A short story is a piece of prose
fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a
self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of
evoking a single effect or mood.
The short story offers a unity
that the novel can never have, simply because of its length. The writer (and
the reader) can hold the entire world of the short story in their mind at once.
This makes the experience of writing (and reading) a great short story
immensely powerful.
Because they are more compact they
allow readers to readily absorb the whole narrative structure The preamble is
banished and their succinct length allows us to retain the entire story arc in
our mind without relinquishing the detail for the length of its read and
beyond.
Short stories typically focus
on a single plot instead of multiple subplots, as you might see in novels. Some
stories follow a traditional narrative arc, with exposition (description) at
the beginning, rising action, a climax (peak moment of conflict or action), and
a resolution at the end.
The short story is usually
concerned with a single effect conveyed in only one or a few significant
episodes or scenes. The form encourages economy of setting, concise narrative,
and the omission of a complex plot; character is disclosed in action and
dramatic encounter but is seldom fully developed.
While it's true that some people
may find it challenging to carve out time for leisure reading due to busy
lifestyles, short stories offer a convenient option. Their brevity allows
readers to enjoy a complete narrative experience in a shorter amount of time
compared to novels.
These stories help us
understand others and ourselves. We feel empathy with the characters we
encounter in stories. This ability to learn from stories is a skill that will
help us throughout our lives.
The book – SHORT STORIES by Bret
Harte was handed over to me by my father –In –Law. It was one of the oldest collections
of books I possess. It is a small book little bigger than a pocket dictionary.
I find it hard to read because of the tiny fonts.
I changed its wrappers many times to
safeguard it and sticked many of its torn pages. Reading this book demands a
dictionary by my side and this leads to slow reading.
Bret Harte was an American short
story writer and poet best remembered for short fiction featuring miners,
gamblers, and other romantic figures of the California Gold Rush.
His popular accounts of life
in Gold Rush-era California, including short stories such as “The Luck of
Roaring Camp” and “The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” seized the public imagination
and made him an international celebrity.
Harte's invention of prototypical
“western” characters–the shady prospector, the cynical gambler, the tough
cowboy, the prostitute with a heart of gold–created the mythology through which
Americans learned to understand the culture of the “Old West.” Combining realistic
descriptions of the specific regional characteristics of California life with
sentimental plots.
The book has over 30 short stories
of a wide variety of themes mainly focusing on the socio-cultural aspects of
those times.
Poet of Sierra flat
A Lonely Ride &
Rupert’s Christmas Gift -were my favorite
reads from this book
(This blog post is a part of Blog Chatter's #TBRChallenge- prompt for June. Details : Here)
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