Sudden Fiction (Continued): 60 New Short-Short Stories

by Robert Shapard (Editor), James Thomas (Editor)

Succinct, superior, surprising―it all adds up to Sudden Fiction (Continued) , a stellar collection of sixty short-shorts from the editors of Sudden Fiction and Sudden Fiction International . Remember Sudden Fiction International ―that bounty of short-short stories from all over the world? Literary folks loved them. Students carried the book around with them. And people on the run found the length of each story (no more than 2000 words) perfect respites from their busy lives.

Responding to America's love affair with the short-short, editors Shapard and Thomas consulted nearly two-hundred magazines and chose the sixty stories, written in English or translated, that they considered best. Ranging across countries and cultures, the selection includes a number of new stories from the Pacific Rim.

Well-known writers―William Maxwell, Margaret Atwood, Don DeLillo, Mark Richard―join lesser-known writers―Molly Giles, Andrew Lam, Judy Troy―who will be (or should be) better known. Each story revels in its own element of surprise; each, whether traditional or experimental, proves that a tale told quickly offers pleasure long past its telling. Students and lovers of literature take note: this is serious writing that's fun to read.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Flash Fiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published June 17, 1996

Reviews

[Alberto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aunque este libro se anuncia como de minificciones (sudden fiction), los lectores hispanohablantes notarán que los textos son, en general, más extensos de lo que suele considerarse un microrrelato en Hispanoamérica. Es una de muchas diferencias entre los géneros tal y como se entienden en dos lenguas diferentes. En cualquier caso, la selección es muy interesante en general y varios de los textos son estupendos (por ejemplo, el impresionante "The Flowers" de Alice Walker). Alguien debería traducir el libro entero al castellano.

[Enrique Barcena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Las Flores - Alice Walker
Este microrrelato de ficción nos afronta la inocencia de una infancia campestre y su encuentro con la violencia/intolerancia presente en su día a día. Aunque no está claro en que época se desarrolla el relato entre el esclavismo del siglo XIX y la segregación racial del siglo XX; se puede identificar una historia muy potente y angustiosa; la cual si modificamos los componentes campestres/rurales, por los urbanísticos segregacionales también podría estar pasando ahora. En este relato, donde la protagonista es encarnada por una mujer afrodescendientes de la zona rural sur de Estados Unidos, es decir la niña de los aparceros (los que rentan la tierra para trabajarla) se puede identificar el encuentro de la niñez/inocencia con su realidad -> Un hombre negro (posiblemente aparcero) linchado y dejado al abandono hasta la putrefacción; posterior a la cual se sindica el simbolismo del "fin del verano" como el "fin de la niñez inocente" al enfrentamiento inevitable con su realidad.
Además, la respuesta casi natural y orgánica de la protagonista, nos permite identificar en la lectura entre líneas la concientización de la niña protagonista con respecto a las consecuencias del racismo en su realidad contemporánea, llegando hasta el linchamiento.
Finalmente, esta es una nueva manifestación de la gran pluma literaria de la autora, para que en pocas líneas pueda dibujar una situación tan crítica pero real de dicha comunidad, la cual aunque ya no son esclavos de otros individuos, y cuentan con los mismos derechos y deberes que cualquier ciudadano; aún al sol de hoy de identifican y reconocen las dificultades sociales que aún prevalecen, muestra de esta realidad son las noticias e informaciones que se dan periódicamente y los movimientos internacionales que aún persisten con el fin de prevalecer e ir derrumbando esas murallas sociales de lastre histórico presente.

