in alphabetical order
‘La femme adultère’, Albert Camus, 1957
‘So Much Water So Close to Home’, Raymond Carver, 19??
‘Draupadi’, Mahaswetha Devi, 1997
‘The Yellow Wallpaper’, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, 1892
‘Diary of a Mad, Old Man’, Nikolai Gogol, 1835
‘The Metamorphosis’, Franz Kafka, 1915
‘The Basque and Bijou’, Anaïs Nin, 1978
‘A Perfect Day for Bananafish’, JD Salinger, 1948
‘The Tattooer’, Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, 1910
_____
Red Fish in Interior, Henri Matisse, 1912
Some notes:
1. These are some of my favourites, not all of them. I can’t remember half the stuff I’ve read. Too bad, huh?
2. The Nin is a surprising choice considering my waning interest in her work. However, ‘The Basque and Bijou’ is probably the best story from Delta of Venus. It’s one of those rare erotic stories I like re-reading. It also fits remarkably well into the short story genre. And like a good erotic story, it is erotic.
3. I resisted the Kafka. He is one of my favourite writers, but the only short story I’ve read is ‘The Metamorphosis’. For the moment, it shall be a placeholder for what may possibly be my favourite short story of his.
4. I don’t seem to have read much contemporary short fiction. Two names I remember: Gordimer (powerful, but not great, I don’t think) and Marquez (better novelist, unlike Gordimer).
5. I should read more contemporary short fiction.
6. If I were to shorten this list to five, it would read: Camus, Carver, Gilman, Gogol, Tanizaki.
7. The Gogol was a difficult choice.
8. I am very iffy about the Devi. It’s too experimental, too -isty for my taste. But it did make a big impression.
9. I haven’t read any of Dostoevsky‘s short stories!
10. I was very tempted to have nine points to be “even.” Then I laughed at myself.
11. Shouldn’t I have some Chekhov in there? For some reason I only remember his plays.
12. I refuse to include Maupassant in this list. (I was recently accused of liking Maupassant. Screw you, bitch!)
13. Oh yes, the list was originally ‘Ten short stories,’ but I couldn’t think of a tenth. And yay, thirteen!
@ #12 Hahahahaha.
Some of mine are up here too. I’m not a fan of Gilman, but definitely the Salinger story. And definitely the Nin,,,it IS one of the rereadable erotic stories around.
And no science fiction, the one genre where short fiction excels more than any other.
Read more of Kafka’s short work. “The Hunger Artist” and “The Penal Colony” are definitely among the best in Western lit.
I would probably include the Gilman and Salinger stories on my personal list as well (or something by Salinger, anyway).
And I agree, science fiction has often excelled in short form.
@ Neha
: D
@ Jim
Heh, I sense reproach. Well, I like science fiction, I just haven’t read much of it. A few novels to be sure, but no short stories. Any recommendations?
@ AR
I did say I was going to read more Kafka, didn’t I?
You really can’t go wrong with Ray Bradbury and I rank Alfred Bester’s work highly. I also hold a fondness for Asimov’s robot stories, not great literature by an manner or means (he never pretended they were) but they are very readable.
Try reading Denis Johnson’s ‘Jesus’ Son’. I am sure you might find it a wee bit interesting.
And if you like Carver, may be a Hemmingway would also be close to the pile? And Truman Capote is there as well.
Anyway, good list!