Alan Bean Plus Four By Tom Hanks Review

 

The New Yorker magazine has published a story by famous American actor Tom Hanks. The story talks about a company of four friends that travels to the moon in a spacecraft named after Alan Bean. Alan LaVern Bean was an American astronaut who was the fourth person to walk on the Moon.

The story mentions mobile devices and applications. The main characters are taking selfies using the Earth as a background, which can be seen in the window. The story might be classified as science fiction and maybe as a comic book.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/27/alan-bean-plus-four

Landlady by Roald Dahl — Review

 

British writer Roald Dahl in his short story “Landlady” very successfully uses the technique of an unexpected ending. Readers love a surprise ending. A conclusion with an unexpected twist is made even more powerful when it is terrifying and chilling. The intrigue begins with the first phrases and continues until the end.

 

The expectation of something terrifying is even more impressive than the horror itself! The narration is meaningful.  It's like a warning that you need to listen to your inner voice and not follow the first thoughts. Before making decisions, it’s better to think.

 

The final scene breaks off abruptly, without even starting.  And this is both shocking and intriguing and gives space for imagination.

 

Here is the link to the text of the story:

http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/sites/teacheng/files/landlady_text.pdf

Flowering Judas by Katherine Anne Porter — Review

The story “Flowering Judas” by American writer, Katherine Anne Porter, is the story of the revolutionary leader Braggioni, who cynically manipulates his associates, while he himself enjoys his prosperity and power.

 

The title of the story is the name of the tree on which Judas hung himself, and it contains a bitter allusion to the dubiousness of all revolutions, including religious revolutions.

According to the author, everything that seems progressive, indisputable, extremely necessary for improving the life of mankind, upon closer examination, turns out to be distorted and destructive.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://vitaeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/Porter-Katherine-Anne-Flowering-Judas.pdf

Something Better Than This by Mary Gaitskill -- Review

The title of the story “Something Better Than This” by Mary Gaitskill covers the plot. The story starts with a long introduction. Before the reader is introduced to the main character, Susan, the story gives a description of a city street and people there. It seems that Yonge Street in Toronto is quite a dreadful place to be on Saturday morning. 

Susan is a young woman who sells the trinkets for a wage. There is a certain disconnection between her inner monologue and Susan's outward persona. She has been waiting for something better than this.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

http://fictionaut.com/stories/mary-gaitskill/something-better-than-this