on what happens when we grow into and out of each other.

"The Search Engine" Review

I am going to sound completely biased in this review of this short story because I am in love with Alexie's writing. I have been ever since I read the short story, "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona." And the love affair kept on when I read Reservation Blues and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. This man - I can't even. 

I'm always hesitant to read something from Alexie. Did that just shock you after I told you how much I love his writing? Well, it shouldn't. I hesitate to read (hesitate - but I read anyway) because I worry that my love affair will just be a fluke. I mean, what if this story is the one I don't like? What will happen then?

And of course, the answer is nothing. Nothing will happen because, regardless, Alexie is my writer. But I digress.

"The Search Engine" hit me right in the heart, dear reader. It's about a young college sophomore, Corliss, who loves books. Books to Corliss are basically the air she breathes. She relates to books because they have given her the freedom beyond what her family, her past and culture have been able to give her. Alexie spends the first section of the story relating who Corliss is to the reader - and basically having this reader (yup, me) fall in love with the character. 

Corliss finds a poetry book at her library written by a Spokane Indian (like her!) which has never been checked out. After a FANTASTIC moment of questioning the destiny of books that never get checked out, she reads the poetry. Although most of the poetry turns out to be kinda bad, some of it speaks to her. What speaks to her most, however, is the fact that another Spokane Indian was able to get their words out into the world. This is what ultimately starts Corliss on her journey to finding Harlan Atwater, her fellow Spokane Indian. 

What follows is what the reader will almost always find in Alexie's work. Humor, heartbreak, cleverness and the search for what it means to be a Indian in the modern world

*Note: Usually, I write "Native American," but to stay true to Alexie's work, I will follow suit and say "Indian."

Verdict

READ HIM. READ HIM NOW. EVEN IF YOU'VE ALREADY READ EVERYTHING HE'S WRITTEN GO BACK AND FIND SOMETHING YOU HAVEN'T READ OR READ WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY READ. DO IT NOW. 

About the Author

Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the PEN/Malamud Award for Short Fiction, a PEN/Hemingway Citation for Best First Fiction, and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature, Sherman Alexie is a poet, short story writer, novelist, and performer.

He has published 24 books including What I've Stolen, What I've Earned, poetry, from Hanging Loose Press; Blasphemy: New and Selected Stories, from Grove Press; and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, a novel from Little, Brown Books for Children.

He has also recently published the 20th Anniversary edition of his classic book of stories, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven.

Smoke Signals, the movie he wrote and co-produced, won the Audience Award and Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.

A Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Indian, Alexie grew up in Wellpinit, Washington, on the Spokane Indian Reservation. 

Alexie has been an urban Indian since 1994 and lives in Seattle with his family.

Go find out more at: http://fallsapart.com/

Top Shelf Short Stories: Haunted

Haunted
by Chuck Palahniuk

Okay - so I need to read more carefully. I read that the book was a collection of short stories so I started reading the first story. Then I realized that the stories all make up the novel. Heh - so, this might be breaking the rules a bit, but because the short stories all make up a novel - I'm still going to count it as a short story. 

Now that that's all dealt with, let's move on.

Palahniuk beings each of these stories with a poem. In this first poem and story, we get an introduction to a bus load of individuals on the road to a seemingly secluded area for 3 months for a workshop. The workshop is to become short story writers. In this story, Palahniuk hints that this trip is indeed the last one for all of these people. Very ominous. 

This is the first work of Palahniuk's that I read, and I've heard that he includes some humor in his seriousness - and this story is no exception. In it, Palahniuk points out how we tend to give others nicknames based on their sins, habits and stories. He introduces each of the characters and their sins, habits and stories. Often times during this first section he breaks "the fourth wall" and beckons the reader to think about certain aspects of the story. It's truly fantastic. 

Verdict

Though it's only the first story, I can tell that Palahniuk's writing is truly great. It sucked me right in and I can't wait to get to the other stories in this book in order to know why this book is called Haunted. Definitely recommend!

