Short Shorts- edited by Irving Howe and Ilana Wiener Howe

#75. Short Shorts- edited by Irving Howe and Ilana Wiener Howe

I don't really like short stories.

I never have. I've enjoyed a few (I love Poe; I like de Maupassant's 'The Necklace'; Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery' is pure brilliance), but for the most part, I find that they kind of trail off toward the end and don't come to any specific conclusion. That was once again the case with most of the stories in this book (there were a few I enjoyed, but a very, very small few). I was left scratching my head and going, "So?" The stories are just too short to get me caring about the characters, and nothing wraps up well in the end. What's the point if you're not going to come to a conclusion? Why bother with the story if your character doesn't solve her problem and instead just turns around and goes outside to garden or whatever? Why bother at all?

This has been sitting on my shelf for years, and I figured, hey, why not read it? So I did, and I was again disappointed by the short story. I'll keep trying, though, because I *want* to love them. I want to be all, "YAY SHORT STORIES ARE AMAZINGZORS!!11!!!!!" Okay, maybe not quite that enthusiastic, but I'd like to be able to appreciate them more than I do. Maybe one day.

Words:

expropriate- v- to take possession of, especially for public use by the right of eminent domain, thus divesting the title of the private owner; to dispossess (a person) of ownership; to take (something) from another's possession for one's own use.

cretonne- n- a heavy cotton material in colorfully printed designs, used especially for drapery and slipcovers.

torpid- adj- inactive or sluggish; slow, dull, apathetic, lethargic; dormant, as in a hibernating or estivating animal.

welter- n- a confused mass, a jumble or muddle; a state of commotion, turmoil or upheaval; a rolling, tossing or tumbling about.

verst- n- a Russian measure of distance equivalent to 3500 feet or 0.6629 mile or 1.067 kilometers.

photogravure- n- any of various processes, based on photography, by which an intaglio engraving is formed on a metal plate, from which ink reproductions are made; the plate; a print made from it.

claque- n- a group of persons hired to applaud an act or performer; a group of sycophants.