Top five short stories to read for free today!
With a surprise at the end ;)
Almost everyone’s had their hands on trying to write a short story once. We have all tried to write in middle school where the protagonist experiences fantastical adventures only to wake up from a dream or a replica of our lives where we save the world as some superhero!
So we all know that writing a story is as complicated as putting a thread through the eye of a needle. Especially a short story, where one has to say more in fewer words.
Short stories are also the most captivating to read, and if you are wondering where to start, here are my top five suggestions with a link to read online for free:
1. Sweetness by Toni Morrison
If you know me, you know that Toni Morrison is my all time favourite. The first African American woman to receive a Nobel Prize in Literature, Toni Morrison was a novelist, essayist, book editor, and college professor. Her voice and her work have inspired and empowered every writer of colour after her.
Synopsis: Originally published in The New Yorker, Sweetness is a story of a torn mother. When the protagonist, Sweetness, a white woman, gives birth to a Black baby, she must deal with her views on race and motherhood. It is set in the 1950s and explores themes of colorism, racism, and identity.
P.s. I am just gonna say it once more, I love (preach) Toni Morrison.
Click here to read Sweetness.
2. The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Everyone knows Shirley Jackson from Haunting of the Hill House – a TV show based on one of her books. But for readers, she is known for her short stories around horror and mystery.
Synopsis: Can blindly following traditions be destructive? Slightly confusing at times, this haunting prose is about a small town with an annual lottery tradition where one resident is chosen at random. But we do not know what the fate of being chosen is until the very end.
If you’re looking to read more of Shirley Jackson, you can read The Missing Girl, part of the Penguin Modern Classic series.
Click here to read The Lottery.
3. Cat in the Rain by Ernest Hemingway
If you’re looking for something super cute to make your day, I’d say start with Cat in the Rain.
Synopsis: Cat in the Rain is about a woman in a hotel seeking to rescue a cat she spots in the rain outside, but the story plays around her relationship with her husband and a secret deeper longing.
Fun Fact: People believe that Hemingway wrote Cat in the Rain as a tribute to his wife, Hadley, and her wish to have a cat. But in a letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hemingway denies it! He writes, “Cat in the Rain wasn't about Hadley. I know that you and Zelda always thought it was.” Although the Library of America says that there’s evidence that she was at least the inspiration, and the biographers agree.
Click here to read Cat in the Rain.
4. The Mark on the Wall by Virginia Woolf
I know Virginia Woolf is not the easiest writer to read, but I can promise this one will explain why she’s so famous. I read this story at university, and I have to say, this is the one I loved, and even understood most easily!
Synopsis: Written as a stream of consciousness monologue, this story follows the narrator’s thoughts triggered by a mark she sees on the wall. Set during the time of the First World War, this is a modernist self-reflection on much bigger questions and meditations of life.
Fun Fact: The Mark on the Wall is the first published story by Virginia Woolf.
Click here to read The Mark on the Wall.
5. Change the Channel by Mohammed Zaahidur Rahman
This one is not a classic. But this one is my most loved. Primarily because of the speculative nature as well as the everydayness of the story itself. A writer, illustrator and zinesmith based in East London, Mohammed’s semi-autobiographical tale captures the everyday wildness, the concept of home and the cultural shades of identity.
Synopsis: Driving through the Epping Forest with his parents, and visiting his grandma in Birmingham, the narrator draws on the beauty of nature, the familiar conflicts, and the memories of his childhood.
Click here to read Change the Channel.
AND FINALLY…..
6. I wrote a short story too — A Domestic Crisis
Inspired by these great writers, my story is live on my substack now and will be in your inbox tomorrow.
Synopsis: How does one deal with a shock? This story is about a man facing the loss of his wife, and the aftermath of the event. But what really happened? And is he the one to blame?
Click here to read my story:
