So, not to keep you in suspense, the second faerie book I read was The Ladies of Grace Adieu, by Susanna Clarke, which I first heard about from Ella. Susanna Clarke is also the author of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, a book that I am very fond of not only because it was a terrifically entertaining good read but also because it was the subject of my very first blog post. Awwww!
This too was a terrifically entertaining good read. These stories are all set in the same world (more or less) as Strange & Norrell, and they are written in the same style and with the same sly humor and even with some of the same characters. If you liked Strange & Norrell you’ll definitely like this. If you tried to like Strange & Norrell but found it too long and rambling, well, you just might like this anyway.
Now I must admit I approached this book with some trepidation, not because I didn’t like Strange & Norrell, but because I don’t usually like short stories. I try, but I always feel like I’m missing something, especially the kind of stories that are (I guess) meant to show a slice o’ life and don’t have much plot. I have thought a lot about why this is and one of the conclusions I’ve come to is this: I don’t know when the story is going to end. With a novel you can tell “where you are” by how many pages you have left. I don’t mean this as a “gee only fifty more pages and I’m done” kind of thing. Rather, it’s being able to comprehend the structure of the story. Knowing “where I am” helps me to appreciate the writer’s craft, I think. And with a short story in a collection, unless it’s the last one in the book, I often feel like I’m flying blind.
I used to read tons of science fiction short stories and I never felt like I was flying blind. And I didn’t feel that way with The Ladies of Grace Adieu either. I enjoyed them one hundred percent, with no worries that a story would end unexpectedly. I believe this is because these faerie tales (like sci fi shorts) follow a very conventional plot arc, with an obvious beginning, middle, and end, and often with typical fairy tale plot twists like things coming in sets of three. From the very beginning of the story you know there’s going to be build-up, tension, and a satisfactory resolution. Voilà!
Now, I don’t think that a short story has to have a conventional plot arc in order for me to like it. I think maybe I would appreciate more “literary” short stories if I could just know “where I am” while I’m reading them. I suppose I could place a bookmark at the end of the story, but I don’t think that’s as good as simply being aware of the thickness of the stack of remaining pages. A bookmark would require conscious checking.
I recently subscribed to One Story. It’s a little magazine that publishes a single short story at a time, one every three weeks. I received the first one (haven’t read it yet) and it’s exactly as advertised: it’s simply a cute little pamphlet that contains nothing but the one story. No ads, nothing. And because it’s just the one story, I’ll always know “where I am,” even if the story turns out to be a slice o’ lifer with no plotline. So, heh heh, I can test my hypothesis.
What do you think? Do you like short stories?
16 Comments
Do you think we are ‘trained’ to be anti-short story due to school? A short story can imply a pop quiz or book report shortly thereafter. Or is it the bias of ‘only’ a short story implying easy? if the author was any good they’d write a REAL book. I don’t know – just throwing stuff at your question… I avoided short story collections but I’m warming up to them… book-blogging has opened up a lot of opps to enjoy a fabulous variety.
Hmm, not sure I agree. I think of short stories as being harder to write than novels. You know: “I didn’t have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one instead.” Then again, I’ve never written either, so what do I know.
I suspect that short stories are an acquired taste, like opera. We have to have some life experience and a sense that real life stories have an arc and a resolution before we appreciate them. (Not to imply that operas are more like real life – just that you have to be more mature to understand the art underlying the make-up and staging.)
In preparing for my short story lessons with 7th graders, I stumbled across a quote that helped me to be more patient with, and appreciative of, the brief genre. I’m not sure who Alex Keegan is (an author and educator, I think) but he said that short stories are “. . . Closer to poetry than to the novel.” He goes on to say:
So I ask my students to look for precise language and a character’s narrow slice of change when we read short stories. Maybe a bit formulaic, but middle school students need to learn literary formulas (or conventions and traditions, as I usually refer to them). I expect a real English major would take a different approach to teaching short stories, but that’s how an urban planner does it, anyway.
Oops. I meant to say that “real life stories have NO arc and a resolution”.
Sometimes I make myself read short stories because they’re good for me; they make me think in ways not customary to me. But I LOVED Grace Adieu.
