Other books that might interest you

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  Shylock Must Die

  Clive Sinclair

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  Since his first public appearance in the late 1590s, Shylock has been synonymous with antisemitism. Many of his bon mots remain common currency among Jew-haters; among them "3000 ducats" and the immortal "pound of flesh". But Shakespeare, being Shakespeare, was incapable of inventing anyone so uninteresting; instead he affords Shylock such ambiguity that some of his other lines have become keynotes for believers in shared humanity and tolerance. Following Shakespeare's example these stories – all inspired by The Merchant of Venice – range from the comic to the melancholic. Many pivot on significant productions of the play: Stockholm in 1944, London in 2012, and Venice in 2016. Some are concerned with domestic matters, others with the political, including one – more outrageous than the others – that links Shylock via Israel with the American presidency; most combine both. Running through these linked stories – of which there are seven, like the ages of man – is the cycle of family life, with all its comedy and tragedy.

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  Two Tales From Algernon Blackwood

  Algernon Blackwood

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  Algernon Henry Blackwood (March 14, 1869 - December 10, 1951) was an English broadcasting narrator, journalist, novelist and short story writer, and among the most prolific ghost story writers in the history of the genre. The following recording includes the short stories, "The Olive" and "Ancient Lights."

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  A Hunger Artist

  Franz Kafka

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  In the days when hunger could be cultivated and practiced as an art form, the individuals who practiced it were often put on show for all to see. One man who was so devout in his pursuit of hunger pushed against the boundaries set by the circus that housed him and strived to go longer than forty days without food. As interest in his art began to fade, he pushed the boundaries even further. In this short story about one man's plight to prove his worth, Franz Kafka illustrates the themes of self-hatred, dedication, and spiritual yearning.

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  Out There - A Short Tale of the...

  Justine Avery

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  It's a day just like any other day... until something utterly unfamiliar suddenly lands in your back yard. 
   
  Susan is the epitome of the happy housewife, contentedly conducting her daily ritual of cleaning her home and keeping everything just as it should be. Wrapped up in her own little world within those familiar walls, she hardly notices the altogether different arrival in her own back yard.She may ignore the sudden shaking beneath her slippered feet, she might even neglect to spot the conspicuous sight itself—but she can't evade the stench.Something's wrong. Very wrong. And Susan's incapable of determining just what to do about the uninvited eyesore in her back yard.Turning to her best friend for help with the impromptu emergency threatening to shake up her very existence and happy home, Susan combines efforts with neighbor Trisha to decipher the composition and meaning of the frightfully large and utterly unpleasant new arrival.But are these two women really capable of realizing the gift of new awareness they've just been given by an unseen entity? Or will they continue to fail to see the world that exists out there? 
   
  What a difference a day makes... unless you choose to ignore it.

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  History on a Personal Note -...

  Binnie Kirshenbaum

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  From New York City to the former East Germany, from rural Virginia to affluent suburbia, the characters in these short stories grapple with love, loss, greed, perversion, and other awful truths as they try to transcend their limitations with occasional humor and dignity. In "History on a Personal Note," Lorraine, a Southerner, wonders if her German paramour will find the inspiration to leave his wife amidst the destruction of the Berlin Wall. In "Viewing Stacy from Above," a pregnant woman descends into a pit of despair as she contemplates the constraints of motherhood. In "Money Honey," a young adulteress who ditches her husband is reprimanded by an extended family of elders whose morals are even more dubious than her own.Contemplative, allegorical, and witty, History on a Personal Note takes us into a world laced with black humor and makes us laugh -- until it hurts.

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  The Uber Chronicles - Mini...

  Rakesh Gambhir

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  In a collection of short tales inspired by his experiences, Gambhir reveals insight into his interactions with housewives, students, ex-cons, bootleggers, seekers, and healers pursuing side gigs in an economic revolution. From a Buddhist monk-in-training who drove an Uber to make ends meet while questioning the evils of materialism to a former circus daredevil seeking the infinite calm in Key West to a Somalian transplant relying on her faith to drive in treacherous weather, Gambhir’s stories delve beneath the surface of the mundane and the ordinary to provide a fresh look into the people, places, and cultures that comprise our big beautiful world. 
  The Uber Chronicles is a volume of bite-sized stories that highlight the wisdom and insight gathered from an Uber passenger’s short conversations with his drivers while en route.

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