What's Your Favorite Short Story of All Time?

[Paladin]

I'll go with "The Destructors" by Graham Greene.

[ThoughtCriminal]

1. The Nine Billion Names of God

Arthur C Clarke

[Richardo]

36. Second that.

It was the first title I thought of when I saw this post.

:thumbsup: ThoughtCriminal!

[CBGLuthier]

2. "Repent, Harlequin." said the TickTockMan by Harlan Ellison.

In style and tone and irony just too perfect.

[NewHampshireDem]

37. Great, great story ...

Certainly one of the best sci-fi short stories ever. Good choice :thumbsup:

[Mz Pip]

143. Shattered Like a Glass Goblin

is another terrific Ellison story.

Need to dig it out and read it again.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[whometense]

3. "Letter to a Young Lady in Paris"

by Julio Cortázar

Read it in college. Never forgot it.

[candy]

4. "The Gift of the Magi" ---O Henry

[pscot]

5. I've got a pair

"The story of my Dovecot", by Isaac Babel and "My first Goose" also by Babel.

[Southsideirish]

"The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" F. Scott Fitzgerald

[whometense]

16. I love that story too.

Also, "Bernice Bobs Her Hair". Actually, anything by Fitzgerald. :-)

[shrike]

61. What a story -- even though it's not my favorite

[Sherwood]

6. Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl

http://mbhs.bergtraum.k12.ny.us/cybereng/shorts/lamb.html

[kiki]

7. "In the Hills, the Cities..." by Clive Barker

[nuxvomica]

13. That's a great story

I read all the Books of Blood years ago but I recognized that title immediately.

[kiki]

32. I see it as being similar to '1984'...

...that is, it talks about the same issues (totalitarianism, loss of individual identity to the collective identity) but in terms of flesh (usually in big gooey chunks) rather than technology.

There's an excellent comic book adaptation that really brings the story to life, painted by John Bolton. It was in an anthology called 'Tapping the Vein' - you might be able to find it somewhere...

[toymachines]

8. "Cathedral" by ray carver

[NewHampshireDem]

39. I love that story!

"A Small, Good Thing" is also excellent from that collection. Carver wrote wonderful stories of redemption, didn't he?

[RetroLounge]

156. Yes, that is my pick too.

That story has stayed with me for years...

:thumbsup:

RL

[grillo7]

212. A great one...Carver has a lot of those. n/t

[woofless]

9. "The Big Two-Hearted River"

Got a soft spot for Hemingway's Nick Adams stories.

[opiate69]

10. Argh... I can't remember the name of it..

but it was about a group of Irish soldiers, and the friendship they developed with their British prisoners... it ended with them killing the prisoners... sound familiar to anyone??

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

21. Yes! It sounds familiar and I'm having

an ARGH moment too! Can't recall the name.......

[opiate69]

23. I am sooo kicking myself for getting rid of that book..

my English 201 class used a giant book simply called "Literature".. it was filled with almost eery important piece of literature in human history, including all of Shakespeare's sonnets, Oedipus, Hamlet, and tons of shorts... I sold it a couple years ago when I was particularly hard up for gas money.... stupid, stupid, stupid...

[Sequoia]

158. I know the feeling.

When I moved from S. Cal I had so many books that bookstores didn't want them. Come up to cow town and in a used book store I see the first edition of "Interview With the Vampire" selling for $500. Mine was like $5. Kick, kick, kick. It's enough to make you cry. There were many more. I hate moving. So now I have all these kids books that my child has grown out of and I will not give up my Dr. Suess (sp) or Curious George books.

[opiate69]

24. Aha!!!! I found it!!!

"Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor

http://www.enotes.com/guests-nation/

[Paladin]

27. That's It

PBS did a nice version of it a number of years ago......

[tomg]

98. I'm glad to see this mentioned.

The last line is brilliant and heartbreaking. Still, my vote goes for Flannery O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find." I really like those last lines.

[2nd_class_citizen]

116. Which one is that again?

I have mixed feelings about Flannery O'Connor's stories, but I guess that's rather the point. I can't remember off the top of my head what "A Good Man is Hard to Find" is about.

[nuxvomica]

11. "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" by Conrad Aiken

I was first introduced to it by an episode of Rod Sering's "Night Gallery" that was narrated by Orson Welles. I had to go to the library the next day to read the text.

[Sal Minella]

12. "The Unicorn in the Garden" by James Thurber

[Democrats_win]

43. Another Thurber: The Night the Bed Fell on my Father

Funny!

[ruthg]

67. Thurber! My childhood hero! N/T

[Patiod]

93. "The Catbird Seat" by Thurber

[Steel City Slim]

14. The Last Question by Isaac Asimov

It'll blow your mind.

[CBGLuthier]

15. I saw a planetarium presentation of The Last Question

Read by Asimov himself. Not in person unfortunately, on tape, but the light show that accompanied it was so damn cool, as you might imagine.

Great story. Just found it online and going to give it another read.

[Steel City Slim]

26. I Wish I Had Seen That Show

I bet it was GREAT.

