Fiction: A Pocket Anthology (3rd Edition)

Orientation - Daniel Orozco

I really love the satirical look at the hum-drum office life. It reminds me slightly of American Pyscho, where there's all this crap under the surface you wouldn't normally expect.

The Fat Girl

I don't really feel bad for the protagonist. Yes, it all started because of her mother, but she allowed this to happen to herself. She allowed her weight to be the defining focus of her life despite the fact that no one outside her mother's side of the family ever seemed to care. When she was fat, she felt ashamed of herself. When she was skinny, she alienated herself from herself and those around her because she had defined herself by her weight and, due to the fact that many of them didn't know her when she was fat, or show more didn't reference her former fatness, she felt they didn't know her. If you think you are what your weight is, then I really don't have any sympathy for you; how can you expect people to love you for what's inside, if you can't see beyond what's outside?.

How to Talk to Your Mother - Lorrie Moore

Meh. All it is, is a typical life told in reverse. Nothing brilliantly interesting.

In the American Society - Gish Jen

I really enjoyed this look at American life told through the eyes of a foreigner. The father's perspective of American business was somewhat interesting, though I was pleased with his perceived growth in the end of the story.

Woman Hollering Creek - Sandra Cisneros

Very typical of Cisneros, but very enjoyable. The main character was relatable, as was her life.

Look on the Bright Side - Dagoberto Gilb

A strange story that I'm sure had some kind of point, but was really just amusing as a character study.

Girl - Jamaica Kincaid

A satirical list of things to be/do in order to be a good girl/woman/wife. Very amusing. show less

This is the source book for my creative writing class. It is a very good collection of short stories and it provides a great resource for writers trying to learn the form.

Read for a class on reading and writing fiction, this is your basic collection of short stories, most well-known, spanning a period from the late 19th through the late 20th centuries. Particular favorites in this collection include the stories by William Faulkner, Andre Dubus, Joyce Carol Oates, and Flannery O'Connor.