The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

from The Lottery and Other Stories

5 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: Full Reads

Story Rating: 5 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Shocking - Surprising - macabre

Summary:

This follows a small village as they take part in their annual lottery.

My Thoughts:

I remember being shocked by the ending the first time I read this. So much of the story is about traditions and the mechanics of the villagers of doing the lottery, that when you finally get around to the purpose of it all at the end, I hadn’t been expecting it at all. I was totally blindsided, but looking back there are plenty of clues along the way, perhaps I was just being optimistic and not wanting to believe it.

Quotes:

“The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.” -Shirley Jackson, The Lottery

“There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr. Summers declared the lottery open.” -Shirley Jackson, The Lottery

“‘Pack of crazy fools,’ he said. ‘Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while—There’s always been a lottery.’” -Shirley Jackson, The Lottery

An Ex-Mas Feast by Uwem Akpan

An Ex-Mas Feast by Uwem Akpan

from Say You’re One of Them

26 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: The New Yorker

Story Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Shocking - Universal - Genuine

Summary:

This story follows a family in the Nairobi slums over the Christmas holiday, as they battle hunger, money problems and family strife.

My Thoughts:

The context of this story is shocking. Very young girls selling themselves on the street as the family’s main source of income while the parents sleep the day away, drug use encouraged by the parents as a treat, and the acceptance of young children leaving home to make their own way. But, if you focus on the family dynamics, there is something that is undeniably universal about it—bickering siblings, defiant children. It’s strange to think children with such heavy life burdens still shoulder children’s everyday problems as well.

Quotes:

“She had never forgiven our parents for not being rich enough to send her to school. She had been behaving like a cat that was going feral—” -Uwem Akpan, An Ex-Mas Feast

“The sweet smell of her Jaguar adventures filled the shack, overpowering the heavy scent of insecticide. Though her arrivals always reminded us that life could be better, tonight I hated the perfume.” -Uwem Akpan, An Ex-Mas Feast

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe

from Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems

5 pages, eBook

Can also get it at: EastoftheWeb.com

Story Rating: 5 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Maniacal - Deranged - Kooky

Summary:

A young man plots the end of the old man’s vulture eye, that so disturbs him.

My Thoughts:

Poe’s repetitive language and slow way of revealing the horror in his stories is what lures me in. He manages to make the narrator here so disturbing, you simultaneously want to cringe away as if he were whispering in your ear, but also laugh in amusement at his craziness. Classic tale!

Quotes:

“He had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever if fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees—very gradually—I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.” -Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

“Ha!—would a madman have been so wise as this?.” -Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart 

“Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan of pain or of grief—oh, no!—it was the low stifled sound that arises from the bottom of the soul when overcharged with awe.” -Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

“And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled. Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God!—no, no! They heard!—they suspected!—they knew!—they were making a mockery of my horror!—this I thought, and this I think.” -Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

A Ghost by Guy de Maupassant

A Ghost by Guy de Maupassant

aka The Spectre, The Apparition, The Story of the Law Suit

7 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: EastoftheWeb.com

Story Rating: 3 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Curious - Ornate - Charming

Summary:

An old man recounts his frightening run-in with a ghost that occurred many years ago while trying to do a service for an old friend.

My Thoughts:

Pretty much your run of the mill ghost story, told with Victorian extravagance. Entertaining enough, though I wouldn’t say it was particularly scary, nor did I find the ending surprising, but it is beautifully told, and that if nothing else held my attention and made it enjoyable.

Quotes:

“—for ten minutes I was prey to terror, in such a way that ever since a constant dread has remained in my soul.” -Guy de Maupassant, A Ghost

“Unexpected sounds chill me to the heart; objects which I can ill distinguish in the evening shadows make me long to flee. I am afraid at night.” -Guy de Maupassant, A Ghost 

“He had fallen madly in love with a young girl and married her in a kind of dreamlike ecstasy. After a year of unalloyed bliss and unexhausted passion, she had died suddenly of heart disease, no doubt killed by love itself.” -Guy de Maupassant, A Ghost

“Branches of the trees softly caressed my face, and now and then I would catch a leaf between my teeth and bit it with avidity, full of the joy of life, such as fills you without reason, with a tumultuous happiness almost indefinable, a kind of magical strength.” -Guy de Maupassant, A Ghost

Gradation by Geoff Peck

Gradation by Geoff Peck

from Get Your Goat

2 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: EastoftheWeb.com

Story Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Pragmatic - Disconcerting - Dismal

Summary:

A young man walks the interstate looking for golden-filled plastic bottles in hopes that they might contain meth.

My Thoughts:

Interesting look at the lengths that people will go to in order to feed an addiction, as well as the surprising normality of life in their not too distant memory. Do they look back on their life before the addiction with sadness, regret or indifference?

Quotes:

“Walking with his head down along the interstate, his heartbeat rose whenever he caught sight of a plastic bottle, only to be let down when it didn’t contain urine.” -Geoff Peck, Gradation

“He thought about the dynamics of driving — how the driver was on the left side. Would they really lean across the passenger seat to toss out a bottle of piss?” -Geoff Peck, Gradation 

“With thoughts of separation and reconstitution he shook the bottle up like juice.” -Geoff Peck, Gradation

Eveline by James Joyce

Eveline by James Joyce

from Dubliners

6 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: The Literature Network

Story Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Sullen - Turbulent - Bleak

Summary:

A young woman contemplates leaving Ireland with a lover to embark on a new life in Buenos Aires.

My Thoughts:

Many of us will only ever have a few chances at true happiness. It is one thing to pass it up, thinking that you will undoubtably get another chance in due course, and it is quite another to give up your chance at happiness knowing that is it, and you didn’t have the courage to grasp it. To live a hollow life of regret and survival is a heavy burden indeed.

Quotes:

“Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live.” -James Joyce, Eveline

“All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her.” -James Joyce, Eveline 

“He was shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.” -James Joyce, Eveline

The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen

The Little Match Girl 
by Hans Christian Andersen

3 pages, eBook

Where I Got It: AmericanLiterature.com

Story Rating: 4 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Haunting - Poignant - Enchanting

Summary:

A young girl is sent out into the cold to sell matches and ends up lighting some of them in an attempt to keep warm, seeing visions of comfort by their light.

My Thoughts:

Given the inevitability of the ending, this should be a sad story, and it is in many ways, but there is also an optimism about it that is appealing. As if it offers us the comfort of knowing death need not be feared or dwelt upon overly long, because it only marks a new beginning, and perhaps a change of circumstances for the better.

Quotes:

“She drew one out. ‘Rischt!’ how it blazed, how it burnt! It was a warm, bright flame, like a candle, as she held her hands over it: it was a wonderful light.” -Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Match Girl

“The fire burned with such blessed influence; it warmed so delightfully.” -Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Match Girl

“—the match went out and nothing but the thick, cold, damp wall was left behind.” -Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Match Girl