Great Short Short Stories: Quick Reads by Great Writers

by Paul Negri (Editor)

"To buy books would be a good thing," observed Arthur Schopenhauer, "if we also could buy the time to read them." All devoted readers long for more time to spend with their books, and the next best thing to buying time is making the most of the available moments. Great Short Short Stories: Quick Reads by Great Writers offers that opportunity. An outstanding collection of 30 brilliant short stories, each just six or fewer pages in length, it provides the chance to absorb an entire story (or two or three) in just one sitting.
Well-known tales from masters of the short-story genre include: Mark Twain, "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"; Franz Kafka, "A Country Doctor"; Edgar Allan Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado"; Guy de Maupassant, "A Piece of String"; Stephen Crane, "The Veteran"; Kate Chopin, "A Pair of Silk Stockings"; plus works by Dickens, O. Henry, Chekhov, Wilde, and many others. Includes 2 selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "A White Heron" and "Cask of Amontillado."

The egg / Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941, American)
An occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge / Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?, American)
The enchanted bluff / Willa Cather (1873-1947, American)
A malefactor / Anton Chekhov (1860-1904, Russian)
A pair of silk stockings / Kate Chopin (1851-1904, American)
The veteran / Stephen Crane (1871-1900, American)
The apparition of Mrs. Veal / Daniel Defoe (1660-1731, English)
Nobody's story / Charles Dickens (1812-1870, English)
If I were a man / Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935, American)
Squire Petrick's lady / Thomas Hardy (1840-1928, English)
The luck of Roaring Camp / Bret Harte (1836-1902, American)
Dr. Heidegger's experiment / Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864, American)
A ghost story / Jerome K. Jerome (1859-1927, English)
A white heron / Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909, American)
A country doctor / Franz Kafka (1883-1924, Czech)
Wee Willie Winkie / Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936, English)
Sanctuary / Nella Larsen (1891-1964, American)
Second best / D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930, English)
The white silence / Jack London (1876-1916, American)
Germans at meat / Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923, English)
A piece of string / Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893, French)
The open window / H.H. Munro, or Saki (1870-1916, English)
The furnished room / O. Henry (1962-1910, American)
With other eyes / Luigi Pirandello (1867-1936, Italian)
The cask of Amontillado / Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849, American)
The coffin-maker / Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837, Russian)
The three hermits / Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910, Russian)
The notorious jumping frog of Calaveras County / Mark Twain (1835-1910, American)
The remarkable case of Davidson's eyes / H.G. Wells (1866-1946, English)
The sphinx without a secret / Oscar Wilde (1854-1900, Irish)

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literature, Literary Fiction, Anthologies, Classics, Collections

193 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2005

Reviews

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am absolutely blown away by the level of talent and creativity in this collection. The title is plenty deceiving but other than that what an incredible book!!

[maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this collection while looking for a book that could be read in snatches on a small screen, and I was utterly charmed. A good mix of classic authors whose names are synonymous with the genre, authors that are classic but not known for short stories, and authors that I hadn't heard of but am now glad I did. Am now planning to pick up more Dover Thrift short story collections.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved, loved, loved this collection! Each story was a joy to read and has given me so much more material that I want to read. A perfect book if you're looking for your next favourite book or author.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what I needed at this point in time.

[Googoogjoob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Any anthology is going to be a mixed bag, and this one even mixed-er than most, given that it contains so many stories- 30, to be precise. As the title indicates, they're all pretty short- none longer than nine pages in this edition. They're all drawn from the public domain. The selection ranges from acknowledged classics, which are always worth reading (Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, Harte's The Luck of Roaring Camp, Kafka's A Country Doctor, Larsen's Sanctuary, Poe's The Cask of Amontillado), to excellent lesser-known works by well-known authors (Anderson's The Egg, Hardy's Squire Petrick's Lady, Wells's The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes), down to works that are basically only of historical interest (Defoe's The Apparition of Mrs. Veal, sometimes claimed as the first ghost story; Dickens's Nobody's Story, a hamfisted characterless allegory) or space-filling minor works by big names (Hawthorne's Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, Kipling's Wee Willie Winkie, Pirandello's With Other Eyes). So- uneven, but not really much different from what I expected, going into a budget anthology of short stories.

[Mitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating here is an average for all the stories thrown together in this one, slim volume. It's an average because while some of the short stories stand out, others are immediately forgettable regardless of the relative fame of their author/ess'es.

You'll no doubt have a similar experience if you read this book. It's a goodread especially if you are in circumstances where short, unrelated pieces work better than a longer, sustained read.

[Joel Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize there are so many collections of "great short stories". I picked this one because they are "short short stories". I did read several that I had never read. I enjoyed most of them but only gave it three stars because it is average for short stories. Especially enjoyed Tolstoy, Kate Chopin, Defoe and Brett Hate.

[Britta]

I started reading some other books and the library loan ran out, and I didn't feel it was worth renewing. Maybe I'll check it out again another time. I did like the first story or two, but then they lost my interest

[Santo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is ok

[Ivan Kadery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an unbelievable collection of short stories, each story cherrypicked by Paul Negri. This is the best collection I've ever read so far.

[Leah Collins]

The book I will be reviewing is Great Short Short Stories, edited by Paul Negri. It is a collection of thirty short stories by authors ranging from Sherwood Anderson to Oscar Wilde. The two stories I’m going to review specifically are The Enchanted Bluff by Willa Cather, and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Enchanted Bluff is about a group of friends where one tells them about a bluff that people used to live on and they imagine finding it, and climbing to the city. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment was about an elderly doctor who invites some of his friends and gives them the elixir of youth.
I believe both authors’ reason for writing these stories were to entertain. The theme of The Enchanted Bluff is probably keep your child-like dreams. Even after they all grew up, the boys would still remember the story of the bluff, and their dream to climb it. The theme of Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is sometimes what you wish for is not all it’s cracked up to be. His friends were made young again but they realized that it was not the wonderful thing they thought it would be.
The Enchanted Bluff is a narration. Cather made you feel like you were watching the conversation, and even though you weren’t a part of it, you could feel their excitement over the prospect of adventure. Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment is also narration. The reader could feel the happiness of Dr. Heidegger’s friends. The reader could also feel the jealousy of the three men as they tried to win the favor of the woman. I found both styles very effective for the stories the authors were trying to tell.
I liked the stories I read. They were entertaining to read. Some of the other stories were a little tedious to read. I liked how in Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment, his friends learned that being young again wasn’t as amazing as they thought it would be.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed several of these stories including a few of my favorites that I have read in other collections are "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, "The Remarkable Case of Davidson's Eyes by H. G. Wells, and the "Sphinx Without a Secret" by Oscar Wilde. Some new ones I liked are "An Occurance at Owl Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, "A Pair of Silk Stockings" by Kate Chopin, "The Luck of Roaring Camp" by Bret Harte, "Wee Willie Winkie" by Rudyard Kipling, "Sanctuary" by Nella Larson and "The Three Hermits" by Leo Tolstoy.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. It's one of those books that just weren't meant for me is all. Classic short stories in this book I found to be a bit boring but other's may really like it if they are into classical reading. I gave it a 3 star rating because it wasn't horrible it's just not for me and some of the stories were interesting.

[Coleman Concannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great themeless collection of famous classics. As with all short stories, it often hooks you right as it ends.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of shorts. I tend to prefer shorter stories, and I really enjoyed reading shorts from some authors I might not otherwise have discovered.

[Jake Cooper · Rating 2 out of 5]

20 of the 30 stories are from the same 30-year period (1886-1916), and 23 are American or English writers. Too little breadth, too few winners.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to recall the wit and cleverness of writers such as Mark Twain, Oscar Wilde, Katherine Mansfield, Guy de Maupassant, Pushkin and others.

[Emily]

DNF. I was bored with many of the stories. Only read it because I accidentally order it ...