Short Stories

I finally understand why I like short stories so much: they end sooner. In a short story, the author indicates when it’s time to step back and think. He does so by ending the story. When you end a story, you create space for the plot, metaphors and characters to take shape, to shed their fuzziness. For the reader to question the author’s decisions. Now, I love novels… but I’m also impatient. So I skip a word here and there, doze off briefly, forget all the characters, and somehow after each chapter, I flip the page and get on with it. I bulldoze books. So can I appreciate the gentle caress of a short story…