Pretty Story Bag: 7 Sweet Tales to Carry Along

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An asteroid is heading toward Earth; people in a small town figure out how to spend their last day. The ambassador of a small country spends his final moments of