Day Two Hundred Thirteen: "You Are Here" by Chris Wiewiora

A man recounts riding motorcycles with Brian and how upon learning about his friend's death, he considers driving his cycle into a wall. This was a really short piece of flash fiction but it worked. There is just enough emotion in this to make it powerful and sad. Nice job as a continuation of this story about "Brian" and what he meant to various different people.

A link to the story online is here:

http://burrowpress.com/you-are-here-by-chris-wiewiora/

Day Two Hundred Twelve: "Tunneling" by Gene Albamonte

The narrator thinks about Brian, a friend who has died and how they spent time together throwing tennis balls against the wall and Brian's theory about the tennis ball "tunneling" through space, through matter. This was a very interesting start to this 15 part serial story and it definitely made me want to read more. It personalized Brian in a way that I can tell he'll be central to some of the stories to come as well. Nice job!

A link to the story online can be found here:

http://burrowpressreview.com/tunneling-by-gene-albamonte/

Day Two Hundred Eleven: "Last Night" by James Salter

Assistance.

A man and his wife make a pact to help the wife commit suicide by morphine injection. On her last night, the man and his wife go to a fancy restaurant, buy an expensive wine, all to make sure her last evening is a memorable one, a fitting way to end her life. But, the catch is that they don't want to do it alone so they take a young girl that the woman had met in a gardening class. The young woman was to be the witness, the person to keep the husband from being alone once the assisted suicide was complete.

This was the setup.

But...something goes wrong. The man gives his wife the injection and she drifts away. He goes back downstairs to the young girl and he basically forces her to have sex with him but in the end, she seems to consent and they wake up the next morning in a sort of agreement about their relationship. They are content, having coffee when the wife stumbles down the staircase, the assisted suicide having apparently failed.

This was the downfall. The man loses the girl at this point, a girl who realizes that her connection to this man is now shattered. It's sick and twisted in a way but when the reader realizes that this man will have to go through this again and alone to boot, it's actually rather sad.

From a writing standpoint, this story was well written and there was a flow about it that made it seem much shorter upon reading than it actually was. Nice job by an author that I'll read more of.

A link to the story online is here:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2002/11/18/021118fi_fiction?currentPage=2

Week Thirty-One Short Story Selections

Day Two Hundred Eleven: "Tunneling" by Gene Albamonte
Day Two Hundred Twelve: "We Are Here" by Wiewiora
Day Two Hundred Thirteen: "Last Night" by James Salter
Day Two Hundred Fourteen: "Big Alabama and the Chained Refrigerator" by James Valvis
Day Two Hundred Fifteen: "Blind" by Ann Fischer
Day Two Hundred Sixteen: "Red from Green" by Maile Meloy
Day Two Hundred Seventeen: "Letter from the Understudy" by Kathryn Simmonds

Day Two Hundred-Ten: "Death by Scrabble" by Charlie Fish

Gamesmanship.

Life as a game. A man and his wife play Scrabble and he realizes as the game progresses that the words being played are somehow determining what is happening in his life during the actual game itself. He hates his wife. Wants her dead. But, life is a game, one that you may not always win...and where others may have tricks up their sleeves that you can't be prepared for.

The voice in this story was fantastic. Very clever piece. I'd read more by this author for sure.

A link to the story online can be found here:

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/DeatScra.shtml

Day Two Hundred-Nine: "The Card" by James Ross

Harshness.

A young boy thinks back to getting a card from his absent father and how the card, for a 10 year old boy, was sorely lacking in that it warned the boy to watch his back because no one else will. This very short piece interestingly brings that idea to play as the reader sees what the narrator has gotten involved in and how that simple statement from a missing father to his son has shaped the adult life, the decisions he makes both consciously and subconsciously.

This was a well written story with beautiful lines that sum of the story such as:

"I have this theory that, to use the world is a flat thing we stand on, but to birds, it is a cliff they cling to, a huge ball and they cling to the side and then fall off and fly and glide."

