Small fortunes: Why everyone should read short stories
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Novels are the most amorphous of genres. The novel has swallowed literature whole in the past couple of hundred years. We digest fiction in chunks of several hundred pages. Fantasy groupies take even larger gulps.
The novel is the top dog in the hierarchy of genres if sales figures are the metric. It is far from the only player on the fiction scene. Short form fiction is pithy, intense, unforgiving, enthralling, hilarious and unforgettable. It is a force to be reckoned with. As much as we love a fat novel, the short story is our first love. Other than the fact I write them, here is why.
Small yet perfectly formed
A delicious starter is often better than a bloated, forgettable main course. The short story is not a mere lite-bite ahead of the main event. If the novel is an eagle, the short story is a hummingbird. It is no less stunning and compelling for its smaller stature.
A history of awesomeness
The genre took off in the nineteenth century with Poe, Hawthorne and Chekhov. It was revamped in the early twentieth century by James Joyce. The modernist model is still dominant. It is understated, character-based and revolves around a quiet epiphany or a moment of internal revelation. This might sound academic, but the short story is full of variety and vigour.
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All shapes and sizes
Short stories range from a couple of lines to about a hundred pages. Conrad’s Heart of Darkness is often cited in the latter category. Between seven and thirty pages is standard. Some say they cannot get a handle on the format because it ends quickly. That is the power of the genre. They say what needs to be said and get out like a jewel thief. A good short story leaves your head spinning. A couple of thousand words can accomplish significant plot, backstory and characterization.
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Variety for your literary life
Adjusting to short story mode takes effort if you are used to long novels. It is worth it. An art gallery full of nothing but oil paintings would be disappointing. Different art forms require different ways of seeing, thinking and accepting. This applies to novels and short stories just as it applies to paintings, photographs and sculptures.
Read Jorge Luis Borges’s El Sur (the South) and you’ll never again think that the short story is an inferior genre.
How can you mention the modern short story and not in the same breath mention the master of it, Dan Chaon. Very surprised to not see his name up there.
‘Look at the Birdie’ by Kurt Vonnegut is an awesome collection of short stories of a few different genres, for anyone who likes Kurt or short stories in general.
hahaha. Brilliant! whoever wrote this should be given a medal. Fantastic write up!
God said, “Here lies… Doesn’t matter. Had sex.”
And you just said “Carver,” just his last name and that’s it. You might as well have spelled it with a lower-case c.
Great job selling the short form. I blame magazines for selling out to advertisers. Used to be able to read short stories all the time in magazines. Not anymore.
I’ve never looked on short stories earnestly before saw Hemingways’ six-word novel – genious writer expressed all the possible pain in a few words.
This article charged me with the desire to read all these stories.