The Guest by Albert Camus — Review

The short story “The Guest” by French author Albert Camus put forward for readers the dilemma of choice in a very complicated situation. The main character is a schoolmaster who has to convoy an arrested person to the police.

The other important theme is: who has a right to be a host and who is a guest in the disputed territory, in an area where the war takes place.

The attitude of readers of the story about the actions which the characters of the story have makes an interesting subject for discussion.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://jerrywbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Albert-Camus-The-G uest.pdf

Sredni Vashtar by Saki -- Review

"Sredni Vashtar" is a short story written by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro). The main character is a sickly 10-year old boy, Conradin. He lives in the care of his cousin Mrs. De Ropp. She enjoys having power over this boy which results in him sincerely hating her.

The story is about the pressure that adults sometimes impose on children. The result of it readers can see in the story.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/SreVas.shtml

The Medicine Bag by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve -- Review

The short story "The Medicine Bag" by Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve talks about an American boy who belongs to a Native American family.  During summer vacations he would visit a reservation where his grandfather lives, but he has little in common with the traditions of Native Americans because he is now used to living in Western society.

One day the grandfather unexpectedly comes to town to visit his children and grandchildren. The author of the story, Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve, belongs to a Native American family too. In her story, she truthfully and naturally describes the boy’s reaction as well as other people’s, in relation to meeting with the old man.  

The story raises the interest of the reader to know more about Native American traditions, about their beliefs and culture. Reading this story brings lots of positive emotions to the readers.

This is the link to the text of the story:

https://iblog.dearbornschools.org/issa/wp-content/uploads/sites/1187/2015/11/Themedicine_bag_fulltext.pdf

The Beggar by Anton Chekhov -- Review

The story "The Beggar" by Anton Chekhov is a short and very deductive work with an unexpected ending.

The writer presents two main characters: drunkard and beggar Lushkov and Petersburg's lawyer Skvortsov, who has intentions to help a degraded person to come back to normal life.

It seems before the final part of the story that there are only two characters there. It appears in the end, there are three main characters in this very clever, great story.

Here is the link to the text:

https://theshortstory.co.uk/classic-short-story-the-beggar-by-anton-chekhov

The Woman at the Store by Katherine Mansfield -- Review

The short story "The Woman at the Store" by Katherine Mansfield tells about visiting a few strangers in a house in New Zealand. The place is located far away from civilization.

The woman lives with her daughter there. According to the woman, her husband left the family but there are some signs which show that the reality may be different.

The narrator presents in the story; the country, local people, nature.

It starts with a description of the day which the main characters witnessed: "All that day the heat was terrible. The wind blew close to the ground; it rooted among the tussock grass, slithered along the road, so that the white pumice dust swirled in our faces, settled and sifted over us and was like a dry skin itching for growth on our bodies."

It ends with the scene:  "A bend in the road, and the whole place disappeared.". 

Why visitors want to leave this place as soon as possible -- readers can know at the end of this story.

This is a link to the text of the story:

https://www.katherinemansfieldsociety.org/assets/KM-Stories/THE-WOMAN-AT-THE-STORE1912.pdf

Knock by Fredric Brown -- Review

The short story "Knock" by American science fiction and mystery writer Fredric Brown starts with a description of "a sweet little horror story that is only two sentences long." 

"The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door..."

This is how the story ends, with one exception, the last person knows who is behind the door, and this person is not the last... Maybe this knock on the door will save doomed humanity.

This is a link to the text of the story:

http://koapp.narod.ru/english/fantast/book34.htm

Pétur by Olivia Clare --- Review

The story "Pétur" by Olivia Clare tells about a woman who traveled with her middle-aged son to Iceland.

It was her dream to see her former husband's country. The story starts with the sentence "Ash fell from the wind" which was a volcanic eruption. The author described what people saw and felt during those days. 

Olivia Clare combined it with the mood of the main characters and their attitude toward each other. They belong to one family but they are completely different. 

The author created a great picture of the atmosphere in the countryside in Iceland, it shows how people adapted to severe nature.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://ecotonemagazine.org/fiction/petur/