[_dynamicdems]

222. That must have been something to see.

I've got the story on cassette, read by asimov. The tape is "Isaac Asimov Himself" and he reads 5 complete stories. It's an old tape, they may have it on cd now.

[drfresh]

102. I second that.

Terrific story. There's an online version up at http://www.kenobi.com.ar/question.htm .. go read it.

[johnaries]

127. And I'll Third it!

The last sentence blew me away!

[_dynamicdems]

223. Yes! That blew me away too.

LET THERE BE LIGHT! And there was light.

[The_Casual_Observer]

17. The Geezenstacks by Fredric Brown

or The Sand Kings by George RR Martin.

[pie]

18. "The Cats of Ulthar"

H.P. Lovecraft

[nuxvomica]

25. Cool story. I just read it at Wikipedia.

Here's the link if others want to:
http://wikisource.org/wiki/The_Cats_of_Ulthar

[lilymercury]

19. Madame Rose Hanie -Kahlil Gilbran n/t

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

20. This is a great thread!

'Cause now I'll read all the stories postedhere I haven't gotten to or heard about. My favorite (today) "One trip across" by Ernest Hemingway.

[Paladin]

22. If You Want To Read My Favorite......

....just go into Yahoo or Google and punch in <"The Destructors" Graham Greene>. The story is posted in several places.

[Serial Mom]

28. An entire book of short stories "Tomorrows Children"

edited by Asimov.

Many different sci fi writers included, but they are all about children in the future. So many interesting stories!

[Dogmudgeon]

49. That book sent me into therapy

Yeah, :)

I read it when I was about 11 years old. A very interesting experience. The Ugly Little Boy and Cabin Boy made especially strong impressions on me.

--p!

[Serial Mom]

52. Not sure of your age now,

But read it again after you are a parent!

Makes for interesting thoughts about kids!

[johnaries]

128. Have you read the novelization of The Ugly Little Boy

by Asimov and Silverberg? I didn't think it possible, but it was even better than the original short.

[ok_cpu]

29. "Why I live at the PO" Eudora Welty

"Teddy" JD Salinger
"The Things They Carried" Tim O'Brien

Plus about a million others. I love a good short story.

[seg4527]

30. The Metamorphisis ~ Kafka

[ruthg]

72. but its a novel, no??

with one of the greatest first sentences of all time...

[jobycom]

31. A Hunger Artist--Franz Kafka, Actually, it isn't, my favorite is really

Hills Like White Elephants, byt Ernest Hemmingway, but that's so common a choice I felt bad for saying it. Plus it would bring out all the Hemmingway haters, and I hate to see ole Ernest dissed by people who clearly don't get him. :-)

A Hunger Artist is a strong second, followed by "The Garden of Forking Paths," Borges.

[readmoreoften]

129. I also really like Kafka's "The Bucket Rider" /nt

[pscot]

167. My favorite Borges

is Funez the Memorious, with The Qixote of Pierre Menard not far behind.

[mopinko]

33. at the anarchist's convention

john sayles. i think of it all the time while at du. it is a very popular selected shorts performance, by jerry stiller, and available on cd.

[ruthg]

71. YES!!!!! Thank you for reminding me of that! n/t

[Calliope]

34. Let me use this thread to plug an NPR program

Selected Shorts. Weekly program "celebrating the short story" Go to www.symphonyspace.org for more info.

[BlueIris]

35. "The Devil and Daniel Webster," by Stephen Vincent Benét.

Don't mock me.

[lumpy]

45. Just got through rereading that..

Been scimming through my Mom's old dog-eared books of Benet's prose and poetry.

[NewHampshireDem]

38. Araby, by James Joyce

"Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger."

http://eserver.org/fiction/araby.html

[Bridget Burke]

59. "The Dead"--also by Jimmy Joyce....

The air of the room chilled his shoulders. He stretched himself cautiously along under the sheets and lay down beside his wife. One by one, they were all becoming shades. Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age. He thought of how she who lay beside him had locked in her heart for so many years that image of her lover's eyes when he had told her that he did not wish to live.

Generous tears filled Gabriel's eyes. He had never felt like that himself towards any woman, but he knew that such a feeling must be love. The tears gathered more thickly in his eyes and in the partial darkness he imagined he saw the form of a young man standing under a dripping tree. Other forms were near. His soul had approached that region where dwell the vast hosts of the dead. He was conscious of, but could not apprehend, their wayward and flickering existence. His own identity was fading out into a grey impalpable world: the solid world itself, which these dead had one time reared and lived in, was dissolving and dwindling.

A few light taps upon the pane made him turn to the window. It had begun to snow again. He watched sleepily the flakes, silver and dark, falling obliquely against the lamplight. The time had come for him to set out on his journey westward. Yes, the newspapers were right: snow was general all over Ireland. It was falling on every part of the dark central plain, on the treeless hills, falling softly upon the Bog of Allen and, farther westward, softly falling into the dark mutinous Shannon waves. It was falling, too, upon every part of the lonely churchyard on the hill where Michael Furey lay buried. It lay thickly drifted on the crooked crosses and headstones, on the spears of the little gate, on the barren thorns. His soul swooned
slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead.

www.mendele.com/WWD/

[artemisia1]

92. "The Dead" is my favourite also. EOM

[non sociopath skin]

172. And mine.

The Skin

[grillo7]

213. I don't know if I read too quickly...

but I didn't really understand what Joyce was getting at in this story. I would be pleased if anyone had a nutshell analysis......

