Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day

Title: Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day

Author: Ben Loory

Pages: 208

Pub: 2011

Genre: Fiction, Short Stories

Etc: ARC from Netgalley

The Short of It

Clever and odd short fic fun.

The Long of It

This is a collection of oftentimes surreal (an octopus who has slight agoraphobia living downtown) and oddly unique short stories.  Some are relatively harmless, while others have a bite that will tear at your mind. 

For example, in “The Book” a woman freaks out after purchasing a book that ends up having blank pages.  She then verbally attacks the author and anyone else who purchases it. Or “The Tree” where a tree decides to get up and explore it’s surroundings, roaming the world.

The Thoughts about It

I cannot capture how odd these stories were.  After reading a couple of them, my immediate thought turned to how awesome some would be for my classroom.  The majority of the stories are about five pages long, but the depth to them is something fierce.  Ooooh and the writing?  Wowzers.  Is it over the top to say lyrical? Feisty lyrical prose?

The only downside was really more about me rather than the collection.  I’m not disciplined enough to read only a couple of short stories at a time, and I think that’s how they probably should be read.  Rather, I sorta devoured the whole text in a day or two which led to the stories bleeding into one and another.  I also could probably have read them on a different level entirely if I had the patience. 

Luckily though, this is a collection that warrants the time to read again and again.  

Supernatural Noir

Title:  Supernatural Noir

Author: edited by Ellen Daltow

Pages: 336

Pub: Dark Horse Comics

Genre: Horror, Short Stories

Etc: received via NetGalley

The Short of It

Dark and smoke filled horror stories.

The Long of It

Ellen Datlow has done it again.  She is a phenom editor and I’ve decided that she must have vivid nightmarish dreams every single night.  Supernatural Noir opens with an introduction by Ms. Datlow where she jumps right in to explain Noir fiction for newbies via a Paul Duncan who wrote a book Noir Ficiton.(1)

[Noir Fiction is] “used to describe any work, usually involving crime – that is notably dark, brooding, cynical, complex, and pessimistic.”

So, naturally, this is going to be one of those warm and fuzzies books, right? *wink*

There are twenty different authors in this collection, and the stories vary from ghouls to gnomes.

The Thoughts about It

This collection was like a mental embolism filled with fear that exploded in my brain. For realz, guys.  I actually tweeted Ellen Datlow in an exclamatory OH THE NIGHTMARES tweet. And for the sake of those naysayers out there claiming that there is no way a story could spook them. Well! I was once one of you!  There are few moments in my memory where I can recall drifting off to sleep only to be haunted.  I mean, come on, I was brought up on Nightmare on Elm Street.  Seriously.  Like, watching it in third grade.(2)

As a collection it IS pretty impressive.  There were only three stories that didn’t color me impressed.  And considering I RARELY read short stories having only three not interest me IS impressive!  Let me see if I can try to get one-line summaries for a couple of the stories. (3)

The Getaway – A robbery goes bad when four buddies realize that the shots that they heard really did hit them and death is only delayed momentarily.

Mortal Bait – Becoming friends with the fae folk can become disastrous, especially if you are only a prop in their games.

Little Shit – Somewhere between a telepath who can also create thoughts and an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit lies this little shit. 

Ditch Witch – Running away from a quick hookup might lead you into the community of evil garden gnomes after blood.

The Romance  - The bewitching movement of a carousel ride reveals more than giggly children spirits. 

Dead Sister -  Perhaps a detective can reveal why her dead sister’s body goes missing every night.

__________

(1(1)  That seemed awfully verbose and slightly meta for a mere definition.

(2(2)  I was also reading Stephen King in third grade; my mom had no issue with me scaring the crap out of myself, obviously.

(3(3)  I find that a one-sentence summary for short stories is very difficult and I don’t know if I’ll do it again.

"The Lovely Leave" (SS-3)

"The Lovely Leave"(1943) by Dorothy Parker is the first story in my copy of The Dorothy Parker Reader.  Interestingly enough, it is evidently one of the last stories that she had written.

The story opens in an apartment home where a young wife, Mimi, answers a phone call from her husband, Lt. Steve McVicker.  He is brief, but announces that he will be coming home in a week's time for a twenty-four hour leave before he ships off again.

