Get Your Shorts in a Bunch discussion

Everyone has his or her own criteria for what makes a short story good or bad. For me, it's that twist that some authors put at the end of a story. The more original and surprising the twist, the better. The stories that fit that criterion for me are, "Thus I Refute Beelzy" by John Collier, "The Open Window" by Saki, and "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor. Can't think of any really bad ones right now, but that may be because I tend to put those out of my mind.

Two that have continually haunted me through the years have been "The Willows" by Ambrose Bierce and "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. I read both several times over as a teen and would willingly read them again if the occasion arose.

I'm sure I've read some stories I don't care for, but as a result, they merely escape my memory.

My absolute favorite short story is Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain." I love its structure, the humor in the first part, and the fact that the ending moves me every time (even after having read and re-read it and taught it multiple times).

Other favorites include Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" (echoing earlier posts), Kij Johnson's "Ponies," Robert Silverberg's "Sundance," Michael Swanwick's "Triceratops Summer," and Ken Liu's "Mono No Aware."

L.F. wrote: "Two that have continually haunted me through the years have been "The Willows" by Ambrose Bierce and "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. I read both several times over as a teen and would willingly ..."

"To Build a Fire"! I can remember reading that during class in high school and you could tell when every student got done because there was a "Whew!" or a "Shit!" or whatever. Powerful stuff.

Other favorites from over the years. And I can only think of favorites, I'm having a hard time recollecting short stories I didn't like.

"Ylla"
"The Third Expedition"
"...And the Moon Be Still as Bright"
"The Sound of Thunder"
"The Small Assassin"
"Fever Dream"
"Zero Hour"
"Rocket Man"
"Chrysalis"
"Pillars of Fire"
"Kaleidoscope"

...all by Ray Bradbury. Badass. "Ylla" and "Rocket Man" in particular, changed my life. I'm not even sure why.

"Crouch End"
"Survivor Type"
"I Am the Doorway"

Stephen King. There are a bunch of his that I love that I don't hold in the same regard as these, but I love King in the short form. Crouch End scared the pants off me.


"The Monkey's Paw" W.W. Jacobs. Wow, really, wow. This is the only thing of his I've ever read or even heard of. And if I was only known for one thing, and it was this short story, that would be okay.

"I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream"
"All the Sounds of Fear"
"The Whimper of Whipped Dogs"

Harlan Ellison

"In the Hills, the Cities"
"The Body Politic"

Clive Barker is freaking insane. "In the Hills, the Cities" to me, is what great art is all about. I find it deeply unsettling, nightmarish and I can't -- quite -- put -- my finger on why. I only have two listed here but I was shocked by how good he was.

"Something Nice"
"Trying to Be"

Mary Gaitskill

"The Roaches" Thomas M. Disch WILD!

Twists at the end are good but I just love the emotional and concentrated punch that a really good short story has. I'm sure I'm going to think of a bunch more that I forgot but I probably should forget them since I've already made way too long a list. But I like making lists of things I like, it's true!

Speaking of some that I forgot:

"Ringing the Changes" Robert Aickman

POE! Freaking Poe! How could I forget Poe???

"The Black Cat" (my favorite Poe)
"Hop Frog"
"The Tell-Tale Heart"

"The Whistling Room" William Hope Hodgson

Okay, okay, I'm done!

I have loved many of the stories already mentioned, but others deserve a plug: "Sunrise on the Veldt" by Doris Lessing; "Harrison Bergeron" by Vonnegut; "the Landlady" by Roald Dahl "Big Two Hearted River" by Hemingway and "A Rose for Emily" by Faulkner. Most recently I enjoyed the stories in "Revenge" by Yoko Ogawa (can't italicize on my phone)

The Reach by King is really one of my top ten favorite stories of all time I'd say.

For Hemingway, "The Short Happy life of Francis MacComber" is a very fine work.

My all time favorite short story is a Ray Bradbury story called "All Summer In A Day". Oh man, such goodness in such a small package. I remember reading it in 6th grade, which was *cough cough* 20 years agoish... and it's stuck with me ever since.

I'm super excited to read some of the stories listed here that I haven't heard of. :D

Becky wrote: "My all time favorite short story is a Ray Bradbury story called "All Summer In A Day". Oh man, such goodness in such a small package. I remember reading it in 6th grade, which was *cough cough* 20 ..."

I just looked up that story the other day because of this thread. I can't remember if I read it in school but I definitely read it around the same age and it was absolutely painful.

I'm wholeheartedly agreeing with all the "A Good Man is Hard to Find" posts, and also with the mention of "The Monkey's Paw" by WW Jacobs. Haven't read the latter in a very long time, so I might reread it today!