[devilgrrl]

40. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

creepy!!! :scared::scared::scared::scared::scared::scared:

[RobinA]

51. OMG!

I'm STILL in therapy over that one. My 7th grade English teacher read it to us the Friday before Easter vacation 1970. It preyed on me the whole weekend, I couldn't get over it. Im still not over it. That story probably made me a liberal. It made me hate religion (and it isn't even about religion). I still can't believe it.

[Iris]

76. Saw the movie in 8th grade

It also took me weeks to recover from the horror of it.

[Justitia]

63. Agree. Love it! Never forgotten it. -eom

[tammywammy]

65. Agreed

Still a classic! :)

[ruthg]

68. Isn't that more of a novella? Or is it shorter ?

Its been years since I read it. Very creepy .

[catbert836]

105. About apartheid, wasn't it?

The message was that old traditions that serve no useful purpose and hurt people have to be gotten rid of. They saw right through it in South Africa, and banned it.

[NMMNG]

149. That's mine too

I read it in Jr. High and that twist ending will stick in my mind forever.

[paizelle]

189. I agree. This is my favorite as well.

[Goblinmonger]

41. The Sound of Thunder by Bradbury

Can't say that it is my all-time favorite, but it hasn't been mentioned yet and at least deserves that much. They are going to desecrate it with a movie that is coming out soon.

http://www.sba.muohio.edu/snavely/415/thunder.htm

[ruthg]

73. my science teacher spouse...

reads it to his class every year.

[China_cat]

42. Terry Bisson's

They're Made of Meat.

Very short, very funny.

[YankeyMCC]

58. Really a serious of very verry short stories

Michael Swanwick's "Periodic Table of Science Fiction"

http://www.scifi.com/scifiction/periodictable.html

[SheilaT]

209. Yes, yes, yes!

I was going to post that story if no one else had.

[lumpy]

44. For romantic angst.

The Apple Tree by John Galsworthy

[northzax]

46. top three:

Salinger: "A Perfect Day for Bananafish."
Connell:"The Most Dangerous Game."
O'Connor:"Everything that Rises Must Converge"

I know, boring and classicist, but still, I managed to avoid Hemmingway (and I could easily throw several in there) and Poe.

[last_texas_dem]

47. I love most of the stories in Salinger's "Nine Stories"

I think my all-time favorite is "To Esme with Squalor." "Bananafish" is great, though; the ending really sneaks up on you.

I love Mark Twain's "The War Prayer" but I'm sure whether it qualifies as a short story or not.

[northzax]

48. Esme is damn good, you're right

but there's something about Bananafish that just grabs me. And yes, the ending hits you like a ton of bricks the first time, but a secondary or tertiary reading shows how well he laid the groundwork, it's not a twist for the sake of twists, but the logical end, when looked at as a whole. It's a shame that Salinger is forever linked to Catcher and the resulting offspring of teenage angst lit. More because of what followed it than Catcher itself.

[ruthg]

70. Bananafish blew my mind when I was a teen...

Its been a long time since I have read those stories...time to see how they seem from way up here in the future.

[Dogmudgeon]

50. The Cold Equations

It was the first story that ripped my heart out and stomped on that sucker like it was nothin' tougher than a cockroach. I think I was about ten or eleven at the time -- around 1968.

I last read it in 2000. It still left me with the ache of suffocation 32 years and several readings later.

--p!

[ruthg]

69. Great choice. Still gives me goosebumps. n/t

[mzteris]

171. that's a good one

well - not "good" - but a good story. It has a way of sticking with you - especially when you're faced with one of those "no win" situations. . . what to do, what to do...

[catbert836]

53. "The Book of Sand"- Jorge Luis Borges

A pretty-pretty scary vignette!

[kittykatkoffeekup]

54. The Deathbird

Harlan Ellison

[NuttyFluffers]

86. good collection! rat god and pain god were particularly memorable

i read that in 4th grade (around 9ish). it was a bit above the normal level of reading for 4th graders, but i 'got it.' i could understand it being introduced later than so early though.

[bluescribbler]

131. Second that emotion

Harlan Ellison is a living treasure, and I think "The Deathbird" is his masterpiece. I saw Harlan speak a few years ago in Boston. It was one of the most entertaining non-musical experiences of my life.

[Dr. Strange]

187. As long as you brought up Ellison...

I HAVE NO MOUTH & I MUST SCREAM

[terrya]

55. "The Necklace" by Guy De Maupassiant

I still remember reading this story with the bitterest of ironic endings.

[GracieM]

83. My fav as well

[shrike]

113. Snows of Kilimanjaro

Either you love it or you hate it. I loved it.

Two more I recently read, by Jack London:

Lost Face
Samuel

[paizelle]

190. ohhhh yeah! I love this too!

