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Short Story Appreciation Discussion - June 2024 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-06-28 20:04:28
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2026-06
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Dear Book Club Readers ---

Your comments in our last short story appreciation thread made for fascinating reading. So it would be wonderful to hear what short stories you are enjoying alongside your other reading this month.

Our short story appreciation thread is a place to mindfully check in and share what works of short fiction have resonated with us recently.

The best way to appreciate the magic of short stories is to dive into some great ones and start discussing your insights and impressions with others. So let us know:

What short stories are you appreciating at the moment?

Let us know anything that has resonated with you during your short story excursions:

  • Powerful subtext

  • Compelling themes

  • Resonant passages

  • Your favourite writers

  • Beautifully crafted lines

  • Complex character studies

  • Elements you want to examine

  • Stories you want to recommend

  • Reflections, musings, and insights

  • How the stories inform your wider reading

This is the place to put your short story appreciations and get other readers weighing in on your thoughts!

Curated Short Stories:

I have also specially curated three stories for you to enjoy. This is, of course, completely optional. Don't feel like you need to read all three. I recommend sampling the opening lines, or the first few paragraphs, of each one and seeing which one pulls you in. Spend time with the story that most speaks to your heart and make a note of the author you resonates with you.

My aim is to offer you short masterworks that will inform your wider reading and prove to be a delight in and of themselves. I love these works, and believe that being attentive to the themes, characters, and style of writing will prove to be very rewarding.

The short stories I would like to recommend for you are:

I would love to know what you make of the chosen stories. Which one did you focus on? Why did the style or theme resonate with you? If you read a different short story, let us know your thoughts on it. Or tell us about your favourite story.

All short stories can be found in the anthology That Glimpse of Truth, which makes an excellent collection for deepening your appreciation of the short story form.

Thank you so much for sharing your love of great literature with us.

Happy reading, everybody!

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Comments

Kristen Egener Chaddah

I adore Roald Dahl’s Parson’s Pleasure, so well crafted with mounting tension, it also kind of reads like a fable where the wily fox is caught in his own trap. As a child, I accompanied my parents to many antique auction sales and thrilled to hear the auctioneer rattling off the price with his fast moving verbal momentum, upping the price of each item with the mere tip of his head. My mother especially made a study of Ontario antiques and wrote on a piece of paper which she taped underneath our own collection of furniture what each piece was called. My father actually bought a table for a song, i think something like $5, for the pineapple legs. We had that table for years. So, this short story is absolutely delightful to read and recall many of my own memories.

Sean

Just read Alice Munros Runaway using the back catalogue lecture. Very powerful story and I’m at the point with Munro only after TWO stories that I want to slowly read her stuff —- one new story a month — to truly savior it. I love the tone of the stories dark may they be. They really make me think and reflect. Thanks for helping me learn about her!

Jessica

With Table for Two, Towles shares that The Bootlegger starts with an experience he had in real life. It was my favorite story in the collection and knowing he pulled it from his own experience made it better. 29 mins-ish https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wwls19I4OMY

Julie Nevin

Dahl's story, reminded me of Fantastic Mr Fox, another of his creations. The West Anderson animation is fantastic for watching with family, my brood loved it !

Estella

Thanks for the recommended short stories, Ben! I really enjoyed "Parson's Pleasure" - Roald Dahl is an amazing writer. Recently I watched "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" and I imagined the story of "Parson's Pleasure" with a similar type of cinematography which made it fun. "Lord Emsworth and His Girl Friend" was interesting because of the psychological aspect of the protagonist. His struggle to find his own independence apart from his sister and the societal expectations they live in was fascinating. "The Loaded Dog" was a funny and an enjoyable read! I was going through my copy of The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction and read "Ghost and Flesh, Water and Dirt" by William Goyen. I hadn't read this story before and I was pleasantly surprised. Goyen, I learned, went mad after he wrote this particular story. It has to do with the topic of loss, and moving forward after a loss,...and all of the complexities that go with that. I also learned that he was married to American actress, Doris Roberts. Taking the time to read short stories in between our larger works has been a really great experience for me. Adding other readings opens up the possibility of finding connections to the larger works as well; especially when it comes to reading about the human condition. So much fun!

Linda Hall

While I enjoyed all three short stories, the Wodehouse is tops for me. The humor, the human connection, complicated relationships, introspection and getting the courage to take a stand…it checked all the boxes for me. I’m going to check out the screen adaptation this evening. As a happy accident, I read the story on the facing page (254 in Glimpse), “A Little Ramble.” At less than one page in total length, it caught my attention. Well worth the short read.

David

Out of the 3 short stories, parsons Pleasure was my favorite, an interesting plot that made me smile. It made me think that whatever you do in life to thrive cannot be done by deceiving other people…..the rule of karma always seems to win the day. The Loaded Dog was similarly creative and a fun story to read. My least favorite was Lord Emsworth and Girl Friend. I listened to it on audiobook (45 hours worth of The Blandings Collection Volume 2 are available on Audible for 1 credit). Although I generally love anything narrated by Stephen Fry I did find that there were too many fluffy, flowery superfluous adjectives used in Wodehouses writing throughout the story that turned me off somewhat. I also read Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire. Very good character development and strong, emotional scenes towards the end that resulted in a powerful, thought provoking ending

Anna

I just got done reading “White Nights” by Dostoevsky. Having recently finished “Crime and Punishment”, it took me a minute to adjust to the romantic tone of the story! A lesson I learned in “White Nights” is that loving someone - and having courage to express that love, not knowing whether it’ll be reciprocated - is risky and makes one vulnerable. I felt so badly for “the dreamer” at the end, but I admire his ability to express his feelings and ultimately forgive Nastenka.

Alan

What I read when Hurricane Beryl knocked out my power for 10 hours: Ray Bradbury in Dark Carnival: The Lake. The Maiden. The Smiling People. Then from “That Glimpse of Truth”: The Red Shoes by Anderson and The Tell-Tale Heart by Poe.

Anna
>>143298996

I’m sorry that you lost power, Alan! I hope it comes back on soon. “The Tell-Tale Heart” is great; one of my favorite short stories by Poe. I got to see it performed, along with a few of his other works, at a pop-up Poe-themed speakeasy I recently went to. A lot of fun! :)

Tatiana
>>143259509

I have since moved on to Istanbul. Bought Shanghai, Reykjavik, Dhaka and Newcastle too.