As for what I like in short stories, the twisted endings are always nice, but I just love how focused shorter fiction is. It makes it pack more into a shorter space, I just love it.

For my favourites, I'd definitely say "Janus" by Ann Beattie, which is incredible. And also "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver.

L.F. wrote: "Two that have continually haunted me through the years have been "The Willows" by Ambrose Bierce and "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. I read both several times over as a teen and would willingly ..."

Both are excellent. "To Build a Fire" is one my top ten favorites of all time.

I'm afraid I could never get into Carver's stories. I read those collected in Cathedral and they remain some of my least favorite stories of all time. Don't know why, but he does not resonate with me.

Dan wrote: "Everyone has his or her own criteria for what makes a short story good or bad. For me, it's that twist that some authors put at the end of a story. The more original and surprising the twist, the b..."

The Open Window was a masterpiece. Have you ever read two bottles of relish?

I don't know about "worst" - probably one of my own.

As for best short story, I have to give my nod to "Travels with My Cats" by Mike Resnick (Best Short Story Hugo Award in 2005; nominated in 2004 for the Nebula Award).

Best short stories? Not an easy one to answer but two immediately spring to mind, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson and "The ones who walk away from Omelas" by Ursula le Guin

Does anyone remember, a long time ago, there was a new line of books called Abyss. They were horror. I don't think they were around very long. But they put out an anthology of short stories called Metahorror (ah! There it is!). Inside that collection was a story called

"Briar Rose"

by a woman named Kim Antieau. Strangely, it's the only story I've ever read by her. It was an astonishing, poetic story about memory and abuse and tattoos and ritual. It was and is unlike anything else I've ever read. It was a story only a woman could write. Absolutely breathtaking.

Bobby wrote: "I just looked up that story the other day because of this thread. I can't remember if I read it in school but I definitely read it around the same age and it was absolutely painful."

Painful in a good way, though, right?

Becky wrote: "Bobby wrote: "I just looked up that story the other day because of this thread. I can't remember if I read it in school but I definitely read it around the same age and it was absolutely painful."
..."

Absolutely.

I'm reading Meta Horror now, rather slowly. I remember Briar Rose. Very good.

I don’t know if ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ is my favourite short story- but I will never never forget the first time I read that one. That twist smacked me right in the face.

I can’t get into Borges at all. I wouldn’t ever say his work is bad, but I can’t even get into his short stories. Simply not my cup of tea.

Helena wrote: "I don’t know if ‘A Good Man is Hard to Find’ is my favourite short story- but I will never never forget the first time I read that one. That twist smacked me right in the face."

I read it in her The Collected Stories. I'd just gotten used to the behavior and attitudes of her characters - around the middle of the book - when that twist smacked me. I like that, though. Those are the kind of stories you never forget.

Some of my favorites are "the Machine Stops" EM Forster, "A jury of Her Peers" Susan Glaspell, "The difference a Day Makes" Simon R Green what the heck most of O Henry... Some people just write great stories short or long.

My favorite SF short story collection is The Science Fiction Hall of Fame. Volume 1. Just about every story in there is a classic.

A few favorites:


Odour of Chrysanthemums - DH Lawrence
A Rose for Emily - Faulkner
The Second Bakery Attack - Murakami
Yasunari Kawabata's Palm-of-the-Hand Stories, which might best be described as "micro stories"

Christy wrote: "My absolute favorite short story is Tobias Wolff's "Bullet in the Brain." I love its structure, the humor in the first part, and the fact that the ending moves me every time (even after having read..."
"Bullet in the Brain" is also my favorite--it's one of the few short stories I can read again and again, enjoying it just as much each time. It's "the best they is."

The worst short story is any literary showpiece in which a female grad student recounts her affair with an older professor. It's become a sort of sub-genre within literary fiction, and all of the most respected authors feel compelled to take a crack at it. No matter how well executed, they're predictable and dull because it's been done so many times.

C.D. wrote: "The worst short story is any literary showpiece in which a female grad student recounts her affair with an older professor. It's become a sort of sub-genre within literary fiction, and all of the m..."

I'm rather glad I didn't know this subgenre existed. :)

Charles wrote: "C.D. wrote: "The worst short story is any literary showpiece in which a female grad student recounts her affair with an older professor. It's become a sort of sub-genre within literary fiction, and..."

I'm actually a little curious to read one, now. I never have.

C.D. wrote: "The worst short story is any literary showpiece in which a female grad student recounts her affair with an older professor. It's become a sort of sub-genre within literary fiction, and all of the m..."
Thanks for giving us a at least a group of bad ones. I can't think of one. And I know I've read them, I think that one of the beauties of short stories is that the time commitment stakes are so low, that if you don't like it, a lot of times it just doesn't stick with you and you move on. I know for me, most of the time any short story I read is in a collection of short stories, so after reading one I didn't care for, I just move on to the next one.

Anything by Raymond Carver or Lorrie Moore.

So glad someone brought up Bullet in the Brain - amazing, like everything Tobias Wolff wrote.

I find myself rereading this odd story called "What Happened to me on Holiday" by Martin Amis (in the collection Heavy Water). I also adore another strange little story in the collection Circumnavigation, by Steve Lattimore, called "Answer Me This".

I can't really get into Lorrie Moore, though I need to try her again. I also have difficulty with Joyce Carol Oates, but I admit I have liked her stories better than her novels.

Read Vampires in the Lemon Grove: Stories not too long ago and found these stories very imaginative and memorable. Also love many of Cheevers stories and loved The Mule in the Yard by Faulkner.

Oh man! Tanith Lee had a great book of adapted fairy tales, Red as Blood, or Tales from the Sisters Grimmer that I recommend for everyone.

C.D. wrote: "The worst short story is any literary showpiece in which a female grad student recounts her affair with an older professor. It's become a sort of sub-genre within literary fiction, and all of the m..."

Sounds utterly painful!

I cut my teeth on Agatha Christie shorts, but haven't really read many short stories since my college days. I've just gotten started again and will use many of the faves on this list to round out my education!

if you have not tried George Saunders Tenth of December (2013) anthology yet, try it. I loved Puppy and Victory Lap. They seem dark but then there is always a nugget that makes me smile inside. I also cannot ever forget Flannery O'Connor-A Good Man is hard to Find or Tobias Wolff-Powder.
Worst short stories? I stop when they are obvious, so I let that kind of judgment go.

Oh, and I think Junot Diaz's This is How You Lose Her
counts as a short story anthology--you can read them separately or in order as a complete story. Heartbreaking, intense, sooo clever and style for miles.

L.F. wrote: "Two that have continually haunted me through the years have been "The Willows" by Ambrose Bierce and "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. I read both several times over as a teen and would willingly ..."

I would like correct myself and say (red-faced) that "The Willows" was written by another excellent horror writer, Algernon Blackwood, not Ambrose Bierce. But at least I recalled the correct initials :)

L.F. wrote: "L.F. wrote: "Two that have continually haunted me through the years have been "The Willows" by Ambrose Bierce and "To Build a Fire" by Jack London. I read both several times over as a teen and wou..."

Could be you made the mistake because they were in the same anthology, Tales of Terror: The World's Most Terrifying Stories Presented by a Leading Icon of Fear. And I'll bet there's been a few other times they've appeared together as well.

My favorite short story of all time? O'Henry's "The Gift of the Magi."

However, a list of great (IMHO) short story writers would necessarily have to include T. C. Boyle (living), Erskine Caldwell and Carson McCullers (both dead).

And for novella-length stories, Herman Melville and John Steinbeck.

RRB

Russell wrote: "My favorite short story of all time? O'Henry's "The Gift of the Magi."

However, a list of great (IMHO) short story writers would necessarily have to include T. C. Boyle (living), Erskine Caldwell..."

My favorite literary Novella is The Old Man and the Sea"

Charles wrote: "Russell wrote: "My favorite short story of all time? O'Henry's "The Gift of the Magi."

However, a list of great (IMHO) short story writers would necessarily have to include T. C. Boyle (living), ..."

Huh. I just think of The Old Man and the Sea as a great novel not a great novella but it is pretty short...

Anyone ever read "Novena" by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro? It appeared in a collection called Metahorror? I'm wondering what folks thought of it.

Sorry, never read it.

I bought a book called 'Berlin Tales' which is an eclectic set of stories about Berlin. I used to live there in the early 80s so am embed with its history.

I bought it for a long plane journey to the Frisco.

After a while the anodyne inflight films were more attractive. It is a collection of essays and not stories and most lack narrative - well the ones I read before I gave up more than halfway thru. A lot of navel-gazing stuff by the authors that is all.

Shane is that there are plenty of short stories out there by German authors (or in German) that I'd recommend but this collection needs to be recycled into something more useful.

You know what is a great story that I forgot about? Has anyone read "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl? Great story.

With the cop who cheated? Clever and fun. He deserved it:)

Judith wrote: "With the cop who cheated? Clever and fun. He deserved it:)"

THAT's the one!

It inspired me to cook bigger pieces of meat:)

I've always thought Dracula's Guest was an interesting story, especially since it's written in a different style than Dracula and was supposed to be an extra chapter. Also MS In A Bottle by Edgar Allan Poe; Rappuccini's Daughter and The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Another great one that falls under the radar is The Door In The Wall by H.G. Wells.