[NashVegas]

210. Lesson Always Stayed With Me

"Don't be afraid to admit to a fuck-up."

[tishaLA]

56. "The Beast in the Jungle" by James....

"The Paradise of Bachelors and the Tartarus of Maids" by Melville

"The Purloined Letter" by Poe

"Rip Van Winkle" by Irving

Can you tell my dissertation concerns antebellum American literature?

[tarkus]

80. Thank you! I couldn't believe no one had said "The Beast in the Jungle" NM

[Patiod]

94. An amazing story

[MrSandman]

57. If you don't count...

Everything written by either Edgar Allan Poe or Ambrose Bierce, then:


Either The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

or The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs.

[puddycat]

60. Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

One of the greatest short stories ever written. Does she, or doesn't she, have the abortion?

[Iris]

77. That's mine, too!

[smoogatz]

175. Interesting choice.

One of the few published short stories written almost entirely in objective point of view (just dialog and description--you don't hear the characters' thoughts). And probably the only successful one.

[grillo7]

211. Definitely in my top five...compacted brilliance!

[shrike]

62. The Snows of Kilimanjaro, by Hemingway

[northzax]

64. as long as it starts with

"I never thought this would happen to me" I'm down with it. :evilgrin:

[ruthg]

66. What a very good question!

First thing that comes to mind is The Diamond As Big As The Ritz by Fitzgerald. Second thing that comes to mind is Nightfall by Isaac Asimov. Then a whole bunch of Saki and there is always The Gift Of The Magi by O. Henry.....

And lots more are coming to mind but I think I could get very carried away here..

[Swede]

74. A Rose for Ecclesiastes by Roger Zelazny.

It's been a favorite of mine.

[gauguin57]

75. "The Lame Shall Enter First" by Flannery O'Connor

It's sort of about spirituality and misguided do-gooder-ism. Interesting story (as are all of Flannery's ... I love the darkness of her stories).

My second favorite would HAVE to be "Bartleby the Scrivener" by Melville. I just LOVE that story.

Your posts have also reminded me how much I loved "The Dead" by Joyce and "Monkey's Paw" by Jacobs.

I was babysitting across the street from my house as a young teen-ager, and reading the "Monkey's Paw" for school ... I actually had to have my father come over and sit with me because I got so scared! Now THAT's a powerful short story!

[babylonsister]

78. O'Henry's "The Ransom Of Redchief" has to be up there. nt

[Bullwinkle925]

108. Yes - was one of the first that came to mind for me.

[Orrex]

79. "Where I'm Calling From," by Raymond Carver

Carver's "Cathedral" is also very good.

[stanwyck]

154. I love Raymond Carver

all his stories.

[Kickin_Donkey]

81. "Equal in Paris"

by James Baldwin.

(I think it's an account of his own experience, so does this make it not eligible for this FICTION forum?)

Nevertheless, it's a short story one should read. Powerful. Penetrating.

[ladeuxiemevoiture]

82. Edgar Allen Poe's "Hop Frog"

eom

[flordehinojos]

84. "Why I Live at the PO" by Eudora Welty ...

(a story about sibling rivalry) ... and for anyone of you who would like to read it ... here is the link to the story:
http://art-bin.com/art/or_weltypostoff.html

[Kire]

85. Adam Haslett's "You Are Not a Stranger Here"

I think there is only one story in the whole book that isn't top notch. Beautiful, touching, funny, sad, triumphant. The theme to all of the stories is human connection. All of the characters are either dying, very sick, mentally ill or are born into a very fucked up situation, but they all find someone else to connect with by the end of the story.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/writers/writer.asp?cid=1014391

[2nd_class_citizen]

117. Yes!

I forgot about this collection! I read it randomly one time when I was working in the library in college (gotta love the new books shelf). It was really lovely. Thanks for the reminder! I may have to find myself a copy.

[NuttyFluffers]

87. "Mademoiselle de Y's" Chambers, "Carmilla" LeFanu

"The Delicate Prey" Bowles

I prefer to be haunted.

[MaraJade]

88. "The Machine Stops" by E M Forster--

Vital reading even and especially now, with the advent of the internet.

http://brighton.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~prajlich/forster.html

[Touchdown]

89. Some Stephen King story, don't remember the name.

...but it's about this lady who's obsessed with finding a way to work that's faster than the route she normally takes. Her neighbor is the narrator, and he describes her convertible as looking like it went through the 7th circle of Hell, with strange creatures smashed into the front grill, all the while she brags about finding a new route that shaved off 2 hours from her commute.

[paizelle]

191. Mrs. Todd's Shortcut. Oh that is a great one. Also

Uncle Otto's Truck. I use the very odd phrase "squot him like a pumpkin" sometimes in conversation and it always ID's the King fan (or fanatic, as the case may be).

[ernstbass]

90. Anything by Ellen Gilchrist

[Pharlo]

91. 'A Rose for Emily' by Faulkner and Dorothy Parker's 'The Waltz'

[Patiod]

95. Raymond Carver's "A Small Good Thing"

hit me like a kick in the stomach.

My other two have been mentioned: Thurber's "The Catbird Seat" and James' "The Beast in the Jungle".

