Vintage Borges
‘A story about opposites: the hellish North versus the open skied South, reality versus the world of dreams, life versus death…’ LOUISE HEGARTY explores the conflicts and mysteries in Jorge Luis Borges’ short story ‘The South’.
Digging in Moorcock’s Subterranean London
DREW WHITTET goes beneath the surface of Michael Moorcock’s ‘London Bone’: ‘Moorcock has many different styles, priding himself on his flexibility. He enjoys sticking with familiar characters, often dropping them into weird and uncomfortable settings…’
Love, Life and Longing
CAROL FENLON finds love amongst the guilt and loss in Carys Bray’s short story collection, Sweet Home: ‘These are stories of family life, at times utterly domestic. Yet the reader soon finds that the homes described are far from sweet…’
On My Travels
VICKI HEATH examines Once Upon a Time There Was a Traveller, the 2013 anthology of Asham Award-winning stories: ‘As I read, I considered each story carefully, wondering what made these particular pieces stand out for the judges…’
Flame Lurid
STEPHEN DEVEREUX explores the enigmatic world of D.H. Lawrence’s short story ‘Fanny and Annie’: ‘It is, I would argue, one of the best short story openings in English. What does it tell the reader? Nothing. And everything…’
Darkness and Light
‘…the characters express themselves in broad Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire Coalfield. However, it is not so much the language, but the use of language that excites me…’ MIKE SMITH takes an insightful look at the use of language in D.H. Lawrence’s short story ‘Odour of Chrysanthemums’
The Art of Girl Trouble
MARY LARSEN takes us down to Kentucky as she explores the art of Holly Goddard Jones’ short stories: ‘The inner struggle she so effectively creates, as her characters feel the need to overcome their hurt, allows the reader to feel an overwhelming sense of empathy…’
Conspiracy in Barcelona
Thresholds’ Social Media Assistant, HANNAH RADCLIFFE, recommends Philip Langeskov’s limited edition short story, Barcelona: ‘When it comes to our destinies, where do we draw the line between fate and free will? ‘Barcelona’ is a short story steeped in the mystery of fate and the idea of the road not travelled…’
Angela Carter’s Beauties and Beasts
CHRISSY DERBYSHIRE explores the themes of womanhood and fairytales in the haunting short stories of Angela Carter: ‘The Bloody Chamber is a deceptively slim volume, for this strange beast of a book is easily as baroque as any of Carter’s writings…’
Sherlock Holmes, A Study in Fiction
In this study of short fiction, MORGAINE DAVIDSON takes a look at the short stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: ‘Sherlock Holmes was one of the first literary detectives in the world. These stories are the bedrock of crime fiction, and the form from which all others have grown…’