Thanks for the link to One Story. I heard someone talking about it on the radio last weekend, but hadn’t picked up on the address. I like the idea very much. A whole book of short stories intimidate me but I can see myself reading just one.
I know I have this short story collection (because I also enjoyed Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell) but now I can’t find it! It may have gotten mixed up with my already-read books after we moved…hmmm…I’ll keep looking. I don’t usually read short stories, either. In my case, I think it’s because I tend to be a fast reader– so at the end of a short story, I just know I missed something and end up re-reading the story. Not necessarily a bad thing, re-reading; I just need to have more patience and slow down more while reading short stories. I think that’s also why I’m not much of a poetry reader at all.
I have only recently begun to enjoy/appreciate short stories, and I understand your sense of unease while reading them. I’m was always a bit fearful of when and how they would end, because the ending always seemed so unexpected, and often, unsatisfying.
I found the quote Aunt Sara posted quite useful, not just from a reader’s perspective, but also for one who occasionally dablles in writing short stories… don’t know if that means I have the mentality of a middle schooler ;)
Sara, great quote. Thank you! You’re right, short stories can be very poetic.
Veronica, I was wondering if you’d read this, because weren’t you just rereading N&S? Anyway, I’m glad you liked it too!
Ann, you’re welcome. Let me know when you get your first issue and we can compare notes!
Valerie, I’m a fast reader, too. I’m sure that’s at least part of the problem I have with poetry.
Ravenous, exactly the point I was trying to make!
I think not knowing where I am in the story is exactly why I don’t like short stories much either. And I’m also a fast reader. I do find I appreciate short stories more when I slow down and savour them, but usually I’m too impatient. I always get to the end and turn the page expecting there to be more, which kind of disrupts the mood of the story and makes me think I need to go back and reread to make sense of the ending.
Julie: I love short stories, and this reminds me I have a couple of collections of them that I need to pull out. Thanks for reminding me. I always enjoyed Flannery O’Connor’s short stories especially myself. What are some of your favorites besides Clarke’s (obviously)?
Oh, I don’t think the schools intentionally ‘train’ us to be anti-short story; I would agree with your statement the short stories are more difficult and thus, that word difficult, makes one shy away from the short story? I don’t know nothin’.
I appreciate Aunt Sara’s comment! and is another reminder I might want to start reading poetry, too.
I like short stories, but I have a hard time disciplining myself to finish an entire volume sometimes. It’s a weird thing where, when I finish a story, I sometimes lose all interest in the rest of the book- some kind of lack of attention span, or something. Sometimes I think I get too invested in each story and find it hard to move on to the next. I’ve had a couple of collections around for review lately so I’ve had to try to break this habit but it’s an effort. Luckily the collections I’ve been reading are mostly pretty good so it hasn’t been too hard! :-)
I liked this book very much, and I’m glad you did too.Have you ever read the Sherlock Holmes mysteries? Those are some of my favorites, along with Wodehouse’s Jeeves & Wooster stories. Rushdie’s short stories are awesome. Sherman Alexie writes some killer short pieces too – there’s an anthology called (I think) 10 Little Indians, that I loved reading and still have somewhere in storage.
I like short stories. They’re like snacks instead of full meals, plus they’re an efficient and easy way to be introduced to a writer.
Lucy, my problem exactly. But going back and rereading is hard, because there’s always the next story, staring you in the face.
Unfinished, I guess my favorite short stories are still sci-fi. In fact, I think sci-fi actually works best in short story format. My favorite? Ray Bradbury, of course.
Care, I don’t know nothin’ either. :-) And I definitely don’t know poetry. Alas.
Marie, I know what you mean. It is hard to go to the next one. That’s why the idea of the One Story magazine is so intriguing.
Ella, thanks for the recommendations. I have read some Sherlock Holmes but it’s been years. As for Wodehouse, well, I prefer Blandings Castle, but Jeeves isn’t bad either. And wow, I didn’t know Rushdie wrote short stories. I bet they ARE awesome. Snacks as big as a full meal, I imagine.
I struggle to appreciate short stories. They always feel incomplete to me, no matter how well-depicted the characters are or tidy the ending. I always want to know more, and end up a bit dissatisfied.