What is your favorite small fiction so far? Why? Why does this story stay with you?
Which story have you struggled with the most in the collection? Why? What is it about this story that you have trouble with?
Have you attempted to steal any techniques that you've read here? (Fiction writers can, in fact, should, steal. Stealing a technique is not plagiarism.)
"The Director":
ReplyDeletethis is an awesome story! I love this story. It's funny and it's sad and it's weird; all the things I like in a story. I love the echo in the story: "He asked what my plans were/I wondered about my plans." The first time it's asked, it's funny (she misunderstands what he means by plans--plans for the summer vs. plans for mother). The second, it's sad. She seems undone by her mother's death. She's unbalanced, doesn't know what to do w/ herself. All her things--her floorboards, her waxy plant--have been invaded by her mother's ashes.
I wonder if "The Director" is the best title for the story? It doesn't even seem to be mostly about the director. I love the line about mom flying around in the car. I think part of the humor lies in the fact that the director and narrator refer to the urn as "her."
Particularly chilling image: "...if I screw off the top I will hear my mother scream."
Before she was a memory, was a bit confusing to me. i understood that the fathers daughter had died but i wasn't clear as to how she died because he said " i didnt recognize her without her head" and then later on he said " it was that the tree came too fast for her to understand good-bye" so he implyed that maybe a tree fell and it took her head off? but it was June why would a tree fall so abruptly? he also said " the boy who drove seemed scrubbed to the ears" but then later on he says" i imagine: she was singing and the boy was singing and in the backseat, the air was singing" so that's kind of confusing to me. i like how he kept repeating " they had given me a pill" after each memory he had of her, which implys that maybe they were giving him pills to relieve the pain of him losing his daughter and remember the good memories he had of her.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite short story is Banana by Hiromi Kawakami, The reason this story stays with me is several factors. One,uncle red shoes reminds me of an old bartender friend of mine named Brandon. Even if the day is shitty he always manages to bring a smile to the patrons and himself, just like uncle red shoes when the dance studio is closed and feels depressed he still manages to dance. Second, the sense of the neighborhood in the story, the closeness of it. Everyone knows everyone, just like my old neighborhood Woodside,Queens. Finally, change in the story meaning how places that have been a symbol of the community is long gone. Just like the dance studio was symbol. The bar, murphy's was symbol in woodside it was around for 60 years until it close down. So the story stays with me because it gave me the sense of nostalgia and community.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite small fiction thus far has to still be Pet Milk. simply because of how much i can relate with the scenery and depictions created in my mind by the author. It was easy to follow and because of the discussion toward the middle of class I was able to dig deeper into a story i had at first thought f as "just anther story".
ReplyDeleteI wouldnt say i tried to copy or even attempt to imitate the style of that story although in my writing i do involve flashbacks. Hmmm maybe unconsciously because I Favorited this small fiction, my writing involved a bit of its writing style.
Before She Was A Memory is my favorite short fiction story because it reminds me to a real life story of a friend of mine name Vadina who was like a sister to me. For 7 years we did everything together. We went to the salon, clubs, shopping, we had similar taste. She slept over often and we would cook, have a few glass of wine, watch movies and fall asleep on the sofa. On May 11th 2009 I got the phone call that forever changed my life. She was driving along the Jackie Robinson Parkway and ran off the road, she died instantly from a heart attack and just like in the short story it was her mom who had to identify her body. Vadina was only 21 years old. I was crushed, how could a sweet soul such as hers die so young. As I was reading the short story I was deeply reminded of her. It has been many years later and I miss her so much. There is a saying time heal all wounds, but I beg to differ. Yes she left a great memory, but I still she people that reminds me of her, now and again I get a whiff of her scent as if she was passing by to say hi to me. In the midst of this Small Fiction Book that consist of so many short stories I connect to this one the most because before she was just a memory my Vadina was a dear fried that I wished was never gone.
ReplyDeleteTouching part - And the silence was as blue as a sky
As for stealing technique I would have to say yes, because the writers are able to create vivid images in my head with their vast use of vocabulary and brilliant ways of expressing their opinions. I think that my current draft shows my growth in this class.
Apocryphal was very interesting story. I can't stay it was my favorite but it infidelity stood out the most to me. The use of the words where vague but i saw the images in my head. The part that stays with me is wanting to know more.I have the feeling the this person is dead but has so much more to say. Another part that stays with me is the feeling when she starts to question if she is herself.
ReplyDeleteSo far after reading most short stories, in The Best Small Fictions the one short story that has stuck out to me the most is Mama Says by Cassandra Lopez. For some reason, this short story engaged me after reading the first sentence of the story. At first, I didn't understand why out of all the short stories in this book, why this one stuck out to me the most. I think the reason why this short story sticks out to me the most and engages me as a reader, is because the meaning behind the actual story is easy to relate to. The meaning behind Mama says, is that you should never let a man hit you. As a woman, you can easily relate to the meaning behind the story.
