Title: Small Fry
Date Read: 19 December 2008
Word Count: 1308
Briefly: Watching the dignified citizens heading out for the Easter celebrations, lowly petty clerk Nevyrazimov bemoans his lot to his friend Paramon who is also on duty. As Nevyrazimov’s words of woe continue his depression deepens, as thoughts of promotion seem wholly improbable.
Afterthoughts: I quite enjoyed [...]
I stumbled across an interesting find earlier today, via the World Literature Forum, which may be of possible interest to anyone who’s looking for more short stories to read, especially those taking part in my 100 Shots of Short reading challenge. Organised by the Visegrad Group (or V4, a Central European alliance comprised of the [...]
Title: The Marshal’s Widow
Date Read: 25 November 2008
Word Count: 1518
Briefly: On the anniversary of his death, the widow of Trifon Lvovitch hosts a remembrance service in his name. His former friends and colleagues are gathered and are treated to a sumptuous banquet, which perhaps reveals an ulterior motive for attendance. One thing is amiss [...]
Title: Oysters
Date Read: 17 November 2008
Word Count: 1494
Briefly: Starving on the streets of Moscow a father and a son are in search of food. They stop outside a three-storey restaurant where the son, aged eight and a half, spots a word he does not recognise - ‘oysters’. He father informs him it is a [...]
Title: In The Graveyard
Date Read: 17 November 2008
Word Count: 890
Briefly: A small group are gathered in a muddy graveyard in the rain discussing the persons interred, when a shabby man appears, asking where the grave of Mushkin is. Obliging the man, the group ask about his connection with the deceased actor.
Afterthoughts: A reasonably amusing [...]
Title: Sleep by Haruki Marukami
Date Read: 11 November 2008
Available Online?: YES
Briefly: A Japanese wife, in a loving but routine filled marriage, has a problem with insomnia which evolves into a condition where she feels she needs no sleep at all, and apparently suffers no ill-effects from not doing so. Her dentist husband and her son [...]
Title: A Mother by James Joyce
Date Read: 08 November 2008
Available Online?: YES
Briefly: Mrs. Kearney’s daughter Kathleen has been contracted to perform at a series of concerts given by the Eire Abu Society. Mrs. Kearney emerges as being very protective of her daughter and with the concerts not going quite to plan (one of them is [...]
Title: Minds in Ferment
Date Read: 09 November 2008
Word Count: 1356
Briefly: Treasury clerk Potcheshihin, and Optimov, correspondent of the Son of the Fatherland newspaper, are strolling through the market-place when their attention becomes focused on the whereabouts of a flock of starlings. Appearing to have settled in the garden of Father Prebendary’s house, the pair [...]
Note: This review is a direct copy of one completed for my own 100 Shots of Short challenge
*Title: The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
Date Read: 05 October 2008
Available Online?: YES
Briefly: A dark tale about the murder of an old man.
Afterthoughts: I absolutely loved this short story - Edgar Allen Poe at his best (and [...]
*Title: The Bully of Brocas Court by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Date Read: 30 October 2008
Available Online?: YES
Briefly: Desperate to find a worthy boxing opponent for Farrier-Sergeant Slogger Burton, Yeomanry Captain and Baronet Sir Fred Milburn set off for London. Finding a a suitable pugilist in middleweight champion Alf Stevens, the Baronet and champion boxer head [...]
