Short Story Reviews
In The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry we have the theme of poverty, frustration, connection, struggle, love, sacrifice, anxiety and commitment. Set in New York at the turn of the twentieth century the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader […]
Read moreIn Kindling by Raymond Carver we have the theme of alcoholism, belief, revival, discovery, recovery and change. Taken from his Call If You Need Me collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and some readers may recognize the main character Myers from two other Carver short stories (Put Yourself […]
Read moreIn Adventure by Sherwood Anderson we have the theme of aspirations, innocence, loneliness, isolation, letting go, paralysis and connection. Taken from his Winesburg, Ohio collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises how symbolically important Anderson’s physical description of Alice is. By […]
Read moreIn Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway we have the theme of discontent, struggle, selfishness, helplessness, loneliness, conflict and insecurity. Taken from his The Complete Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and one of the most interesting things about the story is how Hemingway shifts […]
Read moreIn He by Katherine Anne Porter we have the theme of appearance, struggle, guilt, resentment and denial. Taken from her Flowering Judas and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Porter may be exploring the theme of appearance. […]
Read moreIn Reunion by John Cheever we have the theme of disappointment, connection, identity, separation, regret and alcoholism. Taken from his Collected Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by a young man called Charlie and after reading the story the reader realises that Cheever may be exploring the theme of disappointment. Throughout […]
Read moreIn Rope by Katherine Anne Porter we have the theme of insecurity, love, resentment, connection, commitment, struggle and paralysis. Taken from her Flowering Judas and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Porter may be exploring the theme […]
Read moreIn Everyday Use by Alice Walker we have the theme of heritage, tradition, honesty, selfishness, identity and appearance. Taken from her In Love & Trouble collection the story is narrated in the first person by a woman called Mrs Johnson and after reading the story the reader realises that Walker may be exploring the theme […]
Read moreIn The Last Leaf by O. Henry we have the theme of commitment, sacrifice, friendship, compassion, hope and dedication. Set in the first decade of the twentieth century the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Henry may be exploring the theme […]
Read moreIn Sunday Afternoon by Alice Munro we have the theme of innocence, acceptance, appearance, desire, class and hope. Taken from her Dance of the Happy Shades collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Munro may be exploring the theme of […]
Read moreIn Call If You Need Me by Raymond Carver we have the theme of separation, infidelity, connection, trust, acceptance, letting go and moving on. Taken from his collection of the same name the story is narrated in the first person by a middle aged man called Dan and very early on the reader realises that […]
Read moreIn Careful by Raymond Carver we have the theme of change, dependency, alcoholism, moving on, disaffection, communication and paralysis. Taken from his Cathedral collection, the story tells of a man called Lloyd who has recently separated from his wife Inez. Lloyd is now living in the attic room of Mrs Matthews’ house and very early […]
Read moreIn Where I’m Calling From by Raymond Carver we have the theme of identity, control, disaffection, denial, escape, paralysis and alcoholism. Taken from his Cathedral collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed man who is a resident in Frank Martin’s drying out facility. There are several story’s being told within […]
Read moreIn Regret by Kate Chopin we have the theme of loss, loneliness, detachment, commitment, love, independence and responsibility. Taken from her A Night in Acadie collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises that Chopin may be exploring the theme of loss […]
Read moreIn A Dill Pickle by Katherine Mansfield we have the theme of strength, control, self-centeredness, love, selfishness and empowerment. Taken from her Bliss and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and after reading the story the reader realises just how self-centered the male protagonist is. Rather […]
Read moreIn the Ernest Hemingway short story A Clean, Well-Lighted Place we have the theme of loneliness, despair, escape, connection and nihilism. Taken from his The Complete Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and begins with the reader being introduced to the three main characters. There is […]
Read moreIn Day of the Butterfly by Alice Munro we have the theme of isolation, commitment, connection, betrayal, appearance and friendship. Taken from her Dance of the Happy Shades collection the story is narrated in the first person by a female narrator called Helen who is looking back at a memory from her days as a […]
Read moreIn Walker Brothers Cowboy by Alice Munro we have the theme of paralysis, connection, acceptance, defeat, letting go, dignity, appearance and secrecy. Taken from her Dance of the Happy Shades collection the story is narrated in the first person by a young female narrator and from the beginning of the story the reader realises that […]
Read moreIn Images by Alice Munro we have the theme of trust, control, struggle, power, fear, acceptance and secrecy. Taken from her Dance of the Happy Shades collection the story is narrated in the first person by a young unnamed, female (child) narrator and from the beginning of the story it would appear that Munro is […]
Read moreIn Kew Gardens by Virginia Woolf we have the theme of passion, desire, love, regret, paralysis, letting go, uncertainty, connection and humanity. Taken from her The Complete Shorter Fiction collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator. However there are sections that have the feel of stream of consciousness and […]
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