SHORT STORY
LOG

Pam has a new boyfriend, but it won't last. Her relationships aren't all spoiled, though. She has her loving parents, and their driving kinetic force propels her life.

A scientist studying bees faces funding cuts from the Trump administration while navigating quiet, fraught relationships with her daughters and mentors. The story explores themes of alienation and resilience through the protagonist's composed response to professional and personal upheaval.

A woman named Doria loses her passport and other belongings in Guadalajara. These experiences drive the story, but the loss is frustrating, and all but the crux of the story seems to be her internal isolation.

The narrative follows Maria who is at a dinner party with friends and is a cancer survivor. She recently had a mastectomy and has been dealing with sympathy from friends and other challenges. Her good friend Katherine helped her through the illness by teaching her piano. Kat also found a new boyfriend recently, an actor who happened to be in town during the happenings at the dinner party. He comes over and he and Maria share a moment smoking outside. They talk about dinosaurs and it all seems like a vague metaphor. Then the perspective shifts after learning that Kat broke up with the actor, Adrian. The final scene is Adrian performing a speech for his Chicago based end of the world movie. One he doesn't want to give.

Two girlfriends growing up in Brooklyn, one with a Muslim background and the other Jewish. Yasmina, the Muslim woman, grows up to be a comedian and marries a funny Pakistani performer named Abdul. Together they play nightclubs and have a child. The narrator becomes a lawyer and works a career she's not entirely invested in. They reunited in New York in their thirties and the second Trump election happens. This causes turmoil, but there's still work for Abdul who is quite funny. Eventually though, on one of his trips home from a show, he's detained by ICE, even though he's an American citizen. They don't care. They force him to self-deport back to Pakistan. Yasmina and her daughter follow. The narrator is left alone in the New York, fearful of a world without law.

A story about a man who takes a man's horses and buggy. He tries to take his home too, but the man brings the sheriff to the house and the thief accidentally shoots him dead. What commences is a cross county chase where the end result is we start to feel for the thief and his predicament. He lost the love of his days, as the title suggests. But he finds his end, ultimately.

This is a story about an exterminator who meets a single mother with a young son. He falls for her but there's work holding him back.

A woman explores grief after having two sons commit suicide. The story has a lot of allegorical meaning and contextually related bits.

A great story set in India and from the perspective of a younger brother who's in the shadow of his academically talented older brother. There's a great deal of artistry in the short story form with this story. There's the brother who considers his younger brother to be sitting on the fence of life, asking him if he needs ice for his ass at one point. But the other characters in the story who are sedentary are more like artists and experts. The father's saxophone teacher is one such expert.

Hilarious story with some incredible descriptions throughout. The main character is a freeloading writer living with a guy who's also a freeloader. The narrator's roommate overdoses in the bathtub and goes into a coma, which is really unfortunate timing for the narrator, seeing how the apartment owner is dead and their daughter returned from Belgium to sell it. Bummer. They are an online therapist who reads prompts from AI to provide a personal touch, or a way to make the robot medicine more palatable, as the story suggests. That, and they write fan fiction about Charles in Charge. God, this was funny.

A quintessential suburban story about a man coming to terms with his new home and pool and the dangers they present. A bit of Carver in the pages.

A story of how admiring someone so much that you create your own version of even the things they tell you.

A story of a transgender child finding a loving home and a path in the world, a husband that goes missing for many years, and general intrigue. The story itself spanned decades and included some really great descriptive intros into volcanoes and antique tapestries.

A story of a middle aged woman who works in a mental ward in Britain. She slowly devolves into madness.

A stream of consciousness story about a man who believes someone is knocking on his door and it turns out to be his old friend. Then things unravel from there.

The story of a liar who has a fascination with a particular Hemingway story as it was translated to Italian.