As soon as Mimi hangs the phone up she is brought back to the last time he came home.  Cringing, she recalls how docile and shy she was in the first bit of the day.  Then, when the strangeness eventually wore off, the stress of the lost hours overtook her, causing her to lash out and start an argument.  Mimi swears to herself that this time will be different.  They will spend all twenty four hours together in bliss, allowing for happy memories to follow them when they separate.

In anticipation of his arrival, she primps and purchases a beautiful dress and nightgown.  The day has finally come and she is ready.  But Mimi and Steve's relationship and quality time together is tested once more.  Instead of his twenty-four hours, he only has a few.

I found this story to be amazing in its simplicity.  Parker manages to take a true to life moment and create a whole story around it.  Because of our current military deployment, the story resonates.  I have a close friend whose husband just shipped out again and I can easily put them in the roles of Mimi & Steve in the 1940's era.  The dialogue between husband and wife is striking.  She needs to be heard, needs her husband to understand what it is like being left behind.  All the while, Steve needs to distance himself, to find normality in the few hours together.  Their conversation is both proper and emotional.  I am looking forward to reading more from my Dorothy Parker Reader.

-18 pages

Harrison Bergeron (SS-2)

This week, during some down time while the students were testing, I read "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut.  Vonnegut and I have an estranged relationship.  I read him, actually I devoured him in my early twenties.  But then, as I find with most authors, if read serially, they're novels run together.

Harrison Bergeron sounds like Vonnegut.  It's a short dystopian and opens in the 2081.  Everyone is equal, not only in God's eyes, but amongst their peers.  We are first introduced to George and Hazel.  George is a brilliant man, so to equalize him, he has an ear bud placed in his ear that makes horrendously loud and obnoxious noises every thirty seconds.  This prevents George from every thoroughly examining a deep thought.  Hazel, on the other hand, is quite the simpleton and does not need an ear bud.  She has been crying but has forgotten why.

Their conversations are never really interesting and there even seems to be a lack of emotion between them.  Sure I can believe them that they care for each other, but in my head, I hear the conversation as flat, mundane, dry.

The titled character is their son, Harrison Bergeron, and he has been taken away because he doesn't want to live in the world as it is.  He is being detained while George and Hazel are at home watching a dance performance on the tele, unable to truly grasp what has happened.

This is a quick read and poses decent questions about equality and quality of life.  The tale is even heroic without being contrived.  However, I want to say that the story is mediocre and predictable. BUT I am reluctantly for two simple reasons (1) I cannot separate the time period in which Vonnegut wrote this story - 1961 and (2) dude, I kinda feel like there are so many dystopian fics out there that it's hard to be impressive.  As you can see both reasons sorta come together.  There probably were not that many dysfic written in the early 60's as there are now.

You can read Harrison Bergeron online here.

The Most Dangerous Game (SS-1)

The first short story of the new year that I read was The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell.  Sheepishly, I spent a good hour or so playing around on line searching top ten lists of shorts.  I didn't know where to begin.  Having no idea what this was about, but know that I could read it free on line, I clicked.  And, overall, I'm pretty pleased I did.

The story opens with Rainsford and Whitney, both experienced and devoted hunters, leaving the states and traveling via yacht to the Amazon for a hunting safari.  Whilst on the boat they chat up about the islands around them, specifically Ship-Trap Island, legend to be an eerie and isolated place that leads sailors to their impending doom.  Shrugging it off, like any other good American, the decide it's time to go to bed.  Well, Whitney does.  Rainsford must have one more smoke.  It's unfortunate that he make this decision because he ends up falling overboard, swimming to the closest shoreline, exhausted and hungry.

Luckily he is not alone.  He meets General Zaroff who invites him inside his home.  General Zaroff is pleased that Rainsford actually had such misfortune, for he, also, is an avid hunter and a big fan of Rainsford's work, commenting that he has read all of his books.  

But Zaroff admit's he has a concern.  Hunting is no longer an event for him.  He has hunted everything that exists and all have let him down.  The chase is too easy, the catch has no thrill.  Except, now.  Zaroff tells Rainsford that he will hunt him.  Three days and three nights in the jungle.  If Zaroff wins, well, we can only imagine what will happen to Rainsford.  But if Rainsford wins, he will set free.

