Tag Archives: Short Story Collection
London Stories: Ann of Oxford Street by Thomas De Quincey
I wish London Stories had an introduction to each story in the collection. A little bit of background to these stories would have enriched my reading experience, especially given that some of these are biographical essays and old ones at that with little to no information on the internet! 😐 I think Ann of Oxford […]
London Stories: A Visit to Charlotte Cibber by Samuel Whyte
I wasn’t familiar with Charlotte Cibber or Samuel Whyte before reading A Visit to Charlotte Cibber. (Some of you might be familiar with Colley Cibber though, who was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. Charlotte was Colley’s youngest child.) Samuel Whyte was a writer, and Charlotte in her early life was an actress and […]
London Stories: Love Among the Methodists by James Lackington
And the struggle continues! My understanding of Christendom is pretty limited. I know the difference between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism thanks to my interest in Tudor period in England, but I haven’t got a clue about Methodism. So reading Love Among the Methodists required me to do some homework. Love Among the Methodists is a […]
London Stories: A Ragged Boyhood by Daniel Defoe
I’m in England with my husband who is here for a summer internship. Now we are halfway through our stay, and finally, I think we have settled in! 😀 (Not that it was hard to figure things out, but opening a bank account was a nightmare!) So I decided to pick London Stories as my […]
Tenth of December by George Saunders: Tenth of December
I struggled a lot with this story at first. It starts with Robin, a little boy who is constantly bullied at school. So his fantasies, in which he is a hero, has become key to his survival. On the day the story takes place, Robin is on a mission to save Suzanne from homeroom who […]
Tenth of December by George Saunders: My Chivalric Fiasco
My Chivalric Fiasco is set in a theme park which is based on medieval court life. One night Martha from scullery gets raped by the theme park’s boss, and Ted, a janitor is the only one who knows it. The boss tries to get away with it by promoting both Martha and Ted in exchange […]
Tenth of December by George Saunders: Home
Home is a story about Mike, a veteran returning home. His house (his Ma’s house, actually) looks the same, more or less, but the people who make that house a home aren’t the same except for his Ma who is fiercely loyal to Mike. Ma’s old partner has moved out and her new partner, Harris […]
Tenth of December by George Saunders: The Semplica-Girl Diaries
The Semplica-Girl Diaries has a dystopian feel to it. Its epistolary narrative is written by a man who just turned forty. Although he hasn’t given up on the American Dream, his family with his wife, Pam and three children, Lilly, Thomas, and Eva are not well off. The narrator is a good man, caring for […]
Tenth of December by George Saunders: Al Roosten
The setting of Al Roosten is a Local Celebrity Auction, a charity event organized by a small town chamber of commerce to raise money to fight drugs. According to Al Roosten, the title character, himself and Donfrey are “the twin pillars of the local business community.” But in reality, Al is running a failing business […]
Tenth of December by George Saunders: Exhortation
Now I’m not sure what this was all about. In a memo, Todd, a low-level manager explains the importance of positive outlook to his underlings. He tells them about the dead whale which he and a few of his friends had to lift onto a flatbed. They had first tried to lift the dead carcass […]
