Story time

Here are twelve of my favorite short stories of all time. Each one is a gem, though I feel I must caution you: read one at a time. A good story is like a good meal. Your mind-stomach needs time to digest it.

1. “The Aleph” Jorge Borges
   — metaphysical mind-meld, not for the fainthearted

2. “The Bible” Marguerite Duras
   —a spare and wondrous tale of young not-love

3. “Girl” Jamaica Kincaid
   — a litany of imperatives that add up to a life

4. “The Third And Final Continent” Jhumpa Lahiri
   — the story your immigrant father probably never told you

5. “The Paper Menagerie” Ken Liu
   — ode extraordinaire to mother’s love

6. “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” Gabriel Garcia Marquez
   — the title says it all

7. “Brownies” ZZ Packer
   — race meets nuance at summer camp

8. “The Conversion Of The Jews” Philip Roth
   — the underdog religion unravels from within

9. “The Girls in Their Summer Dresses” Irwin Shaw
   — a young couple contends with male gaze and the patriarchy, with devastating results

10. “Two Men Arrive In A Village” Zadie Smith
    — a story for all time and told by (almost) everyone

11. “Aishwarya Rai” Sanjana Thakur
    — children go to adoption centers to pick out their mother

12. “Bullet in the Brain” Tobias Wolff
    — from real time to brain time, cynicism undone

---

On a whole other level entirely, here’s a handful of my own creations:

“Twink Country, Bear Country” — short story

“Hotchpotch & Other Poems” by Sukumar Ray — translated poetry

“The Re-Education of J.K. Rowling” — essay

“The Blanc Conundrum” — animation video