blb-agency

[blb-agency]

[blb-agency]

10 Female Written Short Stories Everyone Should Read

I have seen a post circulating for a while that lists 10 short stories everyone should read and, while these are great works, most of them are older and written by white men. I wanted to make a modern list that features fresh, fantastic and under represented voices. Enjoy!

1. A Temporary Matter by Jhumpa Lahiri — A couple in a failing marriage share secrets during a blackout. 

2. Stone Animals by Kelly Link — A family moves into a haunted house.

3. Reeling for the Empire by Karen Russell — Women are sold by their families to a silk factory, where they are slowly transformed into human silkworms. 

4. Call My Name by Aimee Bender — A woman wearing a ball gown secretly auditions men on the subway. 

5. The Man on the Stairs by Miranda July — A woman wakes up to a noise on the stairs. 

6. Brownies by ZZ Packer — Rival Girl Scout troops are separated by race. 

7. City of My Dreams by Zsuzi Gartner — A woman works at a shop selling food-inspired soap and tries not to think about her past. 

8. A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor — A family drives from Georgia to Florida, even though a serial killer is on the loose. 

9. Hitting Budapest by NoViolet Bulawayo — A group of children, led by a girl named Darling, travel to a rich neighborhood to steal guavas. 

10. You’re Ugly, Too by Lorrie Moore — A history professor flies to Manhattan to spend Halloween weekend with her younger sister.

[blb-agency]

PRESERVING STORIES

The theme of preserving stories is one of the central ideas of the novel Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Haroun experienced firsthand the importance of believing in these tales because he personally witnessed them and the effect they had had as well as the relevance in a real setting. Throughout the novel, the stories held a lot of truth as well as teaching Haroun a thing or two. For example, Haroun’s father Rashid is a story teller which reveals him as a very imaginative person.

Without stories, life would be a dark and dismal place. The author even incorporates that concept into the Land of Chup. The place where storytelling is prohibited is literally cold, dark, and lonely whereas in Gup City there was “Endless Sunshine” and people were free to say whatever they wanted. This cold dismal place is the home of Khattam Shud, the villain of the book. His name means ‘completely finished’, ‘over and done with’ which was what he wanted to be with stories.

#haroun and the sea of stories #themes #stories matter #protect them

[blb-agency]

Balance and Power/Freedom of Speech and Silence

One of the central themes of Haroun and the Sea of Stories was the theme of Balance and Power. The shadows portrayed a need for balance because without them, there was an unnatural, unbalance of power, which is obviously bad in any situation. The shadows represented the balance needed to prevent absolute power, which is the ability to speak your mind. Without people being able to have their voices heard and their opinions actually considered, then they are losing their position to defend themselves. However the shadows can also symbolize the beauty of silence and the need for it. Without all the noise and the chatter of others to distract you, you can then really comprehend what others are saying. Silence and Speech are both needed to balance each other out and to prevent sole control.

#haroun and the sea of stories #themes #silence is power #so is your voice #balance