My favourite short stories (1)
I thought
that I would start a series of articles discussing my favourite short stories,
as the technique of short fiction writing is something that I have been
exploring for the past two or three years.
The first short
story that I would like to draw attention to is "Sredni Vashtar" by
the Edwardian British writer Saki -the pseudonym of Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916)
"Sredni Vashtar" by Saki
(H.H Munro)
This story
is about a young boy, Conradin, who is the unhappy ward of his older female
cousin, Mrs De Ropp. Conradin's immersion in a secret world, focusing on the
pet animals of which he knows his guardian would disapprove, draws attention to
the conflict between the almost pagan-like religion which Conradin invents and
values for its sense of escapism, and the conservative values and conventional
views of Mrs De Ropp.
I find this
story wonderful to read for its psychological insight into the mind and
imagination of a child, and particularly a child living in these difficult
circumstances. The story is blackly comic, and rich with dark humour. Parallels
can be drawn from the content of the story with Saki's own life, as he endured
a strict upbringing as the ward of his aunts and grandmother when his mother
died and his father was working in Burma.
It's also a
fine example of the macabre in a domestic setting, with its sublime depiction
of the suppressed fierce resentment of the child-protagonist and the triumphant
nature of his spiteful revenge. The tone and themes of this story remind me of
Roald Dahl's stories later in the 20th century (speaking of him, I'll talk
about a favourite Dahl short story of mine next). All hail Sredni Vashtar, the
Great Ferret:
Sredni
Vashtar went forth,
His thoughts were red thoughts and his teeth were white. His enemies called for peace, but he brought them death. Sredni Vashtar the Beautiful. |
You can read
"Sredni Vashtar" for yourself, here:
"Man From the South" by
Roald Dahl
Another of
my favourite short stories is "Man From the South" by Roald Dahl.
Dahl is most famous for his children's books, but he was also an accomplished
short story and novella writer for adults. Many of his short stories were used
as the basis for the TV series Tales of
the Unexpected. Dahl was a master of macabre tales and "Man From the
South" falls into this category of his fiction. It's a twisted story about
a sinister old man. He is a compulsive gambler who sets a particularly grisly
high stake upon his bets...and to say any more would be to give the game away.
“Shall we not perhaps make a little
bet on dat?” He smiled at the boy. “Shall we not make a little bet on whether
your lighter lights?”
“Sure, I’ll bet,” the boy said. “Why not?”
“You like to bet?”
“Sure, I’ll always bet.”
The man paused and examined his
cigar, and I must say I didn’t much like the way he was behaving. It seemed he was already trying to make
something out of this, and to embarrass the boy, and at the same time I had the
feeling he was relishing a private little secret all his own.
You can read
"Man From the South" for yourself, here:
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