[kjejan]

96. Kate Chopin's

"Story of an Hour."

So HONEST.

[Uncle Roy]

97. "The Rain" by Joe Hayes, from his collection "This Thing Called Courage"

It is the most emotionally intense story I've ever read.

I had to put it down half way through and wait a day before I could
finish it. And I don't think I could read it again.

[caitlyn]

99. "The Persistence of Vision" by John Varley

[Spider Jerusalem]

100. At the moment, "The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber" by Hemingway.

Hemingway was really a much better writer of short stories than he was a novelist...

[McCamy Taylor]

101. "Heart of Darkness" Joseph Conrad, yeah its 77 pages but thats SHORT

because I like my novels really LONG (800 plus pages). "Heart of Darkness" is probably one of the best things ever written by anyone, and it is really, really short, you can sit down and read it in one sitting. I cant recommend it strongly enough, especially with the Neo-cons playing their colonial games right now.

[catbert836]

119. That's what you call a novella

but in this case, I'd say it's a book.

[shrike]

120. Another "book" by Conrad

The End of the Tether. A novella, long story, whatever.

About a sea captain living a comfortable retirement when his investments suddenly go south. He is forced to start again at an age when he is held in contempt by his younger contemporaries. I found so many parallels between his story and the shark-infested corporate world of today, those who are downsized, the elderly who are vulnerable, etc.

[catbert836]

121. Have to check that out

Conrad wasn't much for long books, but there's more wisdom packed in them than most 500-page novels.

[jackster]

103. A Good Man is Hard to Find

Flannery O'Connor

[loves_dulcinea]

183. rofl!

she needed someone like me in every day of her life, then she'd have been a good person.

[philosophie_en_rose]

104. We can get it for you wholesale.

Neil Gaiman's short story about a small-minded man that can't resist a bargain, especially when buying the services of murderers.

[Orsino]

106. Bradbury's "Calling Mexico"

A chapter of Dandelion Wine, concerning the bedridden Col Freeleigh.

[Bullwinkle925]

107. Amazingly, the first 2 I thought of were both O.Henry -

"The Ransom of Red Chief" and "The Gift of the Magi".

[MaineDem]

109. I was going to say "The Ransom of Red Chief"

Love that! :)

[Bullwinkle925]

111. It certainly does stick in the memory banks. Sooo funny.

[flamingyouth]

110. "A Christmas Memory," by Truman Capote.

[shrike]

114. Beautiful story n/t

[AnotherMother4Peace]

144. One of reasons I look forward to Christmas is watch this movie.

[AuntieM1957]

112. By the Waters of Babylon - Stephen Vincent Benet nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

162. Oh yes, and it was written BEFORE World War II

:wow:

[2nd_class_citizen]

115. Ellen Klages's "Time Gypsy,"

from the anthology Bending the Landscape: Original Gay and Lesbian Writing: Science Fiction

Mmmmm... lesbian time travel science fiction... :loveya:

Of course the answer really depends on whether or not your speaking of literary value or fun.

[2nd_class_citizen]

118. I realize I already answered this one, but

I just remembered another one! "The 24-Hour Dog" by Jeanette Winterson (found in her collection: The World and Other Places) is one of the most beautifully written stories I have ever read. It's not very long (about a dozen pages, I think), but every word is precious. There are so many lines that just stand out in my memory.

"He's only a dog. Yes, but he will find me out." :thumbsup:

I'm not sure if anyone is still reading this thread, but I highly recommend this one.

[morningglory]

122. William Faulkner: Spotted Ponies.

[Homer Wells]

123. I have many many favorites

having been an avid reader for over fifty years, but one that really touched me deeply and which I recently discovered in a Fiction class at my local college, was the Ursula K. Le Guin short story, "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas".
It described a society of complete peace and harmony, but only gained through the suffering and misery of a chosen innocent child. It made a deep impression on me.;(

[aaronbees]

124. Richard Ford, "Rock Springs"...

Actually, most stories from that collection are at the top of my faves.

[Paladin]

125. You Have Good Taste In Short Stories

After reading your post, I found an excerpt from "Rock Springs" on the Net. I was so impressed with it that I ordered the book yesterday. I'm grateful to you....

[aaronbees]

136. Thanks!

I don't care much for Ford's novels but that particular collection is wonderful. Hope you've been enjoying it :)

[Paladin]

137. All of the Stories Were Excellent

Enjoyed them a great deal; thanks again.

[Sisaruus]

126. I can't choose between two by Tillie Olsen

I Stand Here Ironing and Tell Me A Riddle - both by Tillie Olsen. I first read them about 30 years ago and it would not be unreasonable to say that they changed my perspective on life. They still resonate for me.

[readmoreoften]

130. "The Secret Miracle" Jorge Luis Borges /nt

[bluescribbler]

132. "Reasons to be Cheerful" by Greg Egan

That story convinced me that I have to read everything he wrote.

[waldnorm]

133. Can't Pick Just One . . .

but here's a few . . .

"Sonny's Blues"--James Baldwin

"The Secret Miracle"--Jorge Louis Borges

"A Small, Good Thing"--Raymond Carver

"The Swimmer"--John Cheever

"The Babysitter"--Robert Coover

"The Psychiatrist"--Machado De Assis

"A Rose for Emily"--William Faulkner

"A Country Doctor"--Franz Kafka

"The Rocking Horse Winner"--D.H. Lawrence

"Innocent Erendira and Her Heartless Grandmother"--Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"--Joyce Carol Oates

"I Stand Here Ironing"--Tillie Olesen

"The Shawl"--Cynthia Ozick

"Flowering Judas"--Katherine Anne Porter (But the past few years, the must story to read by her is definitely "Pale Horse, Pale Rider")

"The Girl With the Curious Hair"--David Foster Wallace

"The Time, The Place, The Loved One"--Susan Welch

and since the chapter of the novel was originally a short story-- "Saint Marie" by Louise Erdrich (from Love Medicine)

[LWolf]

134. I don't do favorites,

but I would put something by Vonnegut or Eudora Welty in the group at the top.

[janx]

135. IMPRESSIVE!

This is absolutely amazing! Do you know how few people read short stories these days? DU is crowded with people who read LITERATURE!

You all have really amazed me. I'm so happy that so many here like short stories.

[okasha]

138. Can't choose just one

A second vote for "A Rose for Ecclesiastes"

"The God's Script," by Jorge Luis Borges

"The Sanctity of the Heathen," by Johannes Bobrowski (Die Seligkeit der Heiden; don't know if this exists in English translation.)

'When It Changed," by Joanna Russ

"The Man Who Walked Home," by James Tiptree, Jr.

[McCamy Taylor]

139. "Heart of Darkness" You can read it in one sitting so I call it a ss.

[sweetheart]

140. "Flowers for Algernon" (nt)

[Rowdyboy]

147. The perfect choice......

It is a masterpiece.

[S_B_Jackson]

141. Diable, a Dog by Jack London

Its incredibly dark and the violence is disturbing...but it's a very good story.

[petronius]

142. "The Days of Solomon Gursky" by Ian McDonald, and

"This Moment of the Storm" by Roger Zelazny are the two that always come to mind first...

[AnotherMother4Peace]

145. "Rain" by Somerset Maugham - great story of

a lady of the evening, a ship, the tropics, and a stupid ass preacher. One of my favorites, & I guess, a story line that is timeless.

[Rowdyboy]

146. "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury....heartbreakingly cruel children

in one of the best sci-fi short stories ever written.

There's also an EXCELLENT short movie.

[MuseRider]

148. There Will Come Soft Rains

Bradbury.

I love short stories and this is really not my favorite but it was the most influential. I read it in High School around 1970 and it was the first real awakening I had. Having lived through the "Duck and Cover" time I had forgotten enough that when I read this story I became for the first time totally aware of politics and the importance of the Peace movement going on around me. After that I was a true member of that movement, not just a silly high school girl hanging with her buds.

[mitchum]

150. "Araby" by Mr Joyce

[farmbo]

151. "Genesis" by Wallace Stegner

A young man comes of age in an ill-advised cattle roundup during a Saskatchewan blizzard.
(Stegner considered it his best)

[spoony]

152. "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas"

Read it for a class about utilitarianism many years ago and it's one of the few pieces that really have stuck to me.

[saltpoint]

178. It's a tremendous story. LeGuin is very gifted. What a story to be

read out loud, too. Spellbinding.

[iamjoy]

185. That Was Very Powerful

I read it for a college writing class, and all the other students were outraged at the cruelty.
I had figured out the allegory. Somehow, although the knowledge disturbs me, I lack the strength to walk away.

[Rowdyboy]

153. "All Summer in a day", the Ray Bradbury masterpiece.....

[Paladin]

179. Refresh My Memory

Is that the one with the little girl and the closet?

[iamjoy]

184. Yes, It Was - The One on Venus

I like Bradbury's short stories. I also enjoyed "Sound of Thunder" and "The Veldt"

[Cygnusx2112]

155. The Telltale Heart

[raccoon]

157. I guess I'd have to say, "The Monkey's Paw,"

"Far Centaurus" would be up there too. And "Enchanted Village," both by A.E. Van Vogt.

[Jim Sagle]

214. I'd go with Van Vogt's "Vault of the Beast".

[SutaUvaca]

159. "My Platonic Sweetheart"

One of Mark Twain's little known but wonderful short pieces.

[cmkramer]

160. I like a lot of short stories

My favorite is probably "The King of The Golden River" by John Ruskin. Also "In Memory of L.E.M." by Dorothy Canfield.

[the arkansas liberal]

161. "Bernice Bobs her Hair" F. Scott Fitzgerald

LOVE the ending...

[sandnsea]

163. Shawshank Redemption

Lot of good stories listed, but this is still one of the best stories ever. Just jumped right off the page. Even if Stephen King did write it.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

164. It was sooooooo outstanding!

And it was turned into one of the best movies ever!

:bounce: :bounce:

[Fire Walk With Me]

165. "Suicide" by Theodore Sturgeon

[gratefultobelib]

166. It's not my favorite, but I found Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx

recently at the library. It has been published in a very slim little book which I read in about 30 min. Very sweet, but then I loved the movie.

[pscot]

168. Gooseberries by Anton Chekov

and The Story of my Dovecot, by Isaac Babel. Gooseberries is one of those stories where nothing happens, but it has stayed with me for forty years. Where Chekov is cool and thoughtful, Babel is a creature of the revolution; passionate, violent, often brutal. He was a loyal Leninist who dissappeared into the gulags and was never heard from again.

[mark414]

169. the mysterious stranger by mark twain

[hamerfan]

170. Batard, by Jack London.

A great story.
dumpbush

[smoogatz]

173. Chekhov: "The Lady with the Dog."

It's a perfect jewel of a short story. Possibly the best ever written, IMO.

[MilesColtrane]

174. "Scut Farkas and the Murderous Mariah"

...by Jean Shepherd

It's in "Wanda Hickey's Night of Golden Memories:And Other Disasters"

The movie "A Christmas Story" was based on some of Jean Shepherd's short stories.

[haf216]

176. I can't pick a favorite.

I not a real fan of short fiction, I like my books. With that said, I really enjoy Roger Zelazny sort stories (as well as his longer works.)

Here are some that top the list:
Go Starless in the Night
A Hand Across the Galaxy
The Furies
A thing of Terrible Beauty
The Stainless Steel Leech
Comes Now the Power

[paparush]

177. The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

[Enoch1981]

180. My favorite short story

I suppose my favorite short story of all would be a draw between 'Dr. Locrian's Asylum' by Thomas Ligotti and 'Shadow Play' by Christopher Fowler. Both are in the horror or dark fantasy category.

[teamster633]

181. It's been over twenty years since I read "Too Far To Go"...

...but since I've seen no mention of John Updike I'll nominate:

Wife Wooing
Giving Blood
Here Come the Maples

All the stories were good, and after this much time, those I cited might not have been the best, but those are the ones that stand out as I look at the table of contents.

[teamster633]

182. From the forward of "Too Far To Go":

Though the Maples stories trace the decline and fall of a marriage, they also illumine a history in many ways happy, of growing children and a million mundane moments shared. That a marriage ends is less than ideal; but all things end under heaven, and if temporality is held to be invalidating, then nothing real succeeds. The moral of these stories is that all blessings are mixed.

Last night I reread the selection, Separating, and would add that to the above list.

[Jim Sagle]

186. "Wanderer of Time" by John Russell Fearn.

[friedgreentomatoes]

188. was in a daze after i read

Ugly Little Boy by Asimov

[Forkboy]

192. The Coffin by Ray Bradbury

Deliciously wicked.

[Paladin]

193. Thanks For The Participation!

I started this thread almost 2 1/2 years ago, and it's still very much alive and lively. For that, I thank you all. I hope it continues to last for a long while, and I particularly hope that people have discovered great short stories as a result of it; I know that I have.

With great appreciation,

Paladin

[recoveringdittohed]

194. A surprising author, perhaps?

Everyone has read Tolkien's 'Lord of the Rings'; but few I have met have read his short story 'Leaf, by Niggle'. Those who have agree with me it is amazing and hard to top. Especially read this if you can appreciate art.

[China_cat]

195. A Boy and His Dog

Ellison.

I'm truly surprised no one else has named this one.

[DemBones DemBones]

196. Favorite book of short stories: " 'Ship Fever' and Other Stories," by

Andrea Barrett. It won the National Book Award maybe a dozen years ago. Ship Fever is a novella. I recommend it and all the short stories as well as her novels, especially Voyage of the Narwhal.

I also like the British writer Angela Carter, a magical realist. My favorite of her short stories is probably "The Company of Wolves," included in the collection The Bloody Chamber. These are feminist stories examining the latent themes in fairy tales: women's roles, sexuality, etc.

[USA_1]

197. ''The Cask of Amontillado'' by EA Poe

The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.


I have recited the story in parties and people have told me I do a great rendition of the vengeful Montresor.

What a story!!!

[nosmokes]

198. Hard to narrow it to one since so much depends on my mood, but Flannery

O'Connor wrote it.

[humus]

199. The Drunkard by FrankO'Connor

fuuny story...
and just about anything
from Liam O'flaherty (the weaver of words)

[Jade Fox]

200. "Fleur" by Louise Erdrich

[Paladin]

201. Any Annie Proulx Fans Out There?

I've been getting into some of her short stories lately and I just love them. Nobody does the contemporary western scene better than she does. There was a new one from her in a recent "New Yorker" entitled "Tits Up In A Ditch" that I think could be another "Brokeback Mountain" for her; it covers a lot of ground: growing up in hardscrabble circumstances on a ranch in Wyoming; dealing with an unfeeling, toxic family; getting married and pregnant way too early; an absolutely gut-wrenching death; and (get this)going into the Army to get away from all of the foregoing and coming home from Iraq brutally wounded. My bet is that the screenplay is already in the works. Hope McMurtry is helping her write it.....

