"It was within us. It was there. [...]
But it slipped away, too fast for telling.”
There is something about a short story that leaves you feeling wistful, yet satisfied at the same time. Their uncertain endings and intriguing questions leave you wondering about the life of the characters as well as your own. New Sudden Fiction, (Short-Short Stories From America and Beyond) is a collection of such stories, each by a different author. Those with short-attention spans who find reading an entire novel tedious, might find the multiple storylines in this book more engaging. Although the sixty stories range drastically in style and tone- some humorous or exciting, others strange or even erotic- they all have the same underlying theme of human emotion and identity.
My favorite story, "The Puppies", strayed a bit from the central theme of the book, but it still explored the meaning of life and love. Written by Dean Paschal, it is about a pair of newly-born puppies and their unexpected deaths. Before their birth they are guided by voices, but once out of the womb they could not “find the trail”, or what I assumed was life. In a way the ending was sad, but the two brothers stayed together, which seemed to be the only thing that mattered to them. What impressed me the most about this particular story was the way Paschal perfectly captured the excited and curious nature of puppies.
While I was reading some of the stories, the deep emotion expressed in them made me wonder if they were completely fictional. Even those stories set in completely fictitious settings still contain intimate messages. “I hate my strong back, my poverty, my taste for alcohol, my love and the despair it brings when the days grow short and the birds abandon us and people smile, smile”, writes Ronald Currie in "Loving the Dead". Currie isn’t the only one who speaks with resentment and regret, other authors also express loss, possibly their own through their piece.
"Feelers", by John Gould, was another of my favorites. This story described the past and future of a couple who was at the time, meeting each other. Somehow the author was able to smoothly transition between the the separate tenses, while at the same time creating a bittersweet tone. Similarly to "The Puppies", and many other of the short stories, this story did not have a perfectly happy ending.
These were not the only outstanding works; all of them had unique elements. Robert Hemley’s "Reply All", was a hilarious series of emails between the members of a poetry committee. "Seven Pieces Of Severance", by Robert O. Butler, was a collection of what he imagines the last words of decapitated people would be. Then there is the peculiar story of a girl’s boyfriend who steps down the evolutionary ladder by transforming first into a gorilla, then into a turtle, and so on. With the variety of genres, anyone can find a tale they can enjoy from this splendid compilation. As Charles Baxter describes it, “it’s a test of a reader’s ability to fly”.
But it slipped away, too fast for telling.”
There is something about a short story that leaves you feeling wistful, yet satisfied at the same time. Their uncertain endings and intriguing questions leave you wondering about the life of the characters as well as your own. New Sudden Fiction, (Short-Short Stories From America and Beyond) is a collection of such stories, each by a different author. Those with short-attention spans who find reading an entire novel tedious, might find the multiple storylines in this book more engaging. Although the sixty stories range drastically in style and tone- some humorous or exciting, others strange or even erotic- they all have the same underlying theme of human emotion and identity.
My favorite story, "The Puppies", strayed a bit from the central theme of the book, but it still explored the meaning of life and love. Written by Dean Paschal, it is about a pair of newly-born puppies and their unexpected deaths. Before their birth they are guided by voices, but once out of the womb they could not “find the trail”, or what I assumed was life. In a way the ending was sad, but the two brothers stayed together, which seemed to be the only thing that mattered to them. What impressed me the most about this particular story was the way Paschal perfectly captured the excited and curious nature of puppies.
While I was reading some of the stories, the deep emotion expressed in them made me wonder if they were completely fictional. Even those stories set in completely fictitious settings still contain intimate messages. “I hate my strong back, my poverty, my taste for alcohol, my love and the despair it brings when the days grow short and the birds abandon us and people smile, smile”, writes Ronald Currie in "Loving the Dead". Currie isn’t the only one who speaks with resentment and regret, other authors also express loss, possibly their own through their piece.
"Feelers", by John Gould, was another of my favorites. This story described the past and future of a couple who was at the time, meeting each other. Somehow the author was able to smoothly transition between the the separate tenses, while at the same time creating a bittersweet tone. Similarly to "The Puppies", and many other of the short stories, this story did not have a perfectly happy ending.
These were not the only outstanding works; all of them had unique elements. Robert Hemley’s "Reply All", was a hilarious series of emails between the members of a poetry committee. "Seven Pieces Of Severance", by Robert O. Butler, was a collection of what he imagines the last words of decapitated people would be. Then there is the peculiar story of a girl’s boyfriend who steps down the evolutionary ladder by transforming first into a gorilla, then into a turtle, and so on. With the variety of genres, anyone can find a tale they can enjoy from this splendid compilation. As Charles Baxter describes it, “it’s a test of a reader’s ability to fly”.