ReplyDeleteOne short Story that I struggled with the most is Lithopedion. I found that it was difficult to understand, and to follow.
As of now, I would say that my favorite small fiction is "The Family Jewel". I love stories that tend to put a humorous spin on serious matters. We live in a world full of tragedy and whether we like it or not, can't escape it. At some point in our lives, bad things happen, but stories such as this one really take something that can be thought of as depressing and somehow make you smile at the end. I actually couldn't help laughing a couple of times. People getting sick, injured or staring in the face of death is a sad reality. Working as a paramedic is a very honorable thing and shows that there are people with good hearts, brave enough to help those people in need. However, having such a job comes with a price. You see things that many people would't be able to see, or maybe even shouldn't see. The greatest thing I love about this story is the fact that the two paramedics share this humorous outlook on their jobs. They aren't really bothered by what they do and just seem to look at each day as just another. In fact, they even make this ridiculous deal that each of them has to drive if the other can't stomach the thought of sitting in the back with a patient that is suffering from a certain condition. The scene where they pick up a bloody, drunk man is something that is by itself sad and gruesome. But the author doesn't go into too much detail about the extent of his injuries. Instead, the man is compared to the character Carrie from the Stephen King novel, which made me laugh for some reason. It sounded so crazy to think of this man drenched in blood like Carrie was if you have seen the movie. Then the man won't leave until he urinates on his Buddha statue. It just came out of nowhere and had me cracking up. Stories like this remind me that even though life has its share of tragedy, it's good to look for the bright side in things if you can and sometimes it's good to stop and not take things so seriously. A good lesson indeed!
ReplyDeleteOne story I struggled understanding was "The Lunar Deep". I get the sense that the father in the story is some kind of artist, but I'm not sure if he is alive or had died and is being spoken about after the fact...
Small Fictions - Annabel
ReplyDeleteI "liked" the "Annabel" story in a way because it challenged me. It made me think what its meaning(s) could be. Room was left for my imagination to fill in the blanks. Some of the "event's" in the story were "open to suggestion". Though the events were probably physical, they can either be more intellectual, emotional or physical.
I also "struggled with the most" with "Annabel". Later in the story the girls persona changes. She seems less needy and "darker" then she was in the beginning of the short story as if doing a complete 180. It was at this point that her behaviors filled in some of the blanks but still maintained some ambiguity...
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ReplyDeleteBefore She Was A Memory was my favorite small fiction thus far. This story stayed with me because the opening sentence started right in the middle of tension. I think tension is extremely important in stories and starting in the middle creates a very direct way of reaching the reader.
ReplyDeleteLithopedion was the story I struggled with the most. I didn't find it too hard to read or too hard to follow, but I didn't feel like I could find a way to connect to the story so I felt a bit alienated...
I have attempted to steal the technique used in The Third Time My Father Tried to Kill Me which was the backwards play in time. This was maybe my favorite technique because I think it plays with the readers perception and makes the narrator unreliable.
What is your favorite small fiction so far? Why? Why does this story stay with you?
ReplyDeleteOut of the small fictions so far, my favorite has been the "Last exit before toll" because it significantly reminds me of myself everyday. In this short story the character is asked by a stranger for some money for their needs. During my travels in the city, i've always come across homeless people that have asked me for a favor so that they can possibly buy food or something to drink. Being the good Samaritan that I try to be, I always give maybe 3 to 5 dollars so to those that seemed to be in need. Which is what the character tried to do in the story. What got the story stuck to me was just the unsettling feeling of not giving them more than what we initially gave. Felt that maybe if we had given them more money that they would be better off. That feeling of not exactly doing what you say you are gets a little challenging for your piece of mind because you would end up wondering how they are doing. Sometimes I think about this. Thinking that was a wrong to give or not to give them money.
Have you attempted to steal any techniques that you've read here? (Fiction writers can, in fact, should, steal. Stealing a technique is not plagiarism.)
I would say that I have "stolen" a few techniques from the short stories. Mostly of how not to over - exaggerate the stories that I've intended on doing. Maybe also the usage of their words and how they constructed the sentences together to create a really good short story.
My best favorite small fiction story so far is THE BOY AND THE BEAR.Why? because that story likes me so much is because bears are always kind of open my imaginations to joy and happiness of my childhood memories.bears always look as symbol of love and affeccion.
ReplyDeleteThe confrontation of the boy with the father.
the story that i have struggled is APOCRYPAL .
This story is hard to understand is sound like a dead person talking.
Some techiques that the authors are using are good to copy i will keep in mind for my ficcion writings later.
The lunar Deep
ReplyDeletethe author described how the moon look like. and used bible testament.my old dad means god. and mention about at judgment Day.the author described sea of moons, "SEA OF SERENITY ' Sea OF TRANQUILITY. SEA OF MOISTURE OF RAIN. and some religious people believe that god was grand fellow and they follow bible testament and. next paragraph, the author described another side.
" sea of Clouds, Sea of cricis. and that big one.but author dsid not belived