Short Stories!

Favorite novels, plays, comics, etc.
Ava
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Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2011 5:58 pm
Location: California, US
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Re: Short Stories!

Post by Ava »

For a whimsical, romantic read, I like On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April Morning by Haruki Murakami.

I've been meaning read Alice Munro's stories eventually.
Dreams are meaningful when you work toward them in the real world.
If you merely live within the dreams of other people, it's no different from being dead.
neo
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Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 12:30 am
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Re: Short Stories!

Post by neo »

Reviving ~~

SNOW I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS ON YOUR LIST BECAUSE THIS IS MY FAVORITE. I first read it in Highschool

My favorite is The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Stetson Image You can read it online as a pdf here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/literatureofpres ... -Paper.pdf

It is set in the 19th Century. The Protagonist "falls ill" and her husband, the Doctor sees to her care. It is from her point of view. She has been confined to a bedroom for a summer due to her mental condition. It's hard to discern at the beginning if she is indeed 'ill' or if the husband has made her think that she is. In fact, I'm still not sure and that's pretty much what terrifies me most about this story.

Since she is cooped-up in the bedroom, half-believing she is ill, she begins to obsess over the wallpaper in her room. To the point where she is totally delusional and you can almost believe the delusion yourself. The delusion she is under is like her subconcious trying to help her free herself.

While, I enjoy reading things where the character loses their sense of control and has to rely on someone else, it's totally frightening to think that your life could be ruled so easily. I know it's due to the time period, but the fact that no one questions the Doctor's diagnosis is alarming as well. There may be better short stories, but this one just sticks with me.
VICTORY WITH EVERYTHING WE HAVE
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