Thoughts

I have to admit that the story won me over about half way through.  Within the first few paragraphs I could guess that Rainsford would find himself in a position of empathizing with the prey (there was a brief exchange between him and Whitney on the yacht that made this apparent).  Immediately my mind shouted: "You see!  This is why I stay away from short stories; they're SO predictable".  Ah yes, and so is my judgmental self.  *sigh*  Of course the story was about the hunt and the hunter, but the execution was surprising, which is where I began to eat my words.  *nom, nom, nom*  

I'm not someone who appreciates a lot of fight scenes in fiction.  Mainly because I know nothing about the art of fighting, and when words begin to describe a fight, my mind wanders.  I just can't visualize it.  Obviously, I was a wee bit concerned then about the hunt scenes.  I shouldn't have been.  They were neither overly graphic or grossly detailed that I couldn't follow what maneuvers were being managed.    

Also, this story was immediately familiar to me and I couldn't understand why.  After doing a bit of browsing, I realized I had seen this movie that was loosely based off of the story.  

(Read The Most Dangerous Game online; approx. 14 pages.)

squirrel seeks chipmunk

Title: squirrel seeks chipmunk
Author: david sedaris
Pub: Little, Brown Company; 2010
Pages: 159
Genre: Short Stories, Satire, Humor

I feel as though I am one of the LAST people on the face of this reading planet who had not read David Sedaris. And I also have a huge confession to make:

Up until recently I managed to confuse David Eggers and David Sedaris. (I've still not read any Eggers...)

A good friend of mine raved about Sedaris when I asked if I should check out his stuff. Then, some time in the recent past, he was interviewed on The Daily Show. Since I admire and respect both my friend and Jon Stewart, I figured it was about damn time I sought out a book.

I chose squirrel seeks chipmunk because I wanted to ease myself in. From my understanding, Sedaris writes satirical essays. I don't generally read many essays, but have an affinity toward folk-tales. SsC seemed the route to go.

And you know what, I'm really glad I did. SsC is a collection of fifteen tales where Sedaris uses animals to mirror the best and worst of human characteristics. There were times when I actually LoL'd (surprisingly). Others made me cringe because he managed to capture some pretty faulty quirks of the human species. And then there were others still that I think went over my head and I'll have to reread them again.

Have you read any Sedaris? What should be my next book?

(or) (and)

Have you read any Eggers? Where should I start?

I Am Legend

Title: I Am Legend
Author: Richard Matheson
Pub Date: 1954 (but there are a handful of other stories and the pub date varies)
Pages: 312
Genre: Horror; Short Stories
Rating: Like it

First off, no. I never did see the movie that Will Smith was in. I never had any desire to. I don't know, I've lost interest in Smith ever since he's done those over-the-top alien/world is ending/natural disaster movies. So, I tend to just skip him.

I picked up I Am Legend because I thought it was about ZOMBIES. Er, was I totally wrong. On the plus side, by the time I realized the novella was about vampires, I was already intrigued.

You see, I Am Legend is very much a dystopian. A virus comes to be that turns those infected into these blood thirsty fiends who have an affinity for the night time. Hell, who am I kidding, they seem to go into this hibernated state during daylight hours. Robert Neville is the only man left alive, or at least the only man alive that he is aware of. The majority of the novella is spent watching his daily routines, listening to his inner thoughts, seeking a cure for the virus. Whether meaning to or not, the story is even a bit existential. What causes a man to continue living when there is little life to be lived?

The end was a great twist; well worth the read.

The other short stories were a hit or miss for me. Prey made me immediately question if it inspired Chucky (aka Child's Play) or Cat's Eye (the short by Stephen King). There's something terribly creepy about a doll-like creature that can attack and kill. Mad House was also a favorite of mine, but unfortunately I lost my post-it note and right now for the life of me I can't figure out what I loved about it. Heh.

TSS: Short Stories

Good morning ya'll. I planned on using this Sunday Salon to post my recent vacay pictures, but since returning on Friday, I've done nothing but errands. (What? You mean gnomes don't magically appear and go grocery shopping for ya? Sheesh.)

So I thought I'd blab about another topic that I've been mulling over. First things first. A bit of up front honesty:

I don't like short stories.

Whew. I said it. Plain and simple. I generally will not pick up a book that says somewhere in the title "collection of short...." I run for the hills, unless it's say someone as dreamy as John Green or David Leviathan. Yes, only then I might reconsider. But on a normal day? Nope. Nada. No Way. Watch me run.

