Short Stories: The 12 Best Collections of 2018
Short Stories columnist Jenny Bhatt presents the finest of this year's short stories collections from a wide range of authors that have no fear of pushing the boundaries.
Jenny Bhatt
Jenny Bhatt is a writer, literary translator, and literary critic. Her short story collection and literary translation books are due out in 2020. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in various venues in the US, UK, and India, including NPR, The Atlantic, BBC Culture, Literary Hub, Longreads, The Millions, and others. Her fiction has been nominated for Pushcart Prizes and the 2017 Best American Short Stories. She was a finalist for the 2017 Best of the Net Anthology. Having lived and worked her way around India, England, Germany, Scotland, and various parts of the US, she now lives in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. Find her at: https://jennybhattwriter.com.
What Commands Your Behaviors? On ‘Rule Makers, Rule Breakers’
In Rule Makes, Rule Breakers, Michele Gelfand gives many examples — both historical and contemporary — to prove how the customs that have shaped worldviews, behaviors, identities, and personal lives in any particular culture have originated from underlying perceptions of threat.
Short Stories: Parties
Five memorably unique parties presented by Katherine Mansfield, Banaphool (tr. Arunava Sinha), Joshua Ferris, Nina McConigley, and Kirsten Valdez Quade.
‘Half Gods’ and Painful Fragments
In debut short story collection Half Gods, Akil Kumarasamy gives us the painful fragments of her characters' experiences with care, as if she is handing us shards of broken glass.
Short Stories: American Writers of South Asian Origin
In the US in this year alone there have been new short story collections by at least five fine writers with origins in the Indian subcontinent: Vandana Singh; Akil Kumarasamy; Neel Patel; Chaya Bhuvaneswar; and Anita Felicelli.
On Sound and Rhythm in Text: Angela Leighton’s ‘Hearing Things’
Imaginative listening while reading, as Leighton demonstrates so masterfully, is not only a form of cognition but also a physical experience as we read or write literary texts.
Short Stories: Characters Inspired by People in Politics
These five short stories — by Roxane Gay, Jeff VanderMeer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, George Saunders, and Curtis Sittenfeld — fictionalize the personal lives of American presidents, a wannabe president, and a president's spouse.
On Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters on Loss: ‘The Dark Interval’
Letter-writing allowed Rainer Maria Rilke to turn intimate one-on-one communication into a carefully-crafted artifact in its own right that transcended time itself.
A. M. Homes’ ‘Days of Awe’ and the Art of Writing Dialogue
Each story here could well be a masterclass in the art of writing dialogue as Homes employs it throughout to do much more than simply reveal character or move the story along.
Short Stories: Women in Translation
To celebrate Women in Translation month, we bring short stories (and a novel that's like a collection of short stories) by women in translation: Olga Tokarczuk; Sayaka Murata; Mahasweta Devi; Malika Moustadraf; Dorthe Nors.
‘Alone Time’ and the Joys of Solitary, Mindful Travel
Rosenbloom's book is a companion guide for the solo traveler. Covering four cities over four seasons, she proves that solo travel can provide enriching joys, sensual pleasures, and rewarding adventures.
On Roxane Gay’s Republished Short Stories ‘Ayiti’ and the Stifled Norms of the Publishing Industry
Perhaps some gatekeepers are realizing that the challenging short story form proves a writer's chops and future longevity with more certainty than a debut novel.