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The Norton Introduction to Fiction
The 54 stories in the Sixth Edition, 19 of which are new, provide a wealth of classroom favorites and contemporary selections, among them stories by Toni Cade Bambara, Charles Baxter, Joseph Conrad, Julio Cortazar, Ha Jin, Margaret Laurence, Reginald McKnight, Eudora Welty, and Edith Wharton.
The Sixth Edition Strengthens its emphasis on reading texts in different contexts--authorial, literary, cultural, and social--with two new "Exploring Contexts" chapters devoted to culture and literary forms: "border" stories by Rudolfo Anaya, Richard Dokey, and Denise Chavez; and the "short short" story and the novel.
Fiction: Reading, Responding, Writing introduces students to reading fiction. Evaluating Fiction develops students'critical skills. Questions and Writing Suggestions promote careful reading and offer sparks for writing. 3 complete student papers provide real student responses to several of the Writing suggestions. Writing about Fiction includes a jargon-free introduction to contemporary critical theory.
The Sixth Edition Strengthens its emphasis on reading texts in different contexts--authorial, literary, cultural, and social--with two new "Exploring Contexts" chapters devoted to culture and literary forms: "border" stories by Rudolfo Anaya, Richard Dokey, and Denise Chavez; and the "short short" story and the novel.
Fiction: Reading, Responding, Writing introduces students to reading fiction. Evaluating Fiction develops students'critical skills. Questions and Writing Suggestions promote careful reading and offer sparks for writing. 3 complete student papers provide real student responses to several of the Writing suggestions. Writing about Fiction includes a jargon-free introduction to contemporary critical theory.
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First published March 1, 1973
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October 26, 2022
Time for some more short stories and it looks like this book(a college textbook) has many of the classics. The edition pictured is number six and undoubtedly has a different mix of stories. I assume that the one I have is the first edition(1973). The first three stories are all previously read by me. The original owner seems to have been one Chip Foulter, who was thankfully sparse with his written-in-the-book notes. However, there are a couple of interesting inclusions. The first is a copy of a test from English class based on this book: Literature and Composition - Freshman English Oct. 4, 1977. Doesn't say which college. Also included is a page of doodling. The cover image I selected is not the right one(mine is a solid green), but is the only one available.
1 - The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. Pretty famous story, but not exactly literature. A good-not-great adventure that ought to have been longer. It's been movie-ized many times, with my favorite being the rather obscure "Run for the Sun". My second or third reading of the tale.
2 - The Country Husband by John Cheever. Another much-anthologized tale and a classic for sure. It's a bit dated in its details(who's gonna know who Arthur Godfrey is these days?) but Cheever was a great writer. Another story read for the second or third time.
3 - The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov. Another repeat read. Reading this reminds me of how Chekhov-like are the stories of Alice Munro and William Trevor, two of my most favorite writers. This one's about what it means to be human. Frail and mortal ...
4 - Souls Belated by Edith Wharton. Finally! a "new" story. Seems like Miss Edith was doing her best to out-James Henry in this one. I think they were pals.
5 - Oh, the Wonder by Jeremy Larner - a bit of modernist craziness by a writer I never heard of. This is the most current(1965) so far.
6 - Chickamauga by Ambrose Bierce - an impressionist look at a Civil War battle. Ironic that almost the same night I read about Antietam in "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All."
7 - Lyompa by Yuri Olesha - another author I never heard of. The last hours of a dying peasant. Realism ...
8 - The Sin of Jesus by Isaac Babel - I assume this shortie is about something(a fable?) but I have no idea what that might be. Fable stories are not my favorite.
9- The Beldonald Holbein by Henry James. Nice to see that Henry J. is up to his usual tricks, presenting a reading experience consisting of equal parts subtle and interesting emotional-social ideas and conflicts and annoying prose. At ten pages it was do-able, but I don't kinow about a hundred. I finally made conscious note of how much emotional cruelty and suffering is contained in his stories.
