Category: short story

We know the Larsons. They come to Slocum Lake each summer. We would like them to stop, but they do not stop. So opens "Last Cottage" by Christopher Merkner, a chilling short story that takes place at a mid-Western lake. The Larsons are out-of-towners who arrive every summer. They are also the owners of the last privately owned land on the lake. The locals hate them, believe that they are standing int he way of the towns' economic development. They go to extreme measures to get the Larsons to leave. The first thing that grabbed my attention is that it's told in the first person plural. It's creepy and at the same time forces us to see things from the townspeople's viewpoint. And they do see everything, hiding in the bushes to watch the Larsons, see the reactions. And they justify everything they do. They really see it as reasonable, which is the disturbing part. "We" are crazy, but make it sound...

"Chin Yong-Yun Takes a Case" by S. J. Rozan is a light mystery. Yong-Yun's daughter is a Chinese American private investigator, Lydia Chin, Rozan's series detective, but in this short story it is Yong-Yun who offers her help. Tan Li-Li plays mahjong with Yong-Yun and her friends, but when she calls for Lydia's help, Lydia's not home. Li-Li's grandson has been kidnapped and Li-Li's son only has two hours before he needs to turn over the code for software his firm has developed as ransom, effectively destroying his career. Yong-Yun accepts the case, implying that she works closer with Lydia than she does. I liked how Yong-Yun followed the clues, and dealt with the whole situation wisely. She's a bright woman. I enjoyed reading her thoughts, not just on the case but on her daughter's profession, asking the computer about people "as though it were a temple fortuneteller," marriage which "if handled badly, can be a source of distress," and her...

In her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2011, Brooks states, "I have always though of literature as a physical matter. A great piece of writing is the one you feel on your skin. It has to do something: Make the heart beat harder of the hairs stand up. Provoke laughter or tears." And when the author can do that in less than 30 pages, I am amazed. This anthology contains a varied selection of topics and authors. Some of the writer are relative new-comers, others well-known Pulitzer Prize winners. There are stories about parent-child relationships and about small towns, even a foray into a futuristic prison. I've already looked in detail at a few of the stories: “Ceiling” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie “Housewifely Arts” by Megan Mayhew Bergman  “A Bridge Under Water” by Tom Bissell I'm sure some people will like some of the stories better than others, as with any collection. Overall, though, it's a collection worth reading. There are several stories to savor, like "The...

Photo credit: BBC News In "Map of the City" the narrator is in some ways a typical Midwestern college-age girl. She's trying to find her place, fit in, navigate relationships with men, learning how to become her own, independent person, but Laken adds the complexity of Moscow in 1991 to the mix. The young woman is a foreign exchange student, just when the Soviet Union is collapsing. We get an inside view of the riots and the economic hardships, but the narrator is still separate. It's not her country, not her language, no matter how hard she tries to fit in. I liked how Laken let us see the woman's relationships honestly. She's not in love with the men in her life, but she enjoys their company. The writing is wonderful, descriptive and authentic, seeing a truly historical time through the lens of one woman's experience. "Map of the City" is included in Separate Kingdoms by Valerie Laken, which you can purchase on...