Alison Wells Author

Head Above Water – Writing, Headspace, Creativity, Verve

What is your favourite short story?

littleblackbookofstories
Is it possible to pick out your favourite short story? Is it like with music, does it depend on mood? We all have our favourite authors, genres and styles of writing. So if you were pressed, could you identify your favourite story? Is it something nostalgic that you read at a particular point in your life or something from a recent work that really sits with you. Well, I got the opportunity to explore these questions on the fantastic Short Story Website Story Ireland when they asked me to identify ‘The One’. My favourite story is A Stone Woman by A.S. Byatt from The Little Black Book of Stories. You can read why I love the story so much here.

In the meantime I’d love to hear what your favourite story is and why you like it so much. I’m always on the lookout for recommendations and can’t wait to hear what you suggest.

alisonwells

3 responses to “What is your favourite short story?”

  1. KevSparrow Avatar
    KevSparrow

    The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. Probably any short stories by Poe (well, that is all that he mostly wrote), but there are many also in Tolkiens ‘Unfinished Tales’, such as the tale of The Children of Hurin – maybe slightly longer than a short tale, but not long enough to warrant a book. A couple of hours reading at the most. Also, try anything from Ray Bradbury for shorter tales (The October Country or even the Silver Locusts – which made all the tales being compended into ‘The Martian Chronicles’.

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  2. bridget whelan Avatar
    bridget whelan

    And Poe had a pretty good working defination of what constitued a short story – something you could read in one go.
    I like the short stories of Katherine Mansfield, Robert Graves and Lorrie Moore. And I am very fond of Bridget O’ Connor’s collection Here Comes John – she died tragically too soon a couple of years ago, a great talent gone. I think her story Postcards is taught for the Leaving Cert.
    Although not a huge sci fi fan, I would recommend Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream

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  3. alisonwells Avatar
    alisonwells

    Thanks Kev and Bridget, what wonderful suggestions.

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