The short story has been ‘unfashionable’ for a long time now, but why? Sherlock Holmes is a series of short stories and we all know how popular that franchise is. Raymond Carver is one of the 21st Century’s most talented authors and his short stories are mind-blowingly good. I’m sure I’m not the only one that hears the excuse ‘I don’t have time to read’ a lot, but what good is that when one of the most famous short stories in the world is one sentence long? In the last few years though, there has been a change in what you can find on bookshelves in Waterstones. Big names are releasing little stories. Raymond Carver is a name known by more than the typical English student.
To discover the revival of the short story and why it’s such a good thing, here’s some books with which you should invest some time.
Smoke and Mirrors, Neil Gaiman.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Coraline, The Sandman and Stardust might. Gaiman is one of my favourite authors and this collection of short stories and poems is one of his greatest works. It contains short stories with powerful messages behind them, and ones with absolutely no purpose except to make you smile. If you think Neil Gaiman only writes for children or young adults, read Neverwhere or American Gods and you’ll see just how incredibly wrong you are.
Sudden Fiction International: Sixty Short-Short Stories
You can find this one in the library. It’s got stories from the U.S. to Uganda. The way the style of writing varies depending on the country the authors are from is incredible. Also, the first story in the selection still freaks me out (in a good way).
Ernest Hemmingway’s Short Story
‘For sale, Baby shoes, Never worn’
If you’ve never read a short story before, there’s your first. Hemmingway captures so much in six words. In fact, I think this is more moving than his novel ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’, and that’s 444 pages long. The style is called flash fiction. Some authors say flash fiction should be no more than 53 words long, but that’s pretty extreme. Here’s a site where you can find more
Basically, if you don’t read short stories, you should. It’s a brilliant way to get back into reading which, if you read my last article, is pretty important. Also if you think books are too expensive (I do too!) check out this site http://www.worldofbooks.com/ – it has free UK delivery!
Edited by India Jayne-Trainor