Top Shelf Short Stories: The Plutonian Fire

The Plutonian Fire
by O. Henry

I had not read anything written by O. Henry. All I knew about him before reading this short story (and the book's Introduction) was that he wrote short stories.

This short story is told from the point of view of a writer and the story itself is about another writer, Pettit. Apparently the narrator is a successful writer whose stories have been published. He seems to be an editor's dream. Pettit - not so much. He comes from the south and isn't all that wanted like his friend, the narrator, is. 

Well, Pettit is asked to write love stories, but his love stories are always rejected and sent back. His friend tries to help him, and feels that there's something missing from his friend's work. Through some experiences, Pettit falls in love and finds himself the object of someone's love - both having effects on his writing. Only one of these effects is lucrative. 

Verdict

I have to be honest - at first, I was very much bored with this story. I don't know if it's because it's different than what I've been reading lately or if it's because of the "older" style of writing. But once I made myself go past the first two pages, I was able to appreciate the writing style and the story. I have more of O. Henry's stories to pick from, so we'll see how I end up feeling about this author overall! Either way, I say give him a try - but his writing may not be for everyone.

By the way, I have not told you the whole story - that's mostly because I rather enjoyed the ending and it won't work if I tell you what the ending is!

Top Shelf Short Stories: The Ant and the Grasshopper

The Ant and the Grasshopper
by W. Somerset Maugham

This story is a play off of the famous fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper." If you haven't heard of this fable, let me break it down for you (it's famous, so no such thing as spoilers here!). The fable tells of the ant who spends his summer storing food for the winter whereas the grasshopper basically chills out on a nearby leaf and watches the ant work. Once winter comes, the ant is all nice and cozy with his hard-earned food and shelter while the grasshopper is desperate to find these essentials. Moral of the story: WORK, damn it. 

Anyway, Maugham's short story takes this famous fable and turns it on its head. He places two brothers with contradicting personalities in the middle of a life-long sibling war. One brother is respectable, responsible and takes care of his younger brother who is simply a mess. After traveling around the world, the younger brother returns to his brother only to take advantage of him again. 

Verdict

This was a very short story which I enjoyed because I had to find something quick to read in order to be on time for my One Short Story a Day deal. 

But I digress.

This story was a good re-working of the original story. It gets you thinking - though I did find it rather pessimistic. So, beware! You may become a cynic after reading this story! :)

That's It - I'm really doing it this time. Seriously.

Okay - I've tried this before, but I'm seriously going to do it this time. Seriously.

One short story a day for the month of February. 

One. Short. Story. A. Day. 

That's right - I'm challenging myself again because (1) I don't learn my lesson and (2) I simply don't know any better. 

But I'm still going to do it! Mainly because I'm looking forward to some romantic short stories maybe (it is February) and February is a short month. 

Are there any recommendations??? I need some especially for romance-type short stories if there are any. Please comment with any recommendations!

Top Shelf Short Story: A Temporary Matter

Short Story: A Temporary Matter

Collection: Interpreter of Maladies
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri

Review

This story is quite different than my previous short story reads. For one, this is realistic...brutally so. The story is about an Indian couple who have recently had a stillborn child. This, of course, causes pain to arise in both the characters in very different ways. Shukumar watches as his wife, Shoba, cares less and less about their home (and even Shukumar) and becomes more self-absorbed. Lahiri offers the best metaphor for their relationship in the form of their pantry. Once full of food, the pantry supply slowly dwindles. Instead of filling it with what his wife cannot provide at the moment, Shukumar takes what's left and makes his wife dinner. While at dinner, they learn that their electricity will be shut off for one hour each day for a week. It's while having dinner together, in the dark, where they tell each other their secrets. And through these secrets, we learn just how far Shukumar and Shoba have let their union dwindle...just like that pantry. 

Reader, you can probably guess that I loved this short story. I truly did. It made me so sad, but the language is so beautiful that I forgot for a moment or two that I was witnessing the end of a marriage. The pantry was a perfect metaphor for the situation between Shukumar and Shoba. It's everything a short story should be. 

Verdict

Read it! You'll either cry or just get really sad - but it's worth it :)