Monday, April 28, 2008

"Bullfighting"


"Bullfighting"
by Roddy Doyle




Rating: 7.1



Short story about a middle-aged man who takes a vacation to Spain with three male friends. Donal couldn’t really remember life before the children. There’d been four, but three of them were teen-agers, more or less their own men. Except for the youngest, Peter, who still held Donal’s…


Monday, April 21, 2008

"The Repatriates"


"The Repatriates"
by Sana Krasikov




Rating: 7.4



Short story about a Russian couple returning to Moscow after living in the United States for many years. The husband is taking them back with the hope of starting an investment business. The last days of Grisha and Lera Arsenyev’s marriage might have been a story fashioned out of commonplace…


Monday, April 14, 2008

"The Lie"


"The Lie"
by T. Coraghessan Boyle




Rating: 7.5



Short story about a man who plays hooky from work and lies to his boss about his baby dying. The narrator had used up all his sick days, but when the alarm went off and the baby started squalling, he knew he wasn’t going to work.


Monday, April 7, 2008

"The House Behind a Weeping Cherry"


"The House Behind a Weeping Cherry"
by Ha Jin




Rating: 8.4



Short story, told in the first person, about a Chinese immigrant man in Flushing, Queens, who serves as a chauffeur for his fellow tenants, who are prostitutes. The narrator tells about the departure of his roommate. His landlady, Mrs. Chen, offered not to raise his rent if he was willing…