“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage.” – Lorrie Moore, author
I used to hate short stories. I felt like the characters were never fully developed compared to novels, things were rushed, and I just never felt invested in the story.
However, during the lockdown, I find it difficult to focus on a novel. My partner also loves short stories and has been opening my eyes to the beauty of short stories. Unlike a novel, short stories are snapshots into a larger world. I am learning to appreciate these brief glimpses instead of feeling frustrated at the incomplete picture. It is less of a time investment, so I don’t feel like I squandered my time after reading one I don’t enjoy. Instead, I can quickly turn to the next story to find some literary satisfaction.
Here are some of my favorite short stories that I have read recently:
The Paper Menagerie – Ken Liu: A story about a boy who plays with origami that his mom makes and turns into living creatures. It explores immigration, a mother’s love, and identity. I don’t remember the last time a story (or novel!) broke my heart like this.
Escape from Spiderhead – George Saunders: A short story about a man who participates in pharmaceutical experiments that control emotions. It makes you think about humanity and free will. If in the protagonist’s place, what would you do?
Who Will Greet You at Home – Lesley Nneka Arimah: In this world, a woman must create a baby and keep it safe for a year before it becomes a real child. It explores the theme of motherhood as well as class. What are our expectations of motherhood? What of ourselves must we give up in order to have a child?
I’d Love You to Want Me – Viet Thanh Nguyen (from his short story collection, The Refugees): A story about an elderly couple, where the husband starts calling his wife by the wrong name as his Alzheimer’s progresses. It explores love and heartbreak as well as loyalty. The ending taught me about love in a way that I didn’t expect.
What are some of your favorite shorts stories? Do you have any recommendations? If so, please let me know!
Directionally Challenged 
i love short stories! short stories present a concept, but allow the reader to explore it further (rather than beating it to death with a whole novel or feature length movie like stupid In Time). also, i feel like a novel or feature length film feel the need to wrap things up for us while shorts linger in our minds.
one of my favorite short stories that i am haunted by is “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury. we read that in high school, but i think about it a lot.
i’m a big fan of Sherman Alexie’s (though sometimes his male gaze is very distracting). Nonetheless, the stories in Ten Little Indians and The Toughest Indian in the World are good. I actually kept track of my favorites from the latter in my journal (in an entry from 2012), so they are “The Sin Eaters” “Saint Junior”
let’s not forget about the shortest short ever written… “For Sale: Baby Shoes, never worn”
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