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A review by mrjgyfly
Sudden Fiction: American Short-Short Stories by Robert Shapard, James Thomas
3.0
This collection is worth a look if only for the fact that it’s the first collection of “Flash Fiction” released to the public, before the term “Flash Fiction” came to describe these ultra short stories (all are between 500 and 1,500 words). In terms of the 70 stories, there are a lot of hits and a lot of misses, but that iss to be expected in a genre attempting to get its wings. Some really good ones are:
• “Even Greenland” by Barry Hannah
• “Reunion” by John Cheever
• “Sunday in the Park” by Bel Kaufman
• “A Fable” by Robert Fox
• “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes
• “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver
• “The Hit Man” by T. C. Boyle
• “I See You Never” by Ray Bradbury
• “The Bank Robbery” by Stephen Schutzman
• “Tent Worms” by Tennessee Williams
• “Sitting” by H. E. Francis
• “Sunday at the Zoo” by Stuart Dybek
• “Noel” by Michael Plemmons
• “The Personal Touch” by Chet Williamson
• “The Visitation” by Tom Whalen
• “Tickits” by Paul Milenski
• “Any Minute Mom Should Come Blasting Through the Door” by David Ordan
• “Sleepy Time Gal” by Gary Gildner
• “A Lost Grave” by Bernard Malamud
All of the stories are simply snapshots: a few characters, a vague setting, no sense of resolution. Because of this, I find that they tend to stick in my mind better than much longer stories. More than a couple of the ones I listed above have already been re-read several times because of the magic they exude. Authors here are able to be explicit while being implicit, and this paradox works wonders. Read “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver and try not to cringe, even though the story is overwhelmingly vague.
Also worth a look is the extensive index of the author comments on this burgeoning form.
The book took me a little longer than usual, which is odd considering the stories are so short. Unfortunately, the more boring stories tend to arrive in a string, but from a literary standpoint, none are worth skipping. Also, the really good stories force you to slow down, take your time, and savor what little is there.
• “Even Greenland” by Barry Hannah
• “Reunion” by John Cheever
• “Sunday in the Park” by Bel Kaufman
• “A Fable” by Robert Fox
• “Thank You, M’am” by Langston Hughes
• “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver
• “The Hit Man” by T. C. Boyle
• “I See You Never” by Ray Bradbury
• “The Bank Robbery” by Stephen Schutzman
• “Tent Worms” by Tennessee Williams
• “Sitting” by H. E. Francis
• “Sunday at the Zoo” by Stuart Dybek
• “Noel” by Michael Plemmons
• “The Personal Touch” by Chet Williamson
• “The Visitation” by Tom Whalen
• “Tickits” by Paul Milenski
• “Any Minute Mom Should Come Blasting Through the Door” by David Ordan
• “Sleepy Time Gal” by Gary Gildner
• “A Lost Grave” by Bernard Malamud
All of the stories are simply snapshots: a few characters, a vague setting, no sense of resolution. Because of this, I find that they tend to stick in my mind better than much longer stories. More than a couple of the ones I listed above have already been re-read several times because of the magic they exude. Authors here are able to be explicit while being implicit, and this paradox works wonders. Read “Popular Mechanics” by Raymond Carver and try not to cringe, even though the story is overwhelmingly vague.
Also worth a look is the extensive index of the author comments on this burgeoning form.
The book took me a little longer than usual, which is odd considering the stories are so short. Unfortunately, the more boring stories tend to arrive in a string, but from a literary standpoint, none are worth skipping. Also, the really good stories force you to slow down, take your time, and savor what little is there.