Thursday, April 26, 2007

More favorite short stories

Because my recall has been compromised by my age and I felt guilty for not thinking of these stories immediately:

The Thrill is Gone. Julie Hecht
The Ugliest Pilgrim. Doris Betts
Playing. David Huddle
Lawns. Mona Simpson
A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings. Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Hairball. Margaret Atwood
Lila the Werewolf. Peter Beagle
The Red Pony. John Steinbeck
Charles. Shirley Jackson
Inventing the Abbotts. Sue Miller
Goodbye, Columbus. Philip Roth
Pigeon Feathers. John Updike

I'll shut up now.

9 comments:

  1. Actually, please continue to add stories to the list. Some of us are taking notes at the back of the class. ;)

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  2. Aw, no fair! Thanks for the reminder on Mona Simpson. And I did regret not including the GG Marquez story you mention -- it was one of my runner-ups.

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  3. Anonymous3:26 PM

    I am such a non-short story reader I can't even come up with a list! Do you know of a story by Margaret Atwood about date rape? It sounds weird but I swear I read one by her--a girl is on a date and imagines things in her mind--not describing this well--I will have to try and find the story!

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  4. Not off the top of my head, but it sure sounds like one she'd write.

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  5. I've read only the Marquez from your list -- which is good, actually, as it leaves me lots of good stories to investigate!

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  6. "A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings" is one of my all-time favorites!

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  7. Oh, I really LOVE "Hairball"! I read it first in The New Yorker under the title of "Kat". The new title is better. Great revenge story. I'd love to read it again!

    "Charles" is also a favorite.

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  8. Here's mine:

    1. Donald Barthelme – "The Balloon"
    2. Woody Allen – "The Kugelmass Episode"
    3. George S. Kaufman – "If Men Played Cards as Women Do"
    4. Charlotte Perkins Gilman – "The Yellow Wallpaper"
    5. Ray Bradbury – "A Sound of Thunder"
    6. Mary Gordon – "A Writing Lesson"
    7. Ellen Gilchrist – "Music"
    8. Art Buchwald – "Saving Paper"
    9. Dan Greenburg – "How to be a Jewish Mother"
    10. Judith Claire Mitchell – "A Man of Few Words"

    For more of my favorites, here's the link to my blog post:
    http://maryannemoll.blogspot.com/2006/02/back-but-not-quite-same.html

    Love your blog. I've already linked you a few days ago.

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