My Reviews

         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!

The Littlest Hitler

The Littlest Hitler is a short story about a boy who dresses up as Hitler for halloween. Overall this story was a little odd, a parent teaching their fourth grade child how to roll a joint was a little... different. This story had its odd parts and its serious parts, it was well written and different from other stories we’ve read, I really liked ending with this one. 
A memory that came to mind today was one day when I was about six or seven. My mom had to run into a flower shop, and I really didn’t want to go so rolled down the window and locked doors and said shed be back in five minutes. Well those five minuets ended up being some of the longest minutes of my life. The second my mom left I started to really have to go pee. Unfortunately for my mom she had just gotten a new car, well five minutes later she was stuck in line and I guess when you got to go you go to go, so when my mom came back she was in for a pleasant surprise! 

O'Connor's "A Good Man is Hard to Find."

This story is a little weird. I thought it was just a road trip but then the author talks about something bad thats going to happen. I felt bad for the grandmother, and The Misfit story. I was alarmed when the car accident happened and when the people approach the car, and the worst part is one of those people was The Misfit. This story kept me on edge and was scary. This story left me feeling devastated for the family. 

I think the title says that its hard to find good people and even when you do bad people are always out there and you’re always meeting them. 

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

This story automatically drew me in, my favorite shows, movies and even books are this type of genre so I knew I was going to enjoy reading it, but then it got really creepy. Connie, Arnold were very intriguing. Connie, probably around are age, somewhat disobedient and doesn’t really have a great mother daughter relationship. The story kept me on edge and I really enjoyed it, even with its creepiest times, it drew me in from the start and kept me reading until the end. I felt a type of sadness for Connie and how she must have felt once she realized how "old" he really was. 

http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Scared_face.jpg

A&P by John Updike

I had mixed feelings about this story,  I felt like the story was a little sexist, and rude towards women. The author seemed very critical of the women an their actions. The sentences where descriptive, and long, and in my opinion was a little to long. I liked the comparison between the "wealthy family", the fish, the glass bowl, the outfits and his family with the beer and lemonade.  A sentence that really stuck out to me was, " I look around for my girls, but they're gone, of course." I like this line because he quit his job, and he kind of knew the girls wouldn't be there but he did it because he believes in what he believes in even if he didn't get laid. 

Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

This story for me showed how people how people could be so cruel and different in different situations. The old man with wings didn't deserve to be treated the way he was. The cruel living conditions, and the harshness he was talked to with was not okay, and very disrespectful. These people seem to have no emotion and compassion towards others. I don't think those people were good people, and if a situation has the power to change someones personality they need to reevaluate who they are. 

1. Was the man an angel? 

2. What was the reason for keeping the "angle" captive? 

3. Why was everyone so unhappy?

Half A Day By Naguib Mahfouz

Overall this story confused me, at first I felt like I understood it, then time passed, and some more time passed, until basically this kindergartner turned into the old man. It was well written but at the same time in the beginning I thought it was written in present tense, but later realized I was wrong. In the end this was just a story about an older man reminiscing about his younger days and his experiences that shaped him into the man he has turned into.

How to date a brown girl (black girl, white girl, or halfie) Junot Diaz

This short story was a little weird, and awkward. The boy laid out step by step advice or instructions, which were detailed, he knew what he wanted and he knew how to get it. He didn't seem like the nicest guy, and he didn't really seem to care for the girl. The way the author wrote was clear and simple. I think it was like this because a lot of the story was just instructions. Overall it was an interesting read, but not my favorite. 

This is pretty obvious but, be nice, no girl wants to go on a date with someone who is rude. Don't be the kind of person who makes the conversation all about them, learn a little about each other, share a few stories, ask a few questions. Don't be someone your not, be yourself and no one else, she wants to go on a date with you not someone who you're trying to be. 

Atwood's Happy Endings

I really enjoyed this story, it was real, and straight to the point. The way it was written was clear and each sentence had a purpose. Each ending created a new perspective on happy endings and change my thinking in an unexpected way.  The way it was written made it very easy to understand each ending and by having the sentences short and compacted made it much clearer to comprehend, because with all the endings it could've gotten confusing. As the stories went on I found myself getting caught up in the lives of the characters, and the pain and happiness they all faced. Atwood really changed my opinion on endings and how happy endings are overrated, and what really is a happy ending?   Overall I really liked this short story it was interesting and creative and I really enjoyed reading it.

G:
John and Mary have seen each other many times, but never said hello. Mary, a young, energetic, beautiful 23 year old, and John in his mid 30s, but still young at heart. They both go to the same cafe every Wednesday at the same time, coincidentally. They've even sat a table away from each other, but just never noticed each other.  This went on for years, weeks and weeks passed with nothing not even a hello. What they don't know is they had everything in common, from books to tv shows to places they've never even been.
More years had passed, and they both get married to different people, but continue the routine of the Wednesday cafe. Until one day John approached Mary as she was just finishing up her book. John and Mary started talking, and Mary admitted to this being her favorite book thats she's read over and over again, and both of them realize what they've been missing out on. Until John looked down and saw the ring on her finger, and a feeling of sadness filled him, even though he was very much devoted to his wife.
Weeks go by and Wednesdays at the cafe started becoming their secret hide out, to talk about books, world events and life. Both John and Mary know what they've missed out on and they both feel regret that they didn't meet years ago. John and Mary loved their spouses but something just felt right when they were together.
Some more years passed and John and Mary became the best of friends, remaining almost faithful, a few slip ups here and there, but Wednesdays at the cafe never ended.
Regret is a powerful thing, and John and Mary regret a lot of things, but being in each others life made things a little better, and even though they couldn't be together, Wednesdays at the cafe would always be theres.  

And of Clay We Are Created: Isabelle Allends

And of Clay We Are Created was such a sad story, but the way Allends described every detail, and sentence really helped me have a better understanding of the short story. You can feel the emotion with the words she uses and how she explains thing. I couldn't imagine being in that situation, but this story gave me a better insight in how terrible things were. The friendship between Rolf and Azucena really touched me, and how all Rolf wanted to do was help, and the power of friendship and bonds between two strangers. Overall I really enjoyed this story it was powerful and touching and I really liked it.
This link is to a website talking about a man who went missing in the Japanese mountains, and was lost up there for six days without food, and like off some nuts and snow, and after six days was finally found. When he was found the only thing he said was that he was so sorry, and repeated that over and over again.
http://batavia.patch.com/groups/police-and-fire/p/former-batavia-man-missing-in-the-mountains-of-japan