Nice job by an author unknown to me. A link to the story online can be found here:

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/Card759.shtml

Day Two Hundred-Eight: "A Box to Hide In" by James Thurber

Escape.

WOW!!! This story was amazing. A man searches for a box to hide in. He approaches grocers, his cleaning lady, random people in stores but never finds a way out, a way to be a part of life without having be engaged with it.

He wants to hide away in a box but to be in a box that is still in a room, a part of things. He could hear the world around him, laugh at the things he hears but...all the while, not have to interact with it. He can simply "observe"...he can see and not be seen or hear and not be heard.

But the story ends and he is sad. He can't find a box big enough. There's too much of him. There's too much of everything!

WHAT A STORY! I absolutely loved the voice of the first person narrator of this one. I will be talking about this one for a while!

A link to the story online is here:

http://www.loa.org/images/pdf/Thurber_Box_Hide.pdf

Day Two Hundred-Seven:"Shiftless Little Loafers" by Susan Orlean

Ridiculousness.

A woman ponders why infants do not have jobs and the result is a story that is both strange and on the verge of silliness yet, oddly profound. Work is what we make of it. Kids understand this. That is why they avoid it and why we envy what may otherwise seem like laziness and snobbery among babies being pushed around in strollers with everyone catering to their needs.

That is what we, as adults want. It is not really all that hard to imagine but we simply don't want to acknowledge it. After all, a grown up without a job is a slacker, immature, unable to contribute.

This story, while humorous and almost absurd, points out in a subtle way that we take ourselves and our careers way too seriously. We should all spend more time just "relaxing"...taking it all in when we can at the expense of the rest of them.

Day Two Hundred-Six: "The Question of a Feather" by Robert Frost

Temptation.

An expert on hens answers a letter written to him by a woman who breeds Minorca hens and pays her a visit. Little does he know that he will be confronted with an ethical dilemma. A hen bred to show has a feather on her leg and the breeder at the poultry farm asks for his advice.

He declines to answer but implies that the hen should be left as is, that while the temptation is there to make it "right"...and the fault is "so remediable" he still nudges the woman toward leaving the feather in place even when plucking it would change everything.

I thought this was a brilliant story and I could reread it over and over again. I'm very impressed by hit particularly since I didn't know that Frost wrote short stories. This alone has made my reading project worth it. Nice job.

Day Two Hundred-Five: "Was it in His Hand?" by Elizabeth Bishop

Fortune.

Two women driving across the country in wintertime stop at an old farmhouse that has been converted into a palmreader's shop. For fun, they go in for a reading and what they find is both interesting and disturbing to them. They don't find the truth. They don't find any magic. They find a seemingly crazy black woman that appears to be holding a young white boy hostage.

It's as if this kid is the "muse" for the palmreader. The two women find the situation harmless but even so, as they leave the house after a strange afternoon with the woman and young boy, they step back into the harsh cold that the farmhouse was at least a refuse from.

There was something beautiful and eerie about this story. I can't quite put my finger on it just yet. Perhaps this is a blogpost I will revisit upon further contemplation. Nice work!

Day Two Hundred-Four: "The Troubles" by Sheldon Compton

A link to the story online is here:

http://www.friedchickenandcoffee.com/2012/07/13/the-troubles-fiction-by-sheldon-compton/

Week Thirty Short Story Selections

Day Two Hundred-Four: "The Troubles" by Sheldon Compton
Day Two Hundred-Five: "Was it in His Hand?" by Elizabeth Bishop
Day Two Hundred-Six: "The Question of a Feather" by Robert Frost
Day Two Hundred-Seven:"Shiftless Little Loafers" by Susan Orlean
Day Two Hundred-Eight: "A Box to Hide In" by James Thurber
Day Two Hundred-Nine: "The Card" by James Ross
Day Two Hundred-Ten: "Death by Scrabble" by Charlie Fish

Day Two Hundred-Three:"The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty

Identity.