A teen girl gets groped at summer camp and her mother picks her up for a day together. The results are a lot of questioning of the incident and how her relationship reflects the experience. Was she embarrassed or was her mother embarrassed for her? By the end, she's changed from the experience, but not just because of the physical pain of the experience, but also because of how her mother reacted to it. How she was perceived in the moment.

A middle aged man had an affair with a twenty year old. The story takes place on a weekday excursion for privacy and intimacy that turns sour.

A love story taking place online where the male narrator finds a woman he enjoys her presence online, but never meets her, so he travels to Paris to find her. But he encounters only the place where she used to write and the knowledge that she published his short story in the local French magazine. At the end, it seems the woman he went to meet was his mother, but it was vague. Translated from Chinese.

An Indian boy grows old enough to partake in the family real estate business. He's unhappy there, though, and finds love with a girl who works in the floor above them. They go on to live a short happy marriage, where they have a child, who we find at the end narrates the story. A quick love story that's full of superstition.

A young man works on his Oxford final papers and has conversations with Petra, a friend whose banker father has bad luck, but it's more about his decision to ask for help and perform to his abilities.

A man going through an empty nest loses his father.

A love story centering around one woman who ends up with a brother when she should have been with the other. Very well written first person narrative that explores how love can blind one to the reality of pain and sorrow. Elyse is the woman in the story and she's crafted as an enigma, a charming 20 something with a penchant for experience and fast love interests, marrying the brother after only a few months.

Young love is burdened with death too early. A couple living in Ukraine deals with the cancer diagnosis of a woman. In the end, she grabbles with the pain and suffering that's so common with cancer sentences. It's a good look at what love means through various lenses, including the mother of the girls who we meet at the very end.

The story of a new mother finding her way in the world. The story spans a decade or so and follows the mother's creative dearth, lost love, and found love. A neighbor gifts the daughter, a ten year old, a telescope, and the mother confronts the neighbor. Their ensuing friendship catalogues the various themes of the story.

Kaho goes on a blind date and the man tells her she's ugly. It's an odd story, for sure. In the end, she turns the experience into a children's book that sells well, but the man never seems to be resolved. We're left wondering what he might do, since he seemed to be threatening her.

The story of Arwen and his fascination with the Hadal zone, that area of the ocean where underneath the deeps are mountainous regions that would eclipse the size of the Rockies. The story follows him through his relationship with Carolla but ultimately he's left alone, embracing the 'Stygian darkness' as those around him betray him. He's lost Carolla, first to the billionaire grifter, then later to the MAGA supporter Arwen, his one-time boss.

An excerpt from Sally Rooney's next novel. The story follows Ivan a twenty two year old chess prodigy and his love interest Margaret.

I had to reread this classic short story. I remember Arnold Friend, but he seemed more alive the last time I read it. This time he was a bit comical, not nearly as scary as he had been the first time -- still a terrible fate for Connie.

A story of an American living in Paris working in the embassy, receiving word of an American's death, and a woman attending a conference. The woman's daughter phones to plead for someone to stay with her mother's dead body overnight -- she wants someone to guide the mother's ghost, afraid she'll be lost roaming forever.

A man sees a buggy empty at the edges of the ocean. He watches and assesses the situation and relives his parenthood in moments leading up to the end. Captivating.

The inner thoughts of a dead man. Very close narrative of a fifties man who recently died and decided to go on runs around a local park.

A small look into a man's widowed life, an author working on a novel, avoiding his former life.

A Dominican immigrant recalls his early days in America around 1980. It's a story about family and the secrets they endure.

What in the hell was that? A story about God and creation with no real narrative other than someone, like a child, explaining humans and our evolution, especially from a religious viewpoint. Interesting, for sure, but not very coherent. The child was spawned by a robot alien to a human mother? Weird. Then at the end, it's revealed that this is a conversation with Chat GPT and the prompts have been removed.

