Short Stories

When I think about my favorite way to consume a ton of reading material, I think short stories are the way to go. I always love to dive into a novel and become enraptured by the atmosphere and characters they present, but short stories allow someone to get the same level of mystique and intrigue on a smaller level. That said, our short story fiction packet left me in a bit of surprise: I was expecting what I would consider a short story, in the sense of Twain or Hemingway's* huge catalog of miniature stories, but I was left with stories that were nothing but literally short.

Nonetheless, I found myself enjoying the readings wholeheartedly. I think the greatest thing I've taken from this collection of stories is an appreciation for each writers' ability to encapsulate a moment, their given characters, and the general atmosphere without having the space to drone on endlessly about backstories or details or anything such as that. Many of these short stories are the equivalent of anecdotes or even well-written jokes; everything is explained at face, with no unnecessary (and perhaps even lacking some necessary) details, fleshed-out plots, or anything of the sort. These are not "excerpts" from a longer story, they are longer stories, honed down to their skin and bones with nothing but the impact left for the reader to revel in.

This "phenomenon" I've described is further made intriguing by the complete diversity in storytelling we have. For example, the first story, Survivors, is nothing short of a bleak, saddening glance into the mind of a person with his own predicament-- it's no different than a teenager dreaming into the future about their current fly-by-night girlfriend or boyfriend, but it's got the right tone to send a somber message to the reader. It's short, but it's emotionally profound, and while it doesn't pack the punch of a Wuthering Heights or even a Nick Adams story, it accomplishes quite a bit in just a few hundred words. Morning News touches on a similar subject (not the struggles of homosexuality, but the foreboding notion of death and its wake on the living left behind), with a more poignant twist at the end. As I mentioned, these are almost like jokes-- they may share key components, but the "punchline" is rather dynamic. Well, Sharon Krinskey's stories notwithstanding-- they're much more ambiguous and contemplative-and shorter- than most of the others. I don't really know if I like them, but I can appreciate them).

I think my utmost favorite story here is Wallet, by Allen Woodman.He presents a situation with just enough backstory to draw a reader in, perhaps even relate to the situation, and then he flies through this ironic mishap of an adventure with no real lesson left at the end to learn from. It's as if we're glancing into the window of some person's car, and instead of merely seeing their faces, we experience their emotions, what exactly they're laughing about. It's rife with coincidence, but the story is both humorous and touching, in a way that only an established character relationship can provide-- yet we don't truly have that here. I think that's why I enjoyed this one the most; a finely honed story that pulls its punches perfectly.

*To end on a related note, I'd like to post a short story allegedly from Hemingway that, to my knowledge, is the shortest "story" ever written: "For sale: baby shoes, never worn." It encompasses my perspective above perfectly, I would say-- you're given nothing, honed even more than the short stories contained in our packet, and left with this six-letter phrase that's as emotionally evocative as a whole league of works in size much greater than itself.