[Frostajax · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. If you want to read some great modern short-short stories, go here (after reading the first volume, if possible).
While a few of these are on the lackluster side, the truly great ones make up for them. And there are no real failures in the lot.
I can't even begin to pick favorites..."My Life as a Bat?" "The Liberation of Rome?" "On the Rope?" "I Owned Vermont?" "Blue Hair?" "We Bad?" "A Bar in Brooklyn?" "Crossing to Abbassiya?" There's a kind of genius in each of these.
But don't overlook the final story, "The Cat Was Dead," a piece that only the long-suffering veteran of many, many writing workshops can fully appreciate.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Myop deja sus flores y el verano había terminado" ... una oración que me impacto, en donde fácilmente se muestra el quiebre o el cambio de etapa que la autora desea mostrar de una forma abrupta, directa y rápida. El contraste fue preciso, en donde pasamos de un relato lleno de detalles en donde se resalta la bonito que es ser niño, ya que se vive en un mundo de burbujas en donde creemos que todo es hermoso, perfecto, sin problemas y pues abruptamente nos topamos con que la curiosidad de ver que hay más allá de su perfecta "casita", la aleja del perímetro de su tranquilidad, y en donde en un parpadear de ojos se ve con una realidad cruda en donde ya no todo es perfecto por no mencionar más. si el relato lo contrastaramos con la realidad en la actualidad nos daríamos cuenta que esto ahora es quizás peor, ya que, ahora hay muchísima más agresividad,quizás de otra índole pero creería yo que es ahora mas accesible que antes, en donde ya es muy difícil vivir en la burbuja perfecta; considerando que la ingenuidad no solo la tienen los niños sino tambien los adultos (variando según los ámbitos o situaciones). se que para el año en el que fue escrito esta lectura nos trasladara a distintos puntos de debate, que en su tiempo era como la raza o lo politico, pero yo me enfoque solo en lo fácil que puede ser perder la inocensia. la lectura estuvo interesante quizás espere un final un poco más impactante pero creería que para ser una micronovela para un segmento escolar está bien.

lectura conjunta realizada con @clasicoesleerte

[Nicol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta reseña es específicamente del relato The flowers de Alice Walker.

Creo que todos hemos tenido un momento en nuestra niñez, lamentablemente unos más temprano que otros, en donde la inocencia se pierde. Un momento es que nuestro cándido modelo del mundo cambia. En esta historia, ese momento le ocurre a Myop cuando descubre algo mientras explora el bosque cerca de su casa. El relato es contundente; utilizando el bosque como alegoría del mundo ajeno a la seguridad del hogar, el verano como la calidez de la niñez y, claro, las flores como alegoría de la inocencia. La crítica social también está presente en la historia. Los linchamientos en Estados Unidos llegaron a su punto más alto desde finales del siglo XIX hasta los años 1920, la mayoría de los cuales tenía como objetivo a personas afroamericanas.

Este relato me gustó; siempre disfruto historias que con pocas palabras pueden transmitir tanto. Alice Walker me hizo preguntarme en qué ocasiones, al igual que Myop, yo también he abandonado mis flores en el suelo.

Leído para el club de lectura @ClasicoesLeerte

[Sean Sexton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this book on the shelf for a tad over 20 years and finally got around to reading it. I shouldn't have waited so long. As the title indicates, "Sudden Fiction" is a collection of 60 different short stories. The fact that they all fit into just under 300 pages is due to the fact that these are "short shorts". Each of the stories is just a few pages long, the authors delivering their emotion, image or little bit of humor in powerful little packages.

There isn't a bad story in the bunch, though a handful are perhaps a bit dense and one or two a little bit disturbing. For the most part, though, the stories are delightful and rewarding, whether funny, beautiful or poignant.

[Evelyn Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this collection of short, short stories of varying styles. Not just entertaining, but very useful for me when seeking ideas for how to strengthen my story beginnings to grab attention, or discover why a conclusion is satisfying or not. This book becomes a keeper.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually enjoy short stories, but this collection really didn't do it for me.

[Randy Garry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good stories, but overall not extremely entertaining. Good enough that I will surely read more of the books of short stories that the two editors (Shepard and Thomas) have put together.

[Robert Morgan Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course some stories are better than others but this is a solid collection.

[Eric Hinkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

A lot of great stories, a lot of interesting stories, and some that I was honestly grateful to finish, despite being under 1000 words in length apiece. There's certainly a lot of different kinds of writing, something for everyone, including some great stories by authors who seem to be forgotten or short-lived (at least as far as Goodreads has documented their work).