A sniper searches out his target and finds great joy in the hunt and ultimate kill...only to realize by story's end that the person he has killed is his own brother.

The point at which the sniper realizes this, after risking his own safety in order to discover the identity of the dead person, is both startling and appropriate. Sometimes looks can be deceiving and you never know what is waiting for you if you take that shot.

A link to the story online can be found here:

http://www.classicshorts.com/stories/sniper.html

Day Two Hundred-Two: "The Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams

Approach.

A doctor visits the family of a young girl that is sick but that won't let her parents look into her mouth. The doctor is almost certain what the problem is and with determination and some amount of force, he manages to get the girl's mouth open whereupon he discovers that she in fact has the illness he predicted.

The girl lives. The family is happy. The doctor was right. Moral of this simple but deep story: Sometimes others DO know better. Sometimes you have to FORCE that something better.

Day Two Hundred-One: "Cloud" by Andrew Sullivan

Effort.

A young boy and his friend battle the starlings that have taken over their town. "Shit" is everywhere and it's keeping people in their homes. Only these two kids are willing to fight to get rid of the "shit" while everyone else either runs away or makes plans to.

This was a literal story about friendship and overcoming the serious challenges presented by a swarm of birds that have terrorized a community and the challenge inserted into this friendship by one boy's mom's decision to abandon the problem rather than facing it. Metaphorically of course, this story says much more.

The longer you take to deal with the shit that is out there, it will only get deeper and stinkier and harder to get rid of. Those who try to deal with it are going to get nasty and they will be few and far between. Still...the idea is that one can only take so much "shit."

Day Two Hundred: "Oasis" by Miles Klee

Irony.

Written as a sort of news story, scientists discover that people enjoy spending time alone on their toilets. This was a very short short story and yet it was ironic and funny. I quite liked it.

The story can be found online here:

http://www.untowardmag.com/2012/07/oasis/

Day One Hundred Ninety-Nine: "I'm Working on my Charm" by Dorothy Allison

Example.

A young Southern girl watches her mom and learns by example to waitress. The tips that are made, the ploys undertaken to get them, the judgments that are made about patrons and the bets the waitresses make regarding who will tip the most or the least make this story worth the read. There is a real distinction the mother in the story (and inherently the author herself) is making about Yankees versus Southerners.

It's a story about the type of hospitality and charm that both make and break young women in the South. This was a very smart and engaging read. Nice job by a fantastic southern female voice.

Day One Hundred Ninety-Eight: "Respect" by Mary Gaitskill

Shame.

A woman has a one night stand with a man 13 years her younger. When the story opens she is almost bashful at the thought of their night together but upon checking her mail and discovering he had left her a handwritten note, she is almost giddy, an emotion for which she quickly hates herself. He's younger and she doesn't understand what he would see in her. She is heavier, older, uninteresting and yet, he has left his number--asked her to call. Then, before she has a chance to contact him, he calls and asks her to dinner. It's a date, something official. Once again, she is on guard but she accepts the invitation regardless.

As the reader watches this woman dress for her date, watch her squirm nervously through the dinner, and ultimately get disappointed by this young man in the way she feared but had managed to ignore for a brief period of time...the reader is struck by the irony that is inherent in the situation at hand. He "respects" this woman after a night of not respecting her. It can't be true. That is the impression the reader is left with.

Is it punishment? Is it prophetic? Perhaps both. As the woman retreats into her apartment alone at the story's conclusion, her parting comment to her pet is telling. "It's nothing."

WOW!!!!!!! What a story that was very well written. I won't be forgetting this one. It's a little close to the vest for that.

Day One Hundred Ninety-Seven: "Ghastly Dislocation" by James Lewelling

Mindgames.

A psychiatrist is disturbed by a patient's fixation on him, his ability to keep tabs on his comings and goings, almost to the point of his own mental disintegration. This was a fascinating and psychological read and if it not for the SEVERE overuse of parenthetical phrases in this piece, I'd say this story was close to perfect.

