The Sisters by James Joyce -- Review

"The Sisters" is one of the most complicated short stories by James Joyce. The narration is given by the boy. 

His old friend, an old priest who has long retired, is dying of paralysis. The boy learns about this from the uncle and aunt with whom he lives. He and his aunt go to the house of the old man, where his sisters Nanny and Eliza stayed. The sisters spoke with the aunt about the old man who died. 

The story was full of hints, sighs, and omissions that make readers think about a second, and third meaning of what they say. The story gave a lot of options for interpretation.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://dailylit.com/read/91-dubliners

The Interlopers by Saki -- Review

The short story "The Interlopers" by Saki is about long-standing grudges between two neighboring families. The two main characters of the story hated each other but by the will of fortune (or unfortunate) they had to stay in one place for a few hours. 

After one of them made a step toward reconciliation, the other accepted it with pleasure. They imagined how surprised their neighbors would be seeing them together... This relationship did however not last long. 

What happened next? - readers can know after they reach the last line of the story. 

The intrigue will keep going up to the end.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

http://www.polytechpanthers.com/ourpages/auto/2015/8/27/49541039/The%20Interlopers__Full%20Text.pdf

The Three-Century Woman by Richard Peck -- Review

The narration in the short story "The Three-Century Woman" by Richard Peck is given by a teenage girl. Her Great-Grandmother is interviewed for TV because she has lived in three centuries. She was born in 1899, so in 2001 she can say that she has lived for three centuries. 

The old lady invents some of her memories when she becomes annoyed at the reporter. The most distinctive part of the story is the description of the characters' traits and motivations. The reasons behind the behavior of the old lady are good subjects for discussion.

 

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/cobblearning.net/dist/f/1260/files/2015/08/The_Three-Century_Woman__Charles-1o9wlzs.pdf

Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed by Ray Bradbury -- Review

The short sci fi story "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed" by Ray Bradbury based on the knowledge about the planet Mars of the previous century. The writer imagined that the process of colonization of the planet can be similar to the time of colonization of America by Europeans.

The central idea of the story is an influence of the environment of a person. The author put on the agenda the problem of keeping individuality. Despite the fact that nothing bad happened with the main characters, the story is terrifying. According to the narration, people can only accept their fate.

Here is the text of the story:

https://profrush.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/u4_dark_theywere_se1.pdf

The Voice of the Turtle by W.S.Maugham -- Review

"The Voice of the Turtle" by William Somerset Maugham is dedicated to the same topic, which is later used in his novel "Theater".  The author presented his views about actresses.

The main character of the story, an opera singer - a bitchy, greedy, selfish, heartless woman who turns any conversation to discussion about her roles, plans, stories of her life and so on. Under the magic of her talent, some people see her exactly the way she wants to be seen - as an unselfish servant of art, a bright and pure creature. 

Maugham wrote the novel "Theater" a few years after this story. The two main characters which were revealed in his works represented the view of the writer for actresses as a type of personality. Because Maugham was a rather famous and successful playwright, his point of view toward actresses was based on the experience of personal communication with them. 

Nevertheless, the attitude of the writer towards the main character of the story was more complicated. He wrote at the end of the story - "... people blame me because I rather like people who are a little worse than is reasonable. She was hateful, of course, but she was irresistible."

This is the link to the text of the story:

http://indbooks.in/mirror1/?p=284329

Unnecessary Things By Tatyana Tolstaya -- Review

The story "Unnecessary Things" by contemporary Russian writer Tatyana Tolstaya was translated and published in the magazine "The New Yorker". It doesn't have a straight forward plot. The story presents how human memories are connected with the things of the past.

The memory of each person is a huge source of vivid recollections which only ironically could be called "unnecessary things".



Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://www.newyorker.com/books/flash-fiction/unnecessary-things

Aesop's Fables - For Discussions

Aesop's Fables are great subjects for discussions. The plot of each story relates to some features of human characteristics. The last line usually represents the moral of the story. If we hide the last line in the story before the discussion, we would express our own opinions about the main idea. When the last line is revealed, we could compare our thoughts about the meaning of the fable with those that the author wanted to say.

As an example, let's look at the first fable in the book which link is mentioned below: "Precious things are for those that can prize them". It might be a reference to the books which represent a great value for readers who are able to appreciate them :)





This is a link to the book:


https://www.planetebook.com/free-ebooks/aesops-fables.pdf