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Designs for Reading: Short Stories
Jane Eklund Ball (ed.), Kenneth S. Lynn (ed.)
250 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1972
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 2, 2022
1 - Early Marriage by Conrad Richter - gripping tale of peril in the old Southwest. The author's name is somewhat familiar to me - from way back I think. Looks like he was a popular author of the mid-20th century. Won a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award. Looking back from a more politically correct perspective(2022) one sees Mr. Richter as a celebrant of the moral superiority of expansionist white culture at the expense of indigenous people. This story certainly fits that description.
2 - The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell- A venerable old timer... first read by me back in the sixties, maybe even the late 50's.
3 - The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse by William Saroyan - Back to his youthful Fresno roots for Saroyan. Tricky morality at play in this one.
4 - Antaeus by Borden Deal - Not familiar with this author. I can identify with the subject of culture shock (from moving "away")in a young boy's life. Antaeus was the guy Herakles defeated by lifting him off the ground.
5 - The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty - short and obvious.
6 - The Enemy by Pearl S. Buck - ditto, and with a low credibility factor.
7 - Old Man at the Bridge by Ernest Hemingway - a truly short story about the (mis)fortunes of war,
8 - To Build a Fire by Jack London - an old favorite, read first long ago. A fool and his life are predictably parted.
9 - The Interlopers by Saki - another OBG read first a long time ago.
10 - Quality by John Galsworthy - a lament for a world over come by change, and not in a good way.
11 - The Heyday of the Blood by Dorothy Canfield Fisher - an author I'm only vaguely aware of. A dated tale, but still pretty good.
12 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber. Another old fave. Seems a bit dated nowadays.
13 - Fever Dream by Ray Bradbury - more hysterical prose from the "master."
14 - The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe - read before a time or two. More hysterical prose.
15 - The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant - Is there anyone who hasn't read this story? Irony galore...
16 - Cress Delahanty by Jessamyn West - an amusing mid-century tale(1951). The title made me think of other cool-sounding literary names... Cass Timberlane...Chlothilde Ellingboe... Edward Arlington Robinson... William Bonney... one could go on forever. Francis Parkinson Keyes... Henry Wadsworth Longfellow... Elmo Goodhue Pipgrass(from this story). The story is set in California(by deduction/assumption - the author's family moved to rural Orange County when she was a child).
17 - The Unlucky Winner by Max Shulman - An amusing Dobie Gillis tale.
18 - Water Never Hurt a Man by Walter D. Edmonds - A harsh tale of growing up hard.
19 - A Visit to Grandmother by William Melvin Kelley - A story emotional suffering inside a family where not all of the ten children get what they need. Bitterness and hurt are the legacy.
20 - The Gift by John Steinbeck - JS was a fine writer and many of his stories have a hard and bitter emotional edge to them. This story and its title align with the previous two stories as examples of irony using the difficult life of a young boy as the medium. This story and others set in the Salinas Valley formed the basis for the screenplay for the movie "The Red Pony."
Despite the book's having an overload of moldy oldies there's enough good stuff to warrant a 3.75* rating, which rounds up to 4*.
2 - The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell- A venerable old timer... first read by me back in the sixties, maybe even the late 50's.
3 - The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse by William Saroyan - Back to his youthful Fresno roots for Saroyan. Tricky morality at play in this one.
4 - Antaeus by Borden Deal - Not familiar with this author. I can identify with the subject of culture shock (from moving "away")in a young boy's life. Antaeus was the guy Herakles defeated by lifting him off the ground.
5 - The Sniper by Liam O'Flaherty - short and obvious.
6 - The Enemy by Pearl S. Buck - ditto, and with a low credibility factor.
7 - Old Man at the Bridge by Ernest Hemingway - a truly short story about the (mis)fortunes of war,
8 - To Build a Fire by Jack London - an old favorite, read first long ago. A fool and his life are predictably parted.
9 - The Interlopers by Saki - another OBG read first a long time ago.
10 - Quality by John Galsworthy - a lament for a world over come by change, and not in a good way.
11 - The Heyday of the Blood by Dorothy Canfield Fisher - an author I'm only vaguely aware of. A dated tale, but still pretty good.
12 - The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber. Another old fave. Seems a bit dated nowadays.
13 - Fever Dream by Ray Bradbury - more hysterical prose from the "master."
14 - The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe - read before a time or two. More hysterical prose.
15 - The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant - Is there anyone who hasn't read this story? Irony galore...
16 - Cress Delahanty by Jessamyn West - an amusing mid-century tale(1951). The title made me think of other cool-sounding literary names... Cass Timberlane...Chlothilde Ellingboe... Edward Arlington Robinson... William Bonney... one could go on forever. Francis Parkinson Keyes... Henry Wadsworth Longfellow... Elmo Goodhue Pipgrass(from this story). The story is set in California(by deduction/assumption - the author's family moved to rural Orange County when she was a child).
17 - The Unlucky Winner by Max Shulman - An amusing Dobie Gillis tale.
18 - Water Never Hurt a Man by Walter D. Edmonds - A harsh tale of growing up hard.
19 - A Visit to Grandmother by William Melvin Kelley - A story emotional suffering inside a family where not all of the ten children get what they need. Bitterness and hurt are the legacy.
20 - The Gift by John Steinbeck - JS was a fine writer and many of his stories have a hard and bitter emotional edge to them. This story and its title align with the previous two stories as examples of irony using the difficult life of a young boy as the medium. This story and others set in the Salinas Valley formed the basis for the screenplay for the movie "The Red Pony."
Despite the book's having an overload of moldy oldies there's enough good stuff to warrant a 3.75* rating, which rounds up to 4*.
October 8, 2017
This short story collection is right up there with Great Ghost Stories as the best book I've ever read. It's designed for high school students, and I'm not sure how many of them really appreciated it!
Early Marriage - a solid opening story depicting how dangerous crossing open country was when Indians were dangerous and bridges over rivers non-existent. Could have been more exciting if they'd actually run into the Indians. I wonder if the brother made it back alive...
The Most Dangerous Game - a perennial favorite; the big-game hunter who finds himself being hunted by a James Bondish evil mastermind.
The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse - a cute story about honor & theft & poverty
Antaeus - I really felt bad for this poor kid who chose the wrong place to make a garden
The Sniper - the cruelty of civil war where you often don't realize who you're shooting at
The Enemy - gripping drama about an American soldier who washes ashore on Japan and the doctor who wrestles with healing him or killing him
Old Man At The Bridge - a short sketch of a man displaced by war
To Build A Fire - the most famous Jack London story about an idiot who tries to travel during a cold snap
The Interlopers - wow what an ending! The irony of two life-long enemies who are forced to come to terms with each other
Quality - what it's like to be a small business overshadowed by faster cheaper businesses who don't value their goods as much
The Heyday of the Blood - an old man who REALLY wants to go to a carnival many miles away
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - takes day-dreaming to an extreme :)
Fever Dream - holy cow it's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers!
The Tell-Tale Heart - I guess this has to be included in most collections :) A madman who can't stand his apartment-mate
The Necklace - oh man what a story. A lady who totally screws up her life over pride and envy
Cress Delahanty - a schoolgirl who tries to find a way to be popular and ends up a laughing stock
The Unlucky Winner - best story in the book? a guy with a terrible girlfriend who succumbs to plagiarism and hilarity ensues
Water Never Hurt A Man - life shipping goods on the Eerie Canal apparently involves a lot of fist fights to establish dominance.
A Visit to Grandmother - how favoritism tears a family apart
The Gift - Steinbeck's tale of the Red Pony that brings joy but a failed promise leads to tragedy
Early Marriage - a solid opening story depicting how dangerous crossing open country was when Indians were dangerous and bridges over rivers non-existent. Could have been more exciting if they'd actually run into the Indians. I wonder if the brother made it back alive...
The Most Dangerous Game - a perennial favorite; the big-game hunter who finds himself being hunted by a James Bondish evil mastermind.
The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse - a cute story about honor & theft & poverty
Antaeus - I really felt bad for this poor kid who chose the wrong place to make a garden
The Sniper - the cruelty of civil war where you often don't realize who you're shooting at
The Enemy - gripping drama about an American soldier who washes ashore on Japan and the doctor who wrestles with healing him or killing him
Old Man At The Bridge - a short sketch of a man displaced by war
To Build A Fire - the most famous Jack London story about an idiot who tries to travel during a cold snap
The Interlopers - wow what an ending! The irony of two life-long enemies who are forced to come to terms with each other
Quality - what it's like to be a small business overshadowed by faster cheaper businesses who don't value their goods as much
The Heyday of the Blood - an old man who REALLY wants to go to a carnival many miles away
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - takes day-dreaming to an extreme :)
Fever Dream - holy cow it's like Invasion of the Body Snatchers!
The Tell-Tale Heart - I guess this has to be included in most collections :) A madman who can't stand his apartment-mate
The Necklace - oh man what a story. A lady who totally screws up her life over pride and envy
Cress Delahanty - a schoolgirl who tries to find a way to be popular and ends up a laughing stock
The Unlucky Winner - best story in the book? a guy with a terrible girlfriend who succumbs to plagiarism and hilarity ensues
Water Never Hurt A Man - life shipping goods on the Eerie Canal apparently involves a lot of fist fights to establish dominance.
A Visit to Grandmother - how favoritism tears a family apart
The Gift - Steinbeck's tale of the Red Pony that brings joy but a failed promise leads to tragedy
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews