Short stories are a curious slice of the fiction writer’s art. The best ones are like gems, perfect little crystals that need nothing else to shine. It can be a challenge to tell a complete story in such condensed form—while I’m more comfortable with the expansive, relaxed pacing of a novel, I’ve written a few short stories myself. In fact, I teamed up with another member of Bumbershoots, Marlon S. Hayes, on a collaborative collection called Gauntlets & Conches that was just released this month and which you definitely need to read.
I thought it’d be fun to give you a few suggestions for some truly wonderful short stories I’ve come across. This is hardly an exhaustive list, but hits on a few I’ve enjoyed. No spoilers—just a bit of a hook for each one that will (I hope) spur you to track them down and read them.
“The Mirror” by Haruki Murakami. Murakami is a phenomenal writer who presents us with surreal landscapes described in such ordinary ways that we believe him utterly. In this story, some friends gather for a party, and someone notes that the host’s apartment has no mirrors. The reason why is a sucker punch I still don’t think I’ve recovered from.
“Sonata for Harp and Bicycle” by Joan Aiken. A haunted office building, a curse, and a doomed love affair add up to one of the sweetest stories you’ll ever read.
“Laura” by Saki. Saki is a master of humorous short fiction, and in my opinion “Laura” is his best one ever. An odd woman convinces her best friend she’s going to be reincarnated as an otter—and that’s just the beginning of the hilarity.
“Troll Bridge” by Neil Gaiman. In this wonderful, poignant twist on the old “there’s a troll living under the bridge” myth, a little boy finds out that facing his fear has an unexpected consequence.
“Afterward” by Edith Wharton. If this story doesn’t scare the absolute hell out of you, you’re made of stone. A tale of a… retroactive haunting?
“Why I Live at the Post Office” by Eudora Welty. Having grown up in the Deep South, I have a deep affinity for Welty’s stories, which flawlessly capture the spirit of the southern United States—both the good and the bad. This short story is doubly hilarious because if you’ve lived in the South, you’ve known people like the loopy characters she’s dreamed up here.
“The Dunwich Horror” by H. P. Lovecraft. One of the best of his admittedly uneven fiction, this story defines the word “atmospheric” and has a jaw-dropping climax that when I first read it, about age fifteen, I totally didn’t see coming.
“Prince Meerzat Istvan and the Horse of Dust and Thunder” by Richard Adams. Like “Troll Bridge,” this story has a basis in folk legends—in this case, about a vain young man who tries to cheat death. You’ll be thinking about the bittersweet ending for a very long time.
“Details” by China Miéville. A weird old woman lives shut up in a room that’s painted white, with flat white ceilings and white walls, and is terrified of seeing anything with a discernible pattern. The reason why will freeze you to the marrow.
“An Interlude for Spirits” by Gerald Durrell. Part of a fictionalized account of the famous zoologist’s childhood on the island of Corfu, this story describes his gullible sister Margo’s falling for the schtick of a “psychic medium” named Mrs. Haddock. The combined efforts of their long-suffering mother Louisa, loony Aunt Fan, and neurotic Cousin Prue to extricate Margo make for one of the flat-out funniest things I’ve ever read.
So those are a few of my favorites. What are yours?