[pitohui]

202. yes, i['m a fan and i'll look for this one

loved "brokeback mountain" (the story) and one day should get off my ass and rent the movie which i'm sure is equally compelling

[Paladin]

204. Get Thee To A Blockbuster

You need to see the movie, for sure. Heath Ledger is phenominal, as is Jake Gyllenhaal. And Ang Lee is rapidly becoming one of my favorite directors. Enjoy....

[pitohui]

203. "foster you're dead" by philip k dick

as far as i'm concerned the greatest xmas story ever and leaves "a christmas carol" in the dust but maybe you had to be born in the 50s to sppreciate...

[Babel_17]

205. Off the top of my head I'll add "Day Million" by Fred Pohl

Woops! How could I forget "Fondly Fahrenheit" by Alfred Bester.

[Greyskye]

206. "Sandkings" by George R. R. Martin was very memorable

Not sure if it's my favorite - there have been a ton of good ones listed in this thread. But it stands out in my memory despite having last read it about 27 years ago, and no one else has mentioned it yet.

I just wish Martin would finish the epic saga he's currently writing! :banghead:

[Paladin]

207. Kicked.....

....because a Favorite Short Story thread has turned up in the DU Lounge.....

[Jim__]

208. The Vane Sisters - Vladimir Nabokov

At least it's one of my favorites. The story is available online. Nabokov's prose draws you in:

The day, a compunctious Sunday after a week of blizzards,
had been part jewel, part mud. In the midst of my usual
afternoon stroll through the small hilly town attached to the
girls' college where I taught French literature, I had stopped
to watch a family of brilliant icicles drip-dripping from the
eaves of a frame house. So clear-cut were their pointed shadows
on the white boards behind them that I was sure the shadows of
the falling drops should be visible too. But they were not. The
roof jutted too far out, perhaps, or the angle of vision was
faulty, or, again, I did not chance to be watching the right
icicle when the right drop fell. There was a rhythm, an
alternation in the dripping that I found as teasing as a coin
trick. It led me to inspect the corners of several house
blocks, and this brought me to Kelly Road, and right to the
house where D. used to live when he was instructor here. And as
I looked up at the eaves of the adjacent garage with its full
display of transparent stalactites backed by their blue
silhouettes, I was rewarded at last, upon choosing one, by the
sight of what might be described as the dot of an exclamation
mark leaving its ordinary position to glide down very fast-- a
jot faster than the thaw-drop it raced. This twinned twinkle
was delightful but not completely satisfying; or rather it only
sharpened my appetite for other tidbits of light and shade, and
I walked on in a state of raw awareness that seemed to
transform the whole of my being into one big eyeball rolling in
the world's socket.

The first time I read it, I was a little disappointed. I didn't get it. Then, the meaning slowly dawned on me, so I re-read it. The story is well-known for containing its meaning, hidden, in the last paragraph:

I could isolate, consciously, little. Everything seemed
blurred, yellow-clouded, yielding nothing tangible. Her inept
acrostics, maudlin evasions, theopathies-- every recollection
formed ripples of mysterious meaning. Everything seemed
yellowly blurred, illusive, lost.

[janx]

215. Kick

Wa-ay up

[Paladin]

217. Don't Know Whether It's The Thread You Like......

....or my choice of "The Destructors." Either way, thankee kindly.....

[canis_lupus]

216. A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud ...

by Carson McCullers, a favorite southern writer of mine.

Also, Ambrose Bierce's Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge.

[xochi]

218. A fine list! I'm pleased there are so many here who enjoy short stories!

I don't have a favorite; the form encompasses too much diversity, contains too many gems for me to pick just one. Couple more random thoughts: I wonder how the response to your (OP's) question would differ had it been posted on, say, some freeper site such as the Free
Republic, and, what, no one here mentions bukowski? Heh.

[Paladin]

219. Thanks For The Response.

I am thrilled that this thread has been active for so long, with so many worthy opinions expressed; sincere thanks to all concerned. As far as having such a thread on Frei Republik, let me just say that I think it would have been a much shorter list, and that it wouldn't have lasted anywhere near as long as this one. And no mention of Bukowski? Good question. I like his stuff, and I bet I'm not the only one, here.......

[Sabriel]

220. "Taboo" (all 32 words of it)

"Taboo"
by Enrique Anderson Imbert
1966

-------------------

His guardian angel whispered to Fabian, behind his shoulder:
"Careful, Fabian! It is decreed that you will die the minute you pronounce the word doyen."
"Doyen?" asks Fabian, intrigued.
And he dies.

[_dynamicdems]

221. The Last Question by Isaac Asimov.

Asimov was a master of the short story. "The Ugly Little Boy" was also terrific. But this quote from "Last Question" makes the story the most memorable.

"Insufficient data for meaningful answer"

[GreenEyedLefty]

224. "Everything that Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O'Connor

followed closely by "The Swimmer" by John Cheever.

Edited to add: "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce. I read that in my first survey of American lit class and it's haunted me ever since.

[Jo March]

225. "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D H Lawrence

I grew up poor so I related to the house whispering that there must be more money.

http://www.dowse.com/fiction/Lawrence.html