Short Story Anthologies

Sandra Cisneros - The House on Mango Street

Langston Hughes - Thank You, Ma'am

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

Flannery O'Connor - Revelation

Alice Walker - Everyday Use

Gabriel Garcia Marquez - The Handsomest Drowned Man In The World

I love short story anthologies.  I was lucky enough to find another good one for twenty-five cents last month at a yard sale that happened to be right across from the Bountiful Baskets co-op, where I was picking up vegetables.

I take notes and I grade the stories.  Even if they're fantastically well-written, if they depress me, I give them a negative.  And even if they're happy and meaningful stories, if they are not well-written, I give them a negative.  I am not easy to please.  But when I am impressed, I am so very impressed.

http://happy-ending-shortstories.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html

I decided to start a list of short stories that pass my difficult test and hypercritical attitude.

In no particular order:

Great stories that passed my persnickety test:

• Walker, Alice. Everyday Use
• Porter, Katherine Anne. The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
• Hughes, Langston. Thank You, Ma'am.
• O'Connor, Flannery. Revelation
• Marquez, Gabriel Garcia. The Handsomest Drowned Man In the World
• Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street

Stories that I really liked, that almost (but didn't) pass my persnickety test:

• Hurston, Zora Neale.  Sweat
• Vonnegut Jr., Kurt. Harrison Bergeron
• O'Connor, Flannery. A Stroke of Good Fortune
• O'Connor, Flannery. A Late Encounter With the Enemy
• O'Connor, Flannery. The Lame Shall Enter First
• Oates, Joyce Carol. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?
• Cather, Willa. Paul's Case
• Updike, John. A&P
• Poe, Edgar Allen. The Cask of Amontillado

I will refrain from posting the category "Stories that I hated" because it's way too long.  It includes, however, O'Connor's "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," (YUCK) "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," (DOUBLE YUCK) most of (YUCK) Poe, and, sadly, most stories in most anthologies.

I read somebody's blog today, that made me smile in recognition of myself:  http://gentlyhewstone.com/2011/06/02/the-best-american-short-stories-of-the-century/  The blogger had read a short story anthology and graded it, and posted his grades.  So I will look up those stories and see if any of those he gave a check plus, make it onto my small list as well.