Influential Short Stories

I decided to create a list of short stories that have profoundly influenced me as an author.  This is not a list of the "best" or most "classic" stories out there, but simply the ones that made me into the writer I am today.  I strongly recommend them all.  Enjoy!

“Man from the South” by Roald Dahl: 

The premise: An old man offers a boy his car if he can light his lighter ten consecutive times.  The catch: he chops off his finger if he fails.

Its greatness: The twist ending (even superior to the Tarantino film storyline based on it) and the twisted old man character were in my head for weeks.

“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe:

The premise: A man uses alcohol as bait to wreak his vengeance upon his enemy.

Its greatness: I enjoyed following the anti-hero in his quest for justice.  Revenge is a great literary tool.

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates

The premise: A pair of unsettling men show up in a car to take a rebellious teenage girl away.

Its greatness: It's creepy enough that it feels "wrong" to enjoy this story, but Oates uses dialogue as hypnotizing (spoiler!) as the antagonist himself.  I strive to hook the reader like Oates does.

“The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber” by Ernest Hemingway

The premise: A man's manhood is questioned when he runs from a lion.

Its greatness: I enjoy the theme of "what a man is."  I enjoy Hemingway's stories, but often feel like they lack in interesting plots.  This story is one of the ones with a great plot in addition to his terse style.

“Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

The premise: Society handicaps the gifted and talented people, and Harrison is not happy about it.

Its greatness: I enjoy the political statement in this story, as well as the humor and drama.

“Games” by William Sleator

The premise: Kids play games with their younger siblings in the car.

Its greatness: I related to this story as a child.  Sleator's tone with his siblings is hilarious, and I strive to achieve something similar when I write about kids' shenanigans.

“The Ice Palace” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

The premise: A woman falls in love with a man from the north, abandoning her southern roots.

Its greatness: I'm not Fitzgerald's biggest fan, but I love the way he captures the essence of north vs. south in this story.  I enjoy stories where the setting is a character (a reason I love Pat Conroy's books).  I also consider setting to be one of my weak areas of writing.  So this story especially inspires me.  Although the protagonist feels revulsion towards a region I love, I was able to identify with her.  Fitzgerald earns points for getting me into a story that demonizes one of my favorite places.

“To Build a Fire” by Jack London

The premise: A man heads out in the Yukon in the -70 degree weather.

Its greatness: I'm not normally a "man vs. nature" type of reader, but this story had me enthralled.  The descriptions of the cold made me forget that there was only one human character in the story.  It was good enough for me to read to my middle school class and keep their attention.  That's impressive.

“A& P” by John Updike

The premise: A boy gets behind a girl who enters a store under-dressed.

Its greatness: The simplicity of the situation and characters made me want to read Updike's other writing.  There was something intriguing about Queenie, the girl in the bathing suit.

“Donkey Greedy, Donkey Gets Punched” by Steve Almond

The premise: A man gets greedy in a game of poker.

Its greatness: This was a story that was simply enjoyable.  I had a lot of fun reading about the gambling, and it made me feel like going out and playing the game myself.  Obviously an effective story.

“A Dark Brown Dog” by Stephen Crane

The premise: A boy with an alcoholic father takes in a dog.

Its greatness: This is the saddest story I have ever read.  Crane is a master of emotion.

“The Cactus” by O. Henry

The premise: A man tries to woo a girl.

Its greatness: This is my favorite O. Henry story.  There are some twist endings you can see coming, and some you don't.  This was one that came out of nowhere, and I strive to achieve the same in my short stories.

“Liar!” by Isaac Asimov

The premise: A robot gets involved in romance.

Its greatness: I never expected revelations and emotions like this in a robot story.  Definitely an underrated story in I, Robot.  I like the combination of romance and science fiction!