Short stories might not be as popular as long novels, one of the arguments being that there’s not much room for character development and thus you are never very invested in them. But for me, stories don’t always need a clear beginning, middle, and an end. Sometimes it can be just a chapter in someone’s life or talk about a particularly difficult or humorous situation. And it’s quite fun to let these little nuggets occupy your mind, especially during stressful times like these. Here I recommend three of my favorite short story collections if you want to dip into this wonderful world.
Revenge is more of a Japanese literary short novel, with its stories interconnecting in overt and covert ways that remind you of Haruki Murakami. I could read Revenge by Yoko Ogawa a hundred times over and still not be bored. The book was initially published in 1998 but its popularity soared after its English edition came out. Translated by Stephen Snyder, the 11 dark tales in Revenge are macabre at their best.
The writing is simple yet gripping and the stories are eerily good. There’s a story where a woman buys strawberry cake for her son on her birthday, but he’s been dead for years. In another, the neighbor of a struggling novelist discovers a carrot in the shape of a human hand before her ex-husband’s handless body turns up in the same garden. Then there’s a bag maker who designs intricate bags for a woman whose heart is outside her chest. Revenge is full of these odd characters that send a chill down your spine.
The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I love the way Adichie writes. There’s something very raw and real about the emotions of her characters. I really enjoyed ‘Purple Hibiscus’, which was longlisted for the 2004 Man Booker Prize, and ‘We Should All Be Feminists’ and ‘Americanah’. But it is her short story collection, ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’, that is my all-time Adichie favorite.
A collection of 12 short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck focuses mainly on the lives and experiences of Nigerian women caught up in political or religious violence. Only one story has a male narrator.
In ‘The American Embassy’, a woman applies for asylum but can’t bring herself to talk about her son’s murder during the visa process. In ‘Tomorrow Is Too Far’, a woman reveals the secrets behind her brother’s death. Then there’s ‘On Monday of Last Week’ where a university educated Nigerian woman is forced to work as a house help in America to make ends meet.
These brilliant stories of women coping with change, loneliness and longing, and learning to survive the odds, are about what binds us as friends, lovers, and families. They are also, in trademark Adichie style, heavy with social and political comments that make you think.
‘The Awakening and Other Stories’ by Kate Chopin
Kate Chopin was one of the very few 19th century American writers whose work explored new and startling territory. The Awakening caused much outrage and then went out of print for decades when it was first published in 1899.
Edna Pontellier is on holiday with her husband and two young children when she is pursued by the charming and unmarried Robert Lebrun. It leads to an affair that has Edna wanting to break away from her passionless marriage.
The story about a woman defying societal norms is among the boldest and earliest works of feminist fiction and regarded as a proto-feminist masterpiece today. Laced with humor but ultimately heartbreaking, Chopin’s transformative stories that emphasize women’s roles in society were all ahead of their times, but raise vital questions and concerns even today.
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