So many short stories, so little time! Check out any of these gems for some incredible reading. Questions? Ask Mary at mary.havens@austincc.edu!
These short stories were contenders for this Book Club but did not make the cut. Check them out, let me know what you think.
"Acceptance Journey" by Mary Gaitskill from New Yorker via Academic Search Complete, 9 pages, published 12/24/2008. Woman's midlife crisis as she tries to accept herself and her place in the world.
"Before Snow Comes" by Alan Sillitoe from Prairie Schooner via JSTOR, 20 pages, published Spring 1974. Man is stalled in life until he meets a new lover who doesn't think she's good enough for him.
"Cat Person" by Kristen Roupenian from the New Yorker via Academic Search Complete, 8 pages, published 12/1/2017. Woman navigates the complex world of new relationships.
"The Contest" by Annie Proulx from Virginia Quarterly Review via JSTOR, 10 pages, published Fall 2004. A contest to grow the longest beard is abruptly ended when a stranger comes to town.
"Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry from Saturday Evening Post via Academic Search Complete, 3 pages, published December 1979. Good, but dated, example of irony.
"An Honest Woman" by Ottessa Moshfegh from New Yorker via Academic Search Complete, 8 pages, published 10/24/2016. Details a lonely old man's attempted seduction of a new young neighbor woman who's boyfriend had just left her.
"Ice Man" by Elmore Leonard from Atlantic via Academic Search Complete, 3 pages, published Jul/Aug 2012. Written very much in slang depicting an ICE incident between Native Americans.
"King of the Hill" by Nana Adjei-Brenyeh from Ploughshares via Academic Search Complete, 11 pages, published Summer 2021. Freaking loved this short story of vanquishing all the world's inequities in a video game.
"My Brother" by Jamaica Kincaid from Transition via JSTOR, 31 pages, published 1996. Details the relationship between Kincaid and her brother who was dying of AIDS.
"Sorry Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" by Helen Oyeyemi from Plougshares via Academic Search Complete, 23 pages, published June 1, 2015. A very timely piece that chronicles a lot of what is occurring today: superstar does bad, fakes apology but gets his comeuppance from a fan.
"Story" by Toni Cade Bambara from Callaloo via JSTOR, 6 pages, published October 1979. Man and woman ride a horse and ponder the sexual nature of each other.
"Who Will Greet You at Home?" by Lesley Nneka Arimah from New Yorker via Academic Search Complete, 7 pages, published 10/26/2015. Horror short story about a girl creating babies from found objects.
"Without Inspection" by Edwidge Danticat from New Yorker via Academic Search Complete, 7 pages, published 5/14/2018. Haitian immigrant struggling to find life in the U.S reflects upon his life while he dies.
I've read all of these collections. If you want to find masters of the short story, look no further!