I haven't read the other collections in the series, except for Flash Fiction, which is an excellent collection of even *shorter* stories: 750 words, I think. I'd recommend that one over this.

[Havovi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this about 10 years ago. And never quite got over this genre. Perhaps it says something about my limited attention span or soemthing, but i found most of these stories outstanding- I loved how so much was said in so few words. Of course, this was also the time when I couldnt get over the Imagists...when two line poems and haiku were the best thing after pink floyd :)

But this remains a book I strongly recommend

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of mediocre writing, but some pieces really shone, including:
Denis Johnson's "Out on Bail"
Molly Giles's "The Writers' Model"
Margaret Broucek's "Alvin Jones's Ignorant Wife"
Charles Baxter's "Scheherazade"
Kenneth Bernard's "Sister Francetta and The Pig Baby"
Bret Lott's "I Owned Vermont"
Robert Olen Butler's "Relic"
Lynn Grossman's "Cartography"
Daniel Lyons's "The Birthday Cake"
Catherine Alpert's "That Changes Everything"
Richard Plant's "Flatland"

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of stories all under 1000 words, this arrangement hits highs and lows. Engaging stories include "The Sundress", about a couple who move into empty homes and spruce them up before the owners return, " I Own Vermont," where a couple's fight leads to a man claiming the state of Vermont as his own, and "Jacob's Chicken" - where a young boy's odd drawing becomes a real animal. Some of the translated stories do not hold up as well, while others tend to be forgettable.

[Denis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't too excited by this book's prequel, Sudden Fiction, and was pleasantly surprised with the anthology, New Sudden Fiction, and for me this one rates somewhere in between, but closer to the former. There were several stories that excited, or evoked something in this reader, but far too many didn't. But still, Sudden Fiction is worth the read if this genre is of interest.

[Jessica Heck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use this book in my creative writing class. Short stories just long enough to go with a writing lesson to demonstrate a technique. I have to be choosy about which stories I use since some of them are a bit mature for high school students. But overall, a good example of what a good writer can do in a few well-chosen words.

[Joshua Rigsby · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent flash fiction anthology. As with any book with this many authors I liked some, tolerated some, and abhorred others. The stories run the gamut from experimental to sentimental, literary to humorous. I think I'll keep it around and pick a story out at random from time to time.

Http://joshuarigsby.com

[crazy-book-lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up after reading its predecessor, Sudden Fiction International (which I loved). Right from the beginning, the stories in SFC didn't grab me as much, but it is still an okay collection of short fiction.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories, alternating with not so great stories. But opens your mind to other ways of telling a story. Also, good to have in the car when you are waiting for the kids. Gives you something interesting to think about!

[Hannah Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of so-so writing. I was thrilled with the first piece; it's almost impossible to go wrong with Margaret Atwood, but that thrill slowly dissipated until I read Traci L. Gourdine's "Graceful Exits." That piece was pretty darn remarkable. After that the book went back to being so-so.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the book. I liked it.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of later selections become tiresome, and eventually the already known names became the only ones reading, but those are the usual odds with a collection like this.

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are a few gems in the rubble, but this doesn't even come close to meeting the standard of the old international edition...

[CR Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my Creative Writing Class in college - like many collections, half are forgettable, half are decent, and of those, a handful are fantastic. Regardless, it's nice to have on the shelf.

[Tim Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are rather '90s in their devotion to "1. surreal thing. 2. quiet vague longing" but I'm sucker for shorts so I loved even the unsatisfying ones.

[Deborah Sheldon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag of lollies that attempts to appeal to all readers. Overall, an entertaining read.

[Carma Spence · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can read my review of this book here: http://www.thegenretraveler.com/sci-f...

[Nan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection. There's a lot to learn, a lot to enjoy.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of stories in many different styles from various authors.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

many great stories by new (to me) authors