Here's why. They just aren't fulfilling enough for me. I want more. I never fully feel satisfied. I want fully developed characters. And you know what? Even if the writer is so phenom that the characters *are* developed I want MORE of THEM.

In the classroom, I rarely teach from short stories.(1) I use novels each quarter to focus in on the literary elements and grammar. (I do a fairy tale unit as well, but don't really truly consider them short stories.) I also use stations, which is very conducive to the whole novel teaching.

Now in a department meeting one of my colleagues (and one that I respect, for that matter) said that he'd be reluctant to give up teaching short stories. That they have merit.

Obviously I am missing something.

So I ask you folks, in your opinion, what merit does the short story have? And if you're like me and you hardly read shorts, well, reassure me and tell me what you don't prefer them!

The Poison Eaters

Title: The Poison Eaters
Author: Holly Black
Pub Date: 2010
Pages: 212
Genre: Short Stories, Paranormal, Young Adult
Challenges: NTMA

"Let me tell you something about unicorns - they're faeries and faeries aren't to be trusted. Read your storybooks. But maybe you can't get past the rainbows and pastel crap. That's your problem." - from "Virgin", 91

OoooKaaay! I walked by this book whilst visiting the humongous library in our downtown area. The YA Lit department is eye candy and filled with coolness. As I was roaming my eye caught on the cover of Black's short story collection. Creepy! I ended up not checking it out that day - forgot my card. (In my defense, it was a last minute decision to go and my destination was actually the library book sale).

Soooo, Poison Eaters stayed with me for a few days later even though I told myself over and over and OVER again that I would not check out any more books. I had tons on my way and since my birthday was nearing (it's since passed, wh00t) I knew that I would have more than enough books coming into my household. Still, the cover. Haunting! I commenced to request it.

And man alive (or dead, in many of these stories) was I not disappointed. Ya know, folks, I'm not a short story kinda gal, but maybe with the exception of two, these did it for me. Let me share:

We open with (perhaps stereotypical of these times) vampire short, "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown". Our heroine opens drunk. Blasted drunk. We find out that she's been infected with the virus and has to fight the urge to feast for a couple of months before the virus leaves her body. If she feeds, the undead is her fate. Matilda (of course her name is Matilda!) has found if she binge drinks she numbs the urge. Makes sense. 'Course, in this tale, vampirism is a bit more accepted because Coldtown is the coolest place to be for those vampire-lovin' humans. Matilda ends up getting pulled into a search to find two loved ones who want to turn. I have to admit, "The Coldest Girl in Coldtown" was only mediocre but did not cause me to shut the book.

Now the second one - oh ho ho what fun! "A Reversal of Fortune" was like this clever little modern day fairy tale wherein our heroine, Nikki, is to outsmart the devil. I loved this story and would love to teach it in my class. It's clever and funny and gross. I don't want to give away too many details or it might not be as fun for ya'll if you pick it up. Suffice to say, it's not an original tale, but the spin on it makes it worthy. "The Night Market" is very similar in the retelling. In this case a young sister is sick and a curse has to be removed, so the elder sister goes off in the marketplace to find the cure and comes across some wicked little being who likes to manipulate and play.

I would move along and pass over "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". One of the two that did not impress me AT ALL!

Aiight. That's about a little under half of the short stories found in this collection. I could review them all, but (a) I'm sure you don't want to read much more and (b) I'm feelin' kinda lazy.

Now run out and pick this book up. I haven't read anything else by Holly Black, but I'm surely interested.

Cheers!

Let It Snow

Title: Let It Snow - Three Holiday Romances
Authors: Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle
Pub Date: 2008
Pages: 352
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Seasonal
What I picked it up: Um, hello?! John Green. Heart goes pitter-patter,fangirl squeal, "he's sooo dreamy" *le sigh*

Let It Snow features three short stories all set in the same town during Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.

The Jubilee Express by Maureen Johnson - Jubilee (Julie) is looking forward to a wonderful and romantic Christmas Eve with her perfect boyfriend Noah. It is after all, their one year anniversary. Life couldn't be more lovely until Julie's next door neighbor rushes over and plans are unexpectedly changed. Julie's parents, while in the pursuit of purchasing the newest Flobie (the Christmas craze), were arrested when a riot broke out. Instead of spending a delectable holiday with Noah, Julie is packed up and sent on a train to spend Christmas with her grandparents. And then, if that doesn't make matters worse, the train smacks into tons of snow. Coming to a sudden stop, Julie is stuck in the train with twelve cheerleaders and a boy named Jeb. What to do, what to do? Julie decides to walk to the Waffle House across the way wherein she meets another boy Stuart and agrees to go home with him to avoid cheerleader-ness giggles. Mourning her unfortunate luck, Julie tries to make the best of it.