There is an element to it that is very real and yet surreal at the same time. When the story concludes and the patient has abandoned his doctor rather than the other way around, there is a sense of sadness and loss that only makes sense in context of this one relationship.

I really don't know what to make of it at this point because those parenthetical phrases really stopped me from the full enjoyment I might have otherwise had with this story. Even so, I'd recommend for someone to check this out. This type of story is on the verge of Poe. I don't take that lightly.

A link to the story online is here:

http://www.untowardmag.com/2012/06/ghastly-dislocation/

Week Twenty-Nine Short Story Selections

Day One Hundred Ninety-Seven: "Ghastly Dislocation" by James Lewelling
Day One Hundred Ninety-Eight: "Respect" by Mary Gaitskill
Day One Hundred Ninety-Nine: "I'm Working on my Charm" by Dorothy Allison
Day Two Hundred: "Oasis" by Miles Klee
Day Two Hundred-One: "Cloud" by Andrew Sullivan
Day Two Hundred-Two: "The Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams
Day Two Hundred-Three:"The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty

Day One Hundred Ninety-Six: "The Boy with No Face" by Michael Depp

Deals.

If it's too good to be true, it probably is. That saying is perfect for this story in which family after family moves into this cheap house on an island which is apparently haunted by the image of a boy with no face.

There is an element of supernatural about this story that I actually enjoyed. While perhaps a tad gory, this story felt more like Poe than it did like a true horror story. Overall, I thought it was well written and worth my time. I actually wanted to read more but this was a short short and so it ended too soon for me. That is a good sign about the writing.


A link to the story online is here:

http://www.untowardmag.com/2012/07/the-boy-with-no-face/

Day One Hundred Ninety-Two: "Li Ling" by Atsushi Nakajima

A link to the story online is here:

http://www.apublicspace.org/back_issues/issue_8/li_ling.html

Day One Hundred Ninety-Four: "Boyfriend" by Junot Diaz

Day One Hundred Ninety-Three: "A Disturbance in the Herd Affects the Flock" by Matthew Jakubowski

Enduring.

Love in any form. This story was beyond bizarre. A man, in order to hunt, divides into may smaller men. His wife changes into fire to warm their home and cook their foods. The symbolism in this piece was obvious and yet it didn't detract from the story in my opinion. If anything, the characters seemed real. Their situation, the struggle to survive in a world where they are different, is very real and easy for readers to relate to.

I'm not sure still how I "feel" about this approach to a common theme in literature but, I won't soon forget this one. A link to the story online is here:

http://necessaryfiction.com/stories/MatthewJakubowskiADisturbanceintheHerdAffectstheFlock

Day One Hundred Ninety-One: "I Bought Twelve Pair of Socks at a Swap Meet in Tuscon" by Michael Frissore

Absurd.

This story was NOT what I expected and I'm sad to say, ultimately, it didn't work for me. It may be a taste thing but this was just too over the top for me. Two guys are sort of minor outlaws and are on the run out on the road when one guy gets mauled by coyotes and the friend simply regroups in a Jack-in-the-Box restaurant and then approaches a swap meet and talks to a girl where she is selling WWII memorabilia when he spots a T-rex charging at him.

Now, maybe this is a story trenched in some sort of symbolism that I'm not seeing. Or, maybe this narrator is high on drugs when telling the story. Regardless of the explanation if there even is one, I just couldn't get into it and that is pretty bad considering how short the piece was.

For anyone who wants to read it and challenge my review, please do so. The link to the story online is here:

http://www.untowardmag.com/2012/07/i-bought-twelve-pairs-of-socks-at-a-swap-meet-in-tucson/

Day One Hundred Ninety: "Another Life" by Paul La Farge

Perspective.

A frustrated writer sits at a bar after abandoning a family party where his wife, the pediatrician, is contentedly spending her time without him. The reader gets to watch this man interact with a young attractive bartender and it, for me, provided a realistic look at a very specific kind of loneliness that can exist in an "unequal" marriage, at least one that is perceived to be unequal by one or both of the parties to it.

The girl though has her own story. By story's end, after the bartender and the despaired man have hasty sex in a bathroom stall, the reader sees into the mind of this young girl and the story comes full circle. Loneliness has many faces. It's all a matter of perspective after all.

This was a really well written story too...I enjoyed it and would read more by this author. A link to the online story is here:

http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/07/02/120702fi_fiction_lafarge?currentPage=all

Week Twenty-Eight Short Story Selections

Day One Hundred Ninety: "Another Life" by Paul La Farge
Day One Hundred Ninety-One: "I Bought Twelve Pair of Socks at a Swap Meet in Tuscon" by Michael Frissore
Day One Hundred Ninety-Two: "Li Ling" by Atsushi Nakajima
Day One Hundred Ninety-Three: "A Disturbance in the Herd Affects the Flock" by Matthew Jakubowski
Day One Hundred Ninety-Four: "Boyfriend" by Junot Diaz
Day One Hundred Ninety-Five: "An Ex-Mas Feast" by Uwem Akpan
Day One Hundred Ninety-Six: "The Boy with No Face" by Michael Depp

Day One Hundred Eighty-Four: "The Non-Opening Window" by Simon Barker

Recoil.

A man shows up for a date with a woman he met through a match-making site only to realize that she thinks her dead husband has returned to her in the form of their family dog, "Monty". The man is warned by the woman's daughter about this strange fixation that her mother has and the reader even sees the mom doting on this dog in an unusual way. Yet, by story's end when the man bails out of the window of one of the bedrooms, whether his concern is legitimate or rather a fear placed there intentionally by the woman's daughter.

I thought this was a very clever story that could warrant another reading for sure. It was heavy in dialogue and it kept me intrigued from start to finish. Well done.

A link to the story online is here:

http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-non-opening-window-by-simon-barker/

Day One Hundred Eighty-Five: "Souls at Zero" by E.W. Boget

Brotherhood.

A man recounts his love for his brother, the nights they spent listening to music together, living life...and then how that tie was broken when the man walks in on his brother in bed with his girlfriend. The man questions himself, why he didn't see it coming and he also questions his ultimate decision to forgive his brother.

A punch to the face. His brother taking it like a man. That was all it took. Somehow, I don't think life is that easy even though this story certainly makes it seem that way.

This was a short short but it was very well written. I'd be interested in reading more by this writer.

A link to the story online is here:

http://www.everydayfiction.com/souls-at-zero-by-e-w-boget/

Day One Hundred Eighty-Three: "My Aunt Gold Teeth" by V.S. Naipaul

Conviction.

A LARGE Hindu woman so proud of her husband that she has her teeth pulled and replaced with gold ones, dabbles with Christianity to the point that she is convinced her husband has fallen ill because of her betrayal. She had been praying to conceive a child and had resorted to rosaries, prayers to Jesus, the kinds of things that her husband would shun.

She finally confesses to her husband and soon after he dies. Nothing changes for her but she sticks to Christianity and in her death, she is none the better. She is barren and the prayers all seem to, by the author, be something that can simply be chalked up to superstition.

This was an interesting read and makes me curious to read more by this well known author.

Week Twenty-Seven Short Story Selections

Day One Hundred Eighty-Three: "My Aunt Gold Teeth" by V.S. Naipaul
Day One Hundred Eighty-Four: "The Non-Opening Window" by Simon Barker
Day One Hundred Eighty-Five: "Souls at Zero" by E.W. Boget
Day One Hundred Eighty-Six: "Raw Water" by Wells Tower
Day One Hundred Eighty-Seven: "Going for a Beer" by Robert Coover
Day One Hundred Eighty-Eight:
Day One Hundred Eighty-Nine: