Short Stories

I got a book of short stories from Dave over a year ago I think, for either my birthday or Christmas, but I'm just getting around to reading some of them now. So far I've only read the first six; two by Washington Irvine, one by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and three by Edgar Allen Poe. I've started the next by Herman Melville. The book also features stories by many prominent authors throughout American literary history. Not the least of these being John Steinbeck. His tour de force (translation: tour of force) story The Red Pony is truly the piece de resistance (translation: piece of resistance) of the entire 1000+ page collection.

Most of the books I read are novels and since high school, I've been rather turned off by the short story, but these are good. Great ideas for plots, but possibly lacking the depth to be turned into a longer novel. As I started the first story, Rip Van Winkle, I realized that maybe because the stories were short stories, the authors would not trifle with explaining and describing each and every detail of surroundings and circumstances. I was wrong. In The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, there was a three-page description of the preparations made for a party/feast. Three pages of what kind of food was on the table, ornaments hung, garments worn, etc. The story was only fifteen pages long and three of them were to describe a minute part of the story. This made me think of a discussion about Moby Dick that I had with Kevin Cunningham once. He asked me if I thought Melville went overboard with his writing. The largest piece of evidence being the chapter devoted solely to a bowl of chowder served to a group of people in the story. A chapter...for chowder. Don't get the idea that I'm some sort of literary critic here, but I know what I like to read about and don't like to read. Also, don't get me wrong, Moby Dick was a good book.

Back to descriptions. I like short and to the point. I think that is why I like Ernest Hemingway's style of writing so much. Say a character is going into a bar to order a drink. Some authors might describe the weather, the trek across the street, the thoughts and fears of the protagonist, the drink itself, the bartender, the way the bartender poured out the drink, the way the drink fell into the glass, the bar, the partrons in the bar, the stools, the way the stools felt when they were sat upon, etc.

Hemingway might write this: I wanted a drink. I had to cross the street but some dame was in the way. I got inside. I had a drink. I ordered another. Soon, I was drunk. I wonder where that dame went?

I wanted to be a writer at one point, or would have liked to be able to write stories, but gave that up. I like reading books more than trying to write them anyway. I work with a guy that has recommended some good books lately and I would like to recommend them to you, reader. The first is The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert about this guy who lives out in the wilderness and does things and says stuff. It's a biography, so get any ideas about it being a novel. The second is The Making of Toro. I kind remember the name of the author, but this is the best book I've read all year. Very funny. I don't know how to describe it to you because I'm not an author, just a reader.