A young girl is entered into a beauty contest by her mother who hangs onto a memory of the girl winning a contest as a baby. She's fixated on her doing this, but the contest doesn't go as she planned. A glimpse into a mother daughter relationship that shows what drives a mother and how daughters will go to lengths to please them.

A story growing old with someone you maybe don't belong with. Age and family.

The story of an Indian woman newly married to a doctor stationed in London. It's a duplicitous tale that staked by the nature of love and immigration.

A daughter remembering her mothers saintly encounters from childhood. In particular a man who was brought yogurt every week.

The story of a teenage girl encountering the widow of a piano aficionado in a nearby apartment. The title of the story relates to the widows doll that plays the husbands music -- a sacrilege. Taut story with themes of artistic thievery.

A story translated from Japanese that talks about a housewife's uncommon habits and her affair. I won't say too much about the context of the story, just that there are spirits, one the kitchen god and the other a weasel that make appearances throughout the story. By the end, we are left to wonder at the psychological stress being put on this woman who seems to be absent from her interactions and mindless in her obsessions.

A Korean translated tale about a reluctant soldier amidst a harrowing night with a sadistic superior and the promise of love.

The story of a marginalized character taking center stage. A woman forgotten by society gets a new chance. Short encounter story.

The story of a woman's life unraveling. The boy upstairs seems to refer to a character but could also be a play on the man upstairs. He's not a man, but a foolish boy playing games.

The story of a woman who had lived in London moving back to Dublin with her then boyfriend, and their struggle to survive on the streets even though she was educated and well spoken.

A story of a young woman moving to the west coast, befriending an old mystical rich woman, and making some unfortunate choices.

A story about memory and how life slips by us all. Set in modern day amidst the raging pandemic. One man's journey into the end of life with all his adventures behind him.

A story about a father and daughter searching for the ghosts of birds gone extinct in 2083. The birds have vanished but their echoes remain.

Spaghetti for one with a side of loneliness. Some great descriptions of an encounter that haunts the writer.

The story of a boys infatuation with a gaggle of girls near the beach and how he tries to gain their affection.

The story of a woman going through different separation experiences. Told from a unique narrative third person voice.

The story of a Native American falling in and out of love. The story spoke about culture shock and love in multiple ways.

A story that follows the child of a philanderer. A remarkable short story about what it means to love.

The story many families have of abuse and loss as told through the eyes of survivors. Heart wrenching tale of courage and the vileness of domestic abuse.

A New Yorker living in the current pandemic remembering family and tragedy in Rwanda. The latter part of the story told from his niece's perspective answers some of the unreliable narrative of the uncle.

A story of an Indian ya pair who weds an older man and the child they adopt together.

A story of a gay black man who unwilling long shares an apartment with his Japanese lovers mom.

One more Hemingway story...this one had never been published until now. It's Hemingway marlin fishing with two other men. They pursue a large Marlin and there's some really great details about that encounter.

An art collector, antique shops, and a country doctor during a cholera outbreak.

It's not often that I find a story that spans about ten minutes time. This is one of those. A mother taking her son to a sleepover and the journey takes her back to before she was a mother, to a night she took a swim. Short. Engaging. Relatable.

A story about memory and chance encounters that stick with us a bit longer than we suspect they might. This was my first introduction to any Haruki Murakami works. After reading this, I may have to pick up one of his novels. Excellent prose and two very unique, fleshed out characters.

A tale of a Cambodian immigrant woman who owns a donut shop in California called Chuck's Donuts. Her two daughters stay with her overnight in the shop, which is 24 hours, and a mysterious man comes regularly to order an apple fritter, but never eats it. It's the telling of their journey to America, a telling of the girl's life as they know it from the American perspective, and that of the mother who has been betrayed and become a bit more hardened by the experience.

A fascinating story about a boy who's life and his friend Jackie resembles a crooked version of the Christmas Story. They're living in a blue collared neighborhood where abuse from friends and family appear to be second nature. It's a wonderful tale of the fears the boy encounters both from his environment and his father.

A story of a man imprisoned in a mental hospital, who believes the world is a construct meant to deceive him, even the construct of his wife. It's an existential look at the world through his eyes, and has a very Heinlein ending.

What a wild ride this one was. A woman working as a content moderator at the world's largest search engine was raped and she tries to make sense of her life afterward. It's really an incredible tale that deserves to be read by all. She gave her coworkers the nicknames of Cunty and UpChuckJesus, for Christ's sake! There are some really hilarious parts, all the way to the end.

A story about a teenager whose family immigrated to the US from the middle East before he was born. He plays the game and imagines his father's pain and suffering by the challenges he encounters in the game. A really unique perspective.

A story about a woman who is on vacation with her family entertaining her brothers new girlfriend. She's witty, caustic, and untrusting of this girl who turns out to be colorblind.

A story about a son whose father has passed and a stranger claiming to be his gay lover appears out of the blue. It's a very well written story told from the perspective of the son, reliving his own challenges with his father as he finds how to be a little more empathetic.

A story about growing old and family that sticks by you. A story of dignity in the face of despair.

A story about a man learning about what matters most in life. The creme de la creme.

A story of love and torture. A beautifully written story that captures the confusion and possibility of a new separation. So much packed into this one.

The story of an undergrad program for writers who are all vying for the top fellowship award called the Peaslee. A look at how success can shape our future, but also how the outward signs of it can sometimes disguise the failure inside.

The story of a meth addict who's coming off a high. It's evocative -- wrought with emotion and turmoil. It sheers the face off addiction and leaves you with an understanding that some only find after pining for more.

A genie offers the narrator the option of becoming Picasso or owning a Picasso. The man then contemplates the benefits of each. It's fast read that ends how you would expect of something of this caliber. It's very well written, but doesn't feel much like traditional fiction. It's more an exercise in thought processes and framing.

Story about the young nephew of Cortez who is a poet rather than a fighter. He's sent to learn how to be a man with his Uncle in the New World. He arrives after a lengthy ship ride to stand alongside his uncle as a god. Through his New World adventure he falls in love with Montezuma's daughter and sees much of the encroaching horror attributed to the conquerors.

Tianeman square historical story.

The story of Rogelio and Henry, two men who find themselves cellmates in the Collectors, a terrible prison where each finds solace in the other. Rogelio is a country guy, who enjoys resurrecting cars and trucks to their former pristine condition. Henry is a playwright, who was sentenced for creating a play called "The Idiot President." The two men's friendship and indulgence in one another seem to exceed the confines of the prison walls. It's humanity, love, and friendship etched in the molded, fading walls of the prison that confined them.

A story about a middle-age man who goes a bit crazy with the alcohol with an old friend. He wakes to find out he's vomited a puke baby. Amid the crazy plot device, lies a great depiction of a mid-life American male, with all his regrets, responsibilities, relationships, and, of course, vomit-induced babies.

The story of Duquet who begins a lumber trade in the 1700s Americas and New France. He builds a rather impressive swath of land that has someone poaching the lumber. He catches them and comes at odds with his a new enemy, one that will lead the plot through the rest of the story.

The story of a man, who over time, feels like he's being overlooked. Until at the end, he completely disappears. It's a unique story with a lot of great imagery.

A dentist divorces his wife to be with his receptionist. The wife takes it poorly, to his surprise, and places a curse on him. The rest of the story is the unraveling of his relationship with his second wife.

Story follows an aging man who experienced alien visits years prior, claiming contact with an alien named Bob Solomon. A young magazine journalist tracks down the narrator to follow up. The piece focuses on character development and explores perception, ambition, and grace rather than typical sci-fi elements.

A story about a man with little time left to live. He's got cancer and his wife and he have tried every treatment possible. They're beyond that now. She asks him where to next, so he decides to visit Mammoth Cave. His experience in the cave brings to light death and what it means to all of us.