I have been trying to find a way to get back into the habit of incorporating short stories back into my daily reading. It is still not gone from desire to actual good habit but if nothing else I am still finding great collections of short stories to buy and borrow. This month's NYRB selection is Robert Aickman's Compulsory Games. After reading the introduction to the book he has really intrigued me and I went in search of some other books that were mentioned.
I have borrowed a collection of six stories that he and Elizabeth Jane Howard (of Cazalet Chronicles fame) published. Each writer has three stories. Aickman and Howard had a relationship that was more than simply collaborative in their writing. I've read Howard before, including some of her short stories and there is more than just a hint of the uncanny about them. It seems an interesting exchange so I have started reading, the first story"Perfect Love" is by Howard and concerns an opera singer. It's quite a long one so I'll let you know how it goes.
The other Aickman book, The Late Breakfasters and Other Short Stories is the only novel he published in his lifetime and my edition is a recent publication. "In The Late Breakfasters, young Griselda de Reptonville is invited by Mrs. Hatch to a house party at her country estate, Beams (which, incidentally, is haunted). There, amidst an array of eccentric characters and bizarre happenings, she will meet the love of her life, Louise. But when their short-lived relationship is cruelly cut short, Griselda must embark on a quest to recapture the happiness she has lost."
While I have started with Aickman I thought I would share some of the other collections that I have either recently discovered or that have been on the top of my short story pile (yes, I have a wee table exclusively for short stories).
Black Vodka, Deborah Levy -- "The ten stories by acclaimed author Deborah Levy, are perfectly formed worlds unto themselves, written in elegant yet economical prose. She is a master of the short story, exploring loneliness and belonging; violence and tenderness; the ephemeral and the solid; the grotesque and the beautiful; love and infidelity; and fluid identities national, cultural, and personal.
Perfect Lives, Polly Samson -- "This is a masterly book, and it's impossible not to start all over again the minute you finish reading it. More than simply a series of exquisitely crafted miniatures, it encompasses many of the larger delights of a full-length novel." (Financial Times).
The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction, Osamu Hashimoto -- "The Book of Tokyo collects 10 stories by some of Japan’s most exciting contemporary short story writers. Together, the stories form a kind of literary map of the city’s ever-changing districts through its fiction. With works of literary fiction, crime, science fiction, and horror, the anthology provides an imaginative tour of the city for short story fans and travelers alike."
Lungs Full of Noise, Tess Mellas -- This won the Iowa Short Fiction Award. "This prize-winning debut of twelve stories explores a femininity that is magical, raw, and grotesque. Aghast at the failings of their bodies, this cast of misfit women and girls sets out to remedy the misdirection of their lives in bold and reckless ways." It is the other collection I am ready to actively begin reading and am quite excited about it. It also should be a nice counterbalance to the Aickman--maybe similar feel but the stories are quite short.
Prizes: The Selected Stories of Janet Frame, Janet Frame -- I am really intrigued by Frame and am reading her novel Towards Another Summer now. With me it always seems a natural progression that I will pick up short stories by an author I find I like so hope to dip into this book soon.
Have you read any good short stories lately?