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Deck the Halls by Shirley Jackson Short Story Analysis
“Deck the Halls” is a Christmas short story by American author Shirley Jackson which asks readers to challenge what it means to be charitable. Find it in the collection Just An Ordinary Day.
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All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
All Summer in a Day is a short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1954. Find it in Ray Bradbury Stories Vol. 1. It’s interesting to see how science fiction evolves alongside our increased understanding of other planets. “All Summer In A Day” is a story of its time, written in an […]
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U.F.O. In Kushiro by Haruki Murakami Short Story Analysis
“U.F.O. in Kushiro” is a short story written by popular contemporary Japanese author Haruki Murakami. English readers first had access to the story in 2001, when it appeared in an issue of the New Yorker magazine. The story was republished in 2011 after an earthquake and tsunami devastated northern Japan. Safe to say this is considered […]
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Foes by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“Foes” is a short story by American writer Lorrie Moore. The Guardian published it on the eve of the election which would see Obama to the presidency, and can be read in full here. It is also in Bark and in Collected Stories. This is such an American story, so Americans will have a more […]
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The Toys of Peace by Saki Short Story Analysis
“The Toys of Peace” (1919) is a short story by H.H. Munro (a.k.a. Saki) and is out of copyright so can easily be found online. This is the opening short story in a collection called The Toys Of Peace And Other Papers by H.H. Munro (and G.K. Chesterton). This volume was published after Saki’s death. […]
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Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People” is a mother-and-daughter road trip short story by American writer Lorrie Moore. This story was published in The New Yorker in November 1993. Also find it in Birds of America (1999) and The Collected Stories. The title of this story comes from something the mother of this […]
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You’re Ugly, Too by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“You’re Ugly, Too” is a short story by American writer Lorrie Moore, first published in a 1989 edition of The New Yorker — Moore’s first for the New Yorker. Find it also in her short story collection Like Life (1990).
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The Jockey by Carson McCullers Short Story Analysis
American writer Carson McCullers published “The Jockey” in 1941, when she was just 24, which seems young, until you realise she’d published “Sucker” at the age of 17 and a novel at age 22. McCullers belonged to a generation who spent their youth living through world war. Surely that affords a measure of maturity. She […]
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I Live On Your Visits by Dorothy Parker Short Story Analysis
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) is remembered as one of America’s greatest wits. If you watch Gilmore girls, you’ll be familiar with her name, as Rory is depicted reading a 1976 edition of The Portable Dorothy Parker. The creator of Gilmore girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino, was clearly a huge fan, naming her production company Dorothy Parker Drank Here. […]
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How To Write Like William Trevor
William Trevor didn’t like giving interviews. Part of the reason: Interviewers would try to get him to break down his process. But he considered the entire thing a mystery; he could never explain how he wrote. He worried that if he got too “academic” in his approach, he’d no longer be able to write. (He […]
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Dance In America by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“Dance In America” is a short story by Lorrie Moore and can be found in the collection Birds Of America, published in 1998. Find it also in The Collected Short Stories. “Dance In America” first appeared in The New Yorker in 1993. Louise Erdrich reads Lorrie Moores short story “Dance in America” and discusses Moore […]
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Bravado by William Trevor Short Story Analysis
If you think you’re too old to write about contemporary young characters, take your cue from Irish short story master William Trevor, who wrote “Bravado”, about young people and night-clubbing culture, at almost 80 years of age.
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A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury Analysis
“A Sound of Thunder” is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1952. He set this story 100 years into his future, and just 30 years into ours.
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The Veldt by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
The Veldt (1950) is one of the more famous short stories by American author Ray Bradbury. As I’ve seen it described: “The one where the techno wallpaper eats the parents.”
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My Mother’s Dream by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
**UPDATE LATE 2024** After Alice Munro died, we learned about the real ‘open secrets’ (not so open to those of us not in the loop) which dominated the author’s life. We must now find a way to live with the reality that Munro’s work reads very differently after knowing certain decisions she made when faced […]