The old man and the sea. Earnest Hemingway
The old man and the sea. Earnest Hemingway
I read Brokeback Mountain having seen the film and thought it was pretty amazing. In face everything in that volume of stories was very good - pressed to think of a better collection.
The Conan Doyle is worth a mention!
Checkhov is almost synonymous with excellent short fiction. Brief, vivid, and devastating.
Tim O'Brien's <i>The Things They Carried</i> is a collection of short stories that are simply stunning. He also addresses in one of them, I don't recall the exact title, the power and essence of a story itself. I consider it a must-read for aspiring writers/human beings.
"We are unknown, we knowers, to ourselves..."
-Freddy N.
I agree! A Scandal in Bohemia is my fav.Originally Posted by McGrain
I'm weary with right-angles, abbreviated daylight,
Waiting for a winter to be done.
Why do I still see you in every mirrored window,
In all that I could never overcome?
Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber was an amazing short story
Henry James - A bundle of letters
Truman Capote - My Side of the Matter
ligeia - edgar allan poe
the dead - james joyce
when read in comparison whith other stories from the dubliners ( and other writings for poe) excellent but just as poignant and stirring on there own.
There are many that are delightful no matter how many times I read them:
Ball of Fat - Guy de Maupassant - Sad, wonderful, and the FIRST story he ever published! Amazing.
Uncle Fred Flits By - P.G. Wodehouse - but it's hard to name one, because he wrote many that are priceless.
The Tall Men, A Rose For Emily - William Faulkner - Two of his best "the past isn't dead -- it isn't even past" stories.
Bartleby - Herman Melville - An automatic selection for anyone confined in a cube. "I would prefer not to." Amen.
The Tell-Tale Heart - Poe - As nearly perfectly constructed as a short story can be.
The Chaser - John Collier - Still works after 50 readings...
And many others, but I wanted to get started on this topic.
"The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner" by Alan Sillitoe. Anyone else read this? Never met anyone who has, curious to see what others think of it. For me one of those stories so powerful that, like 9-11 and presidential assassinations I still remember where I was when I first read it. A long time ago now.
For humour I really liked Henry Lawson's "The Loaded Dog". Also his "The Drover's Wife". I still get chills when I read it.
I found this thread by typing "Greatest Short Stories" into GOOGLE. I was curious to see if anyone had ever come up with some kind of list of The
Greatest Short Stories Of All Time. They've come up with several 'definitive' lists for Movies and Books and Albums and probably for Screensavers and Mobile Phone Ringtones for all I know. But nothing for short stories.
I'm less interested in seeing such a list than in the fact that no publication has bothered to even come up with one. Do many people read short stories any more?
The loneliness of the long distance runner is a great story. I read it at school when I was 14.
There once was a scotsman named Drew
Who put too much wine in his stew
He felt a bit drunk
And fell off his bunk
And landed smack into his shoe ~(C) Ms Niamh Anne King
My favorites are:
An Occurance ot Owl Creek Bridge - Ambrose Bierce
A Horseman in the Sky - Ambrose Bierce
One Kind of Officer - Ambrose Bierce
The Overcoat - Nikolai Gogol
A Rose for Emily - William Faulkner (Not one of my favorites, but after listing all those Ambrose Bierce stories, I'm in a rather morbid mood, and felt like listing this one)
The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut by Mark Twain
My mission in life is to make YOU smile
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The time has come," the Walrus said,"To talk of many things:
Forum Rules- You know you want to read 'em
|Litnet Challange status = 5/260
|currently reading
His Wife Anton Chekhov
as I was not here while this thread unfolded, I certainly have not read of of the replies... but I do wonder, was one of my all time favorite stories mentioned?
Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol
"And, instead of hugging one another after their long separation, father and son began to aim heavy blows at the other's ribs, belly and chest, side-stepping, moving, back, attacking again, their eyes glued on each other."
:-)
Yes, I mentioned it earlier. It is simply an amazing story, almost like poetry albeit violent, brutal poetry but still...poetry. I wouldn't say I'm a huge Gogol fan but this story is a standout for me.
the luminous grass of the prairie hides
feet lovely and still as sleeping doves,
porcelain bones strong enough to carry a life,
but weighty and unmovable
As black Dakota hills. ~ Riesa
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