My thoughts:

This is not going to be a favorable review because I ultimately found the overall story unbelievable. Christmas magic or not, there were a couple of major fallacies that I could not overlook. (1) it is snowing horribly outside, you are a high school girl with no idea where you are at, and you are going to hop off of the train without telling anyone and just trudge through to the Waffle House, (2) once in the Waffle House, you're going to agree to go home with a complete stranger, albeit a stranger your own age so that makes it safer, to spend the night in a warm home, and finally (3) while all of this is going on you're not calling your grandparents - elderly people !!! - who are awaiting your arrival to tell them "Oops. Train stalled; I'll be late. But I'm safe". Do you see why I had some problems here? I couldn't really enjoy the story because I kept rolling my eyes thinking now way would that happen! And the sad part is? I kinda liked Julie as a character. I mean, there were some funny moments.

I haven't read anything else by Maureen Johnson and don't know if I will.

A Cheertastic Miracle by John Green - Meet JP, The Duke, and Tobin. Three best friends hanging out watching James Bond movies on Christmas Eve. Then, Tobin receives an urgent phone call from Keun who is working a the town's Waffle House: [paraphrased] "Dude, you're never going to believe this! Cheerleaders just showed up here and they're stranded. You heard me. For the night. Their train stalled. You have to come up here now. Don't be an asshat." What starts out as a leisurely and quiet night turns into mayhem, near death moments, and freezing cold weather. The Duke (our only female protagonist) agrees to go along with the pursuit of cheerleaders because of her undeniable adoration for the Waffle House hash-browns. As the night wears on, the mission isn't about obtaining the cheertrophy, but staying alive from snow, bullies, and each other.

My thoughts

This short story does not make me love John Green any less (alternatively, it doesn't make me love him any more either). I mean it was definitely John Green. I love his narration, especially because the main character is a guy, and quite honestly there just aren't enough leading male protagonists in YA lit. Especially romance-love-driven novels. Also, if you haven't noticed Green does a phenomenal job incorporating nicknames for his characters "The Duke" rather than Angie (I think? I can't remember her real name right now). Plus it's just pure zany. The romance (and there is romance) isn't necessarily the impetus to the story line. In this case it centers around friendship and adventure. Still, it wasn't enough for me. I cannot fangirl rave. I fear it's just because I'm not a short story kinda girl. I can think of only a handful of short stories that truly left me in awe.

The Patron Saint of Pigs by Lauren Myracle - Addie is miserable. It's Christmas Eve and she's heartbroken. A week earlier she and her boyfriend, Jeb (ring a bell?) broke up because she stupidly made out with another boy at a party. In a desperate move, Addie sent Jeb an e-mail begging him to meet her at Starbucks to talk about their relationship. Jeb never showed. To make matters worse, her two closest friends just told her that they thought she was self-centered. Her? Self-centered? Whatever. In fact, she'll even prove to them how unselfish she is: she'll pick up Tegan's pet pig.

My thoughts

This was perhaps my least favorite story. I mean, I didn't really believe The Jubilee Express, but at least I smirked a couple of times. The Patron Saint of Pigs best part was the description of the cute little teacup pig. In fact, I had to go on a youtube fiesta and seek out cutesy snorting piglets.

I looked up Lauren Myracle (don't you love the spelling of that name?) and realized that she also wrote Kissing Kate, which I also did not find favorable. Maybe this author just isn't my kind of YA.

Overall Thoughts

• I really liked that characters were introduced in the stories and then carried over into the next. Or an older character that we had already met popped up again. Very cool.
  
  
• I don't get the all warm-fuzzy-holiday-miracle-love-conquers-all. Perhaps that's why this selection didn't WoW me like most. (Does this make me a Scrooge?)
  
  
• John Green was the reason why I chose this book, and John Green is the only author that I will continue to seek out again having read this book.
  
  
• Yay for teacup piglets!
  
  
• I am discouraged to read more short fiction.