I read many short stories in the past few weeks and I discovered the types I loved the most. These two pieces are the types of stories that I realized I liked the most. The Paperhanger by William Gay is a short story about relationships and disappearances. The story is about a missing child, and the real truth about her parents relationship. The family goes through some really hard times. The Paperhanger is a name that isn't used very often nowadays, but the actually definition is, someone who applies wall paper.
William Gay is such a talented writer, his writing gives off a calming effect even in a situation of stress. The story reminded me of the story we read "Where are you going, where have you been", both stories put the reader in situations that no one wants to be in. The story isn't very predictable in my opinion, which made it more exciting to read. It drew me in with its creepy vibe and multiple twists and turns. If you like a story with excitement, mystery and drama this a story for you. The intro had me in right away, not even the story itself and the context but the way it was written truly gives you the feeling of curiosity and wonder. The first few sentences give you the obvious feel that something is wrong. In my opinion it wasn’t as clear to me that the paperhanger would have that big of a part, but he did really come through in some of the creepiest parts.
I loved reading this story, even though it was a little disturbing to me it was almost a masterpiece, it was so well written that you were able to connect to the story. Even when the story ended I wanted it to continue. The story was mostly downs instead of ups, it seemed like bad things kept happening as I continued to read, first their child goes missing, then they get a divorce, they seem to have a lot of bad luck.
At the end of this story I was left a little scared, some relief and some sadness, it was bittersweet. Overall it was a spooky story and the ending left me feeling a little strange. It doesn't compare to a lot of stories i've read but it does compare to my endless obsessions with shows like law and order and csi, ect, so in the end I loved this story even though it had its creepy parts.
As I was looking for short stories I came across this one and read the first sentence and was immediately intrigued. As I continued to read I found the story so interesting and I really enjoyed it, and If you decide to read it, I hope you enjoy it also!
The second story I chose was The Last Night Of The World by Ray Bradbury, It was short and sweet and it made me think, what would I do if i had one more day to live? This story takes place in what seems to be a small town, with a husband and wife in there kitchen drinking coffee. The husband had a dream that the world was coming to an end, and the next day a coworker shared the exact same dream, causing them to believe what the dreamed must turn into a reality. Something that I loved was that the husband and wife didn't panic or freak out, they stayed calm and drank their coffee and reflected on what in their life they truly cared about.
This story didn't really have a hook in my opinion, it was really just a conversation. If it was your average short story with the classic main character and an exact plot and a climax, it would be just average, but it was merely an exchanged between two people and thats what made it special.
The story's conflict wasn't even a conflict in my opinion. The way the husband and wife handled it with calmness and understanding made it seem more inevitable that the world was going to end. At the end of this very short story I did feel satisfied, in the end they got into bed with lots of love for each other and their love for their family.
I loved this short story, it’s one of my favorite that ive read so far, it was simple and creative and really pleasant to read. It expresses that in the end all you need is family, and to be surrounded by the people you love the most. Also in the children's case, not knowing everything all happening in the moment can sometimes be for the best. In all, this story had a lot of lessons that I think are really important and I hope you like it as much as I did.
I hope you decide to read these short stories because in the end you won't regret it!
