story: “Girls, At Play” author: Celeste Ng year: 2010 where: It is almost 6PM, but it feels like mid-afternoon. note: First-person plural story. One part of this story feels like the scene in Clueless with Cher gives Brittany Murphy a makeover. a line: "Don’t tell anyone if you hate it, if his tongue feels like a dead … Continue reading 400 short stories: story 302
Tag: short story
300 short stories: story 297
story: “Homage for Isaac Babel” author: Doris Lessing year: 1958 where: Al Reem note: This story has such a curious premise and there is virtually no backstory for the characters or their relationships to one another, which makes me think of Hemingway, of course. a line: “Philip rescued her by saying with disdain: 'Some people don't know … Continue reading 300 short stories: story 297
300 short stories: story 287
story: “Thunderstruck” author: Elizabeth McCracken year: 2015 where: Father of the Gazelle note: Novella a line: “Laura was more outgoing, so she had to introduce her brother to friends--but once she had her own children she understood comparison was necessary. It was how you discovered their personalities: the light of one child threw the other child into … Continue reading 300 short stories: story 287
300 short stories: story 268
story: “Contract Overseas” author: Mia Alvar year: 2015 where: Bagdad Theater on Hawthorne Blvd. note: I love brother sister sibling stories. This collection was recommended to me in Aspen. a line: “After the cafés closed, they spilled into the dormitories to prolong such life-and-death debates as whether literature had social duties, as Salvador Lopez believed, or … Continue reading 300 short stories: story 268
300 short stories: story 262
story: “Blame” author: Aimee Bender year: 2019 where: California Zephyr Train note: From the last issue of Tin House a line: “Buy more, said the lady. Rich lady. Come back to Yum-Yum. Eat yum-yum. Clog your arteries. Enjoy life.” theme(s): Miscarriage, class, wealth, blame
samantha Neugebauer 