10 - Criers and Kibitzers, Kibitzers and Criers by Stanley Elkin. I believe that Stanley Elkin was known for being a modernist(post-modernist?) author, though this story is more straightforward that the other one of his I read. _ I suppose that if I were a literature scholar I could say more, but I'm not, so ... This story is a close look at a man in emotional extremis through the death of his son. He keeps trying to hold it together. I guess you could say it's modern-ness comes from its close examination/experiencing of the banal.
11 - The Dead by James Joyce. From "Dubliners" - my second/third reading of this is now ongoing. I'll take my time. Finished last night with this portrait of a man whose character and life is undermined by his own self-doubt and fear. An old, familiar story.
12 - Mr. Arcularis by Conrad Aiken. CA was a purveyor of psychic tension and mystery. I remember reading the strange "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" way back in high school. This story has an obvious similarity and connection to Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." And ... another G'reads reviewer marked the similarity(of both tales) to the film "Jacob's Ladder."
13 - The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Another re-read of a classic tale. Short and bitter ... Word is that this story and "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" were both penned with revenge in mind as Ms. Jackson went after the narrow-minded, provincial neighbors in upstate(or was it downstate?) Vermont who gave her and her Jewish husband a hard time. If so she did a good job of it.
14 - Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville. Greatest short story ever? Definitely a candidate. Another re-read too. My first attempt happened in high school and Melville's style just didn't click with my adolescent brain. A new thought after my latest re-read: was dealing with Bartleby like dealing with a low-bottom addict/alcoholic? Sure seems like it! Our poor, codependent narrator finally frees himself, but did he do the right thing? How far would you go to save a sick person's life?
15 - Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. ANOTHER re-read, and a worthy one. My only quibble is that perhaps it might have been a bit shorter.
16 - Raspberry Jam by Angus Wilson. OK ... THAT was crazy and weird. Never heard of the author - English I do believe. Upon further review I think I detect a strong criticism of English middle-class culture. The whole ignore the kiddies thing. The aging wacko sisters are meant to send a message as well. I think, but I'm not sure what message exactly.
17 - The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene. Very well written from an unsettling but very sympathetic child's viewpoint. Made into the film "The Fallen Idol," which I might have seen. I think the film's ending extended the ending so the story might have a more definite conclusion.
18 - Train Whistle Guitar by Albert Murray. Another "Black experience" story, this one being set in the South. The author is unknown to me.
19 - O Yes by Tillie Olsen. Tillie Olsen was known for experimental prose a la Faulkner and Joyce. Close cousin to William H. Gass, who also has a story in this collection. Tough to read and understand if your brain isn't wired the "right" way. Much like poetry, I suppose. Not for me ...
20 - Debut by Kristin Hunter. Another African-American writer unknown to me. This story is about youthful experience and what it means to grow up. Depending on who/what and where you are.
21 - Beggar My Neighbor by Dan Jacobson: And another writer unknown to me. I assume he was/is from South Africa. This is a sort-of obviously symbolic story of the white-colored/wealthy-poor divide in that culture. Pre-liberation ...
22 - The Artificial Nigger by Flannery O'Connor. I've been reading just one story per night, but I continued on and read this one too. Read before 1-2 times. Great story... Ms. O'Connor was a great writer. But... as is pretty typical for me with her stories I really don't know if and/or what it's about. Lotta fun to read, however.
23 - The Egg by Sherwood Anderson. And another of those pesky classic re-reads. Third time for this one I believe, but well-worth the effort. A story fraught with lightweight irony.
24 - The Old People by William Faulkner. Well, so much for whimsy. You don't get much of that with Faulkner. This story is followed by "Heart of Darkness," with the obvious connecting theme of the spiritual linkage between men and their environment. In this story the connection is ages old and mythic. That goes for Sam Fathers, who has the linkage from both of his regal grandfathers, one native, the other black African. The white men of the story have some of it, but they are latecomers, and their culture is much more about overcoming nature and using it to make money. In a low-key way this story has something to say about the spiritual cheapness and destructiveness of capitalism. Reading this reminded me a lot of Cormac McCarthy.
25 - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Seems to me to be an obvious and heavy-hitting(and heavy written) condemnation of capitalism and the spiritual emptiness its materialism and money love imply. This will be my third(or fourth?) reading of the classic tale. Neither Faulkner nor Conrad are easy to read. They write "thick and heavy" prose. Focus and concentration are required.
26-28 - Tlon, Uqbar. Orbis Tertius; The Lottery in Babylon; Pierre Menard, Author of "The Quixote"- all by Jorge Luis Borges. Intellectually provocative speculation and fantasy. Not exactly my cup of tea but I did read them. I have no idea what they're about(over my head.)
27-30 - Odor of Chrysanthemums; England, My England; The Blind Man; The Rocking Horse Winner = More murk from D. H. Lawrence. Does the sun EVER shine in any of his stories? Took me a while to realize I'd read "The Blind Man" before. Will read The last story tonight - I have read it before. Never saw the movie(I think).
31 - Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant - A classic tale of selfishness and hypocrisy. While I was reading it I was reminded of a movie I saw a LONG time ago titled "The Journey"(1959). Sure enough, Wikipedia lists it as one of several films based more or less on the story: Shanghai Express(two versions), Casablanca, Stagecoach ...
32 - The Heroine by Isak Dinesen. This might be the first thing I've read by ID. It's very similar in structure to the preceding story, which is why it's positioned right after it. Both stories are set during the Franco-Prussian War.
33 - The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. A bit of absurdism by the father of modern Russian fiction. Meh ...
34 - The Crocodile by Fyodor Dostoevski. Another absurdist tale from the king of over-writers. Good ole FDOS - why limit yourself to a few clear words and phrases when there are so many words to choose from? This story, like The Nose, has a satirical point, I assume. Double meh ...
35 - The Hamlet of the Shchigri by Ivan Turgenev. Easily the most fun to read of the three Russian stories. Also satirical, I believe. On the evidence of this story Turgenev is a better writer than Dostoevski, though perhaps FD chose more "important" topics, whatever those might be.
- The narrator's roommate's story of college failure is strikingly similar to my own, as is the story of the rest of his life.
And now for the homestretch ...
36 - In the Heart of the Heart of the Country by William H. Gass. I read this years ago, but have been looking forward to reading it again. This is OBVIOUSLY more poetry than prose, but whatever. Mr. G. is considered a literary god by some, but I'm not sure I'm there - yet.
37 - Disorder and Early Sorrow by Thomas Mann. Excellent story of melancholy from change in the old order of things. Helps to read some German history of the period - early 1920's. Tough and unsettling times for middle class people. Horrible inflation, as the stage was being set for Hitler's rise to power.
38 - Christmas Every Day by Heinrich Boll. The last story is kind of a dud due to outdating and culture-specific-ness. The author ventures into an absurdistan of heavy irony to tell a story of middle-class German-ness in post-war Germany. In the Mann story the setting was post-WWI and in this one the setting is post-WWII. It likely would be a big help for the reader to be either a student of German 20th c. culture or a person who lived in the Germany of the time.
Most of the stories are at least good and a few are classics. 3.75* rounds up to 4*
1 - The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell. Pretty famous story, but not exactly literature. A good-not-great adventure that ought to have been longer. It's been movie-ized many times, with my favorite being the rather obscure "Run for the Sun". My second or third reading of the tale.
2 - The Country Husband by John Cheever. Another much-anthologized tale and a classic for sure. It's a bit dated in its details(who's gonna know who Arthur Godfrey is these days?) but Cheever was a great writer. Another story read for the second or third time.
3 - The Lady with the Dog by Anton Chekhov. Another repeat read. Reading this reminds me of how Chekhov-like are the stories of Alice Munro and William Trevor, two of my most favorite writers. This one's about what it means to be human. Frail and mortal ...
4 - Souls Belated by Edith Wharton. Finally! a "new" story. Seems like Miss Edith was doing her best to out-James Henry in this one. I think they were pals.
5 - Oh, the Wonder by Jeremy Larner - a bit of modernist craziness by a writer I never heard of. This is the most current(1965) so far.
6 - Chickamauga by Ambrose Bierce - an impressionist look at a Civil War battle. Ironic that almost the same night I read about Antietam in "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All."
7 - Lyompa by Yuri Olesha - another author I never heard of. The last hours of a dying peasant. Realism ...
8 - The Sin of Jesus by Isaac Babel - I assume this shortie is about something(a fable?) but I have no idea what that might be. Fable stories are not my favorite.
9- The Beldonald Holbein by Henry James. Nice to see that Henry J. is up to his usual tricks, presenting a reading experience consisting of equal parts subtle and interesting emotional-social ideas and conflicts and annoying prose. At ten pages it was do-able, but I don't kinow about a hundred. I finally made conscious note of how much emotional cruelty and suffering is contained in his stories.
10 - Criers and Kibitzers, Kibitzers and Criers by Stanley Elkin. I believe that Stanley Elkin was known for being a modernist(post-modernist?) author, though this story is more straightforward that the other one of his I read. _ I suppose that if I were a literature scholar I could say more, but I'm not, so ... This story is a close look at a man in emotional extremis through the death of his son. He keeps trying to hold it together. I guess you could say it's modern-ness comes from its close examination/experiencing of the banal.
11 - The Dead by James Joyce. From "Dubliners" - my second/third reading of this is now ongoing. I'll take my time. Finished last night with this portrait of a man whose character and life is undermined by his own self-doubt and fear. An old, familiar story.
12 - Mr. Arcularis by Conrad Aiken. CA was a purveyor of psychic tension and mystery. I remember reading the strange "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" way back in high school. This story has an obvious similarity and connection to Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge." And ... another G'reads reviewer marked the similarity(of both tales) to the film "Jacob's Ladder."
13 - The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Another re-read of a classic tale. Short and bitter ... Word is that this story and "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" were both penned with revenge in mind as Ms. Jackson went after the narrow-minded, provincial neighbors in upstate(or was it downstate?) Vermont who gave her and her Jewish husband a hard time. If so she did a good job of it.
14 - Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville. Greatest short story ever? Definitely a candidate. Another re-read too. My first attempt happened in high school and Melville's style just didn't click with my adolescent brain. A new thought after my latest re-read: was dealing with Bartleby like dealing with a low-bottom addict/alcoholic? Sure seems like it! Our poor, codependent narrator finally frees himself, but did he do the right thing? How far would you go to save a sick person's life?
15 - Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. ANOTHER re-read, and a worthy one. My only quibble is that perhaps it might have been a bit shorter.
16 - Raspberry Jam by Angus Wilson. OK ... THAT was crazy and weird. Never heard of the author - English I do believe. Upon further review I think I detect a strong criticism of English middle-class culture. The whole ignore the kiddies thing. The aging wacko sisters are meant to send a message as well. I think, but I'm not sure what message exactly.
17 - The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene. Very well written from an unsettling but very sympathetic child's viewpoint. Made into the film "The Fallen Idol," which I might have seen. I think the film's ending extended the ending so the story might have a more definite conclusion.
18 - Train Whistle Guitar by Albert Murray. Another "Black experience" story, this one being set in the South. The author is unknown to me.
19 - O Yes by Tillie Olsen. Tillie Olsen was known for experimental prose a la Faulkner and Joyce. Close cousin to William H. Gass, who also has a story in this collection. Tough to read and understand if your brain isn't wired the "right" way. Much like poetry, I suppose. Not for me ...
20 - Debut by Kristin Hunter. Another African-American writer unknown to me. This story is about youthful experience and what it means to grow up. Depending on who/what and where you are.
21 - Beggar My Neighbor by Dan Jacobson: And another writer unknown to me. I assume he was/is from South Africa. This is a sort-of obviously symbolic story of the white-colored/wealthy-poor divide in that culture. Pre-liberation ...
22 - The Artificial Nigger by Flannery O'Connor. I've been reading just one story per night, but I continued on and read this one too. Read before 1-2 times. Great story... Ms. O'Connor was a great writer. But... as is pretty typical for me with her stories I really don't know if and/or what it's about. Lotta fun to read, however.
23 - The Egg by Sherwood Anderson. And another of those pesky classic re-reads. Third time for this one I believe, but well-worth the effort. A story fraught with lightweight irony.
24 - The Old People by William Faulkner. Well, so much for whimsy. You don't get much of that with Faulkner. This story is followed by "Heart of Darkness," with the obvious connecting theme of the spiritual linkage between men and their environment. In this story the connection is ages old and mythic. That goes for Sam Fathers, who has the linkage from both of his regal grandfathers, one native, the other black African. The white men of the story have some of it, but they are latecomers, and their culture is much more about overcoming nature and using it to make money. In a low-key way this story has something to say about the spiritual cheapness and destructiveness of capitalism. Reading this reminded me a lot of Cormac McCarthy.
25 - Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Seems to me to be an obvious and heavy-hitting(and heavy written) condemnation of capitalism and the spiritual emptiness its materialism and money love imply. This will be my third(or fourth?) reading of the classic tale. Neither Faulkner nor Conrad are easy to read. They write "thick and heavy" prose. Focus and concentration are required.
26-28 - Tlon, Uqbar. Orbis Tertius; The Lottery in Babylon; Pierre Menard, Author of "The Quixote"- all by Jorge Luis Borges. Intellectually provocative speculation and fantasy. Not exactly my cup of tea but I did read them. I have no idea what they're about(over my head.)
27-30 - Odor of Chrysanthemums; England, My England; The Blind Man; The Rocking Horse Winner = More murk from D. H. Lawrence. Does the sun EVER shine in any of his stories? Took me a while to realize I'd read "The Blind Man" before. Will read The last story tonight - I have read it before. Never saw the movie(I think).
31 - Boule de Suif by Guy de Maupassant - A classic tale of selfishness and hypocrisy. While I was reading it I was reminded of a movie I saw a LONG time ago titled "The Journey"(1959). Sure enough, Wikipedia lists it as one of several films based more or less on the story: Shanghai Express(two versions), Casablanca, Stagecoach ...
32 - The Heroine by Isak Dinesen. This might be the first thing I've read by ID. It's very similar in structure to the preceding story, which is why it's positioned right after it. Both stories are set during the Franco-Prussian War.
33 - The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. A bit of absurdism by the father of modern Russian fiction. Meh ...
34 - The Crocodile by Fyodor Dostoevski. Another absurdist tale from the king of over-writers. Good ole FDOS - why limit yourself to a few clear words and phrases when there are so many words to choose from? This story, like The Nose, has a satirical point, I assume. Double meh ...
35 - The Hamlet of the Shchigri by Ivan Turgenev. Easily the most fun to read of the three Russian stories. Also satirical, I believe. On the evidence of this story Turgenev is a better writer than Dostoevski, though perhaps FD chose more "important" topics, whatever those might be.
- The narrator's roommate's story of college failure is strikingly similar to my own, as is the story of the rest of his life.
And now for the homestretch ...
36 - In the Heart of the Heart of the Country by William H. Gass. I read this years ago, but have been looking forward to reading it again. This is OBVIOUSLY more poetry than prose, but whatever. Mr. G. is considered a literary god by some, but I'm not sure I'm there - yet.
37 - Disorder and Early Sorrow by Thomas Mann. Excellent story of melancholy from change in the old order of things. Helps to read some German history of the period - early 1920's. Tough and unsettling times for middle class people. Horrible inflation, as the stage was being set for Hitler's rise to power.
38 - Christmas Every Day by Heinrich Boll. The last story is kind of a dud due to outdating and culture-specific-ness. The author ventures into an absurdistan of heavy irony to tell a story of middle-class German-ness in post-war Germany. In the Mann story the setting was post-WWI and in this one the setting is post-WWII. It likely would be a big help for the reader to be either a student of German 20th c. culture or a person who lived in the Germany of the time.
Most of the stories are at least good and a few are classics. 3.75* rounds up to 4*
November 29, 2015
Still read all my Norton's.
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