eight beloved brief narratives, captivating readers globally
As literature aficionados, we've devoured a mountain of short stories for days on end. You might recall the chills that ran down your spine around the 8th grade, thanks to tales like "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, "Cannibalism in the Cars" by Mark Twain, or "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson. What's up with these classics being so dark?
Well, we continued our literary journey for another 18 years, snagging a plethora of tales from every genre under the sun. While we're taught early on that short stories pack a punch and can change lives, many people tend to neglect them as they grow older. You stop getting handed them by teachers, and fewer short story collections hit the shelves compared to other genres. They often miss the book club cut, too. Chances are, you only see them if you're deep in a literary scene.
But brace yourselves, folks! Short stories are brilliant, and here's why we added reading one (at least one!) to our 2025 Carterhaugh School Summer Reading Challenge. We've already suggested Cat Valente's "The Lily and the Horn," "Seasons of Glass and Iron" by Amal El-Mohtar, and "Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather" by Sarah Pinsker, but here are four more from each of us that have left a lasting impression (and can be read online for free!). We've each picked two contemporary and two classic ones:
Brittany's Picks:
"For He Can Creep" by Siobhan Carroll - I can't find the words to express how much I adore this story. Carroll crafts an entire tale around Jeoffry, the cat from Christopher Smart's 1763 poem "For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry." His cat-like voice in the narrative will have you grinning from ear to ear! As if that's not enough, Jeoffry and his kitty pals confront the Devil trying to steal Smart's soul! Feline-loving folk unite!
Interesting fact: This story recently made it to the small screen as part of the Netflix series Love, Death, and Robots! It's not quite as magical as the short story, but it's pretty fabulous. Tamsyn Muir, author of Gideon the Ninth, wrote the screenplay!
"The Witch of Duva" by Leigh Bardugo - "The Witch of Duva" by the remarkable Leigh Bardugo is another example of her exceptional storytelling skills. Drawing on "Hansel and Gretel," Bardugo flips the script and leads readers on a captivating journey. The twist is stunning, while the story echoes costly witchcraft, enchanting fairy-tale reworkings, and solidarity vibes against the patriarchy.
"Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin - For my first classic story, I want to share "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin. It's a powerful piece, focusing on the bond between two Black brothers, the unnamed narrator and Sonny, who grapples with addiction and is a gifted musician. The story explores themes like music, injustice, forgiveness, and pain. It captures profound insights and beautiful descriptions of art. It moves me deeply – just thinking about certain paragraphs makes me emotional.
"The Dead" by James Joyce - For my final classic tale, I'm selecting Joyce's "The Dead." This love story, ghost story, and contemplation on knowing those we love sneakily found its way into my heart during high school, shaping my decision to pursue a PhD in literature. It's one of the most beautiful and powerful stories I've ever read. My heart flutters whenever I think about snow falling...
"Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was falling everywhere in Ireland. It softened all the city's cruelties and made slushy the mud piles in the streets. It covered the hovels in the poor districts and hid them from view. It covered the parks and gave the garden seats there a decoration fit for a king. It made the streets clear and the footpaths bald, and it seemed as if the sunlight had asked the earth a way to reach the heart of every person, and had found the way was snow."
Sara's Picks:
"The Mad Scientist's Daughter" by Theodora Goss - This story is packed with reasons to love it! Goss pens a feminist retelling of the greatest science-fiction hits of the 19th century. The main characters are all offspring of those pesky mad scientists from Frankenstein, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and more. They're all bizarre and powerful, wrestling with complex emotions.
Did you know this tale sprang from Goss' Ph.D. research? It was also the foundation for her first novel...and her first trilogy! It shows the interconnectedness of literature and creativity, flows between scholarship and fiction, and is just downright cool.
"Shimmering, Warm, and Bright" by Shveta Thakrar - Initially, I debated between this one and "Krishna Blue" (a vampire who loves painting and gobbles up COLORS! It's bone-chilling amazing! I love it!) but ultimately went with "Shimmering, Warm, and Bright" because it's so compassionate and beautiful. The tale sensitively depicts depression, skirting the toxic notion that suffering is a prerequisite for creating art. Regarding art and misery, may I remind you: it's harder to create art when you're feeling horrendous!
"The Machine Stops" by EM Forster - Forster conjured up this creepy nightmare in 1909, but it feels strangely modern. The story follows a utopian society where humans no longer live on the surface of the planet, instead residing in isolation underground in standardized rooms. They communicate through technology that feels eerily close to instant messaging and the internet, only they rarely meet in person. It's downright bizarre that Forster wrote this masterpiece over 100 years ago.
"The Lady of the House of Love" by Angela Carter - Last but not least, I pick "The Lady of the House of Love" by Angela Carter. She takes Sleeping Beauty to new heights in this dark, Gothic retelling:
"Wearing an antique bridal gown, the beautiful queen of the vampires sits all alone in her dark, high house under the eyes of the portraits of her demented and atrocious ancestors, each one of whom, through her, projects a malevolent posthumous existence; she counts out the Tarot cards, ceaselessly construing a constellation of possibilities as if the random fall of the cards on the red plush tablecloth before her could precipitate her from her chill, shuttered room into a country of perpetual summer and obliterate the perennial sadness of a girl who is both death and the maiden."
There you have it! What's your all-time favorite short story? Which tale has left the most lasting impression on you? Did a specific story from middle school give you nightmares for years after? Fill us in, and we'll catch you on the flip side!
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- Engaging in personal growth and education, we discovered an appreciation for the fashion-and-beauty genre, exploring works such as "The Mad Scientist's Daughter" by Theodora Goss and "Shimmering, Warm, and Bright" by Shveta Thakrar.
- In pursuit of self-development, we delved into books like "The Dead" by James Joyce and "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, uncovering insights about family bonds, injustice, and art that have truly resonated.
- For entertainment and relaxation, we sometimes indulge in captivating short stories like "There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury, a chilling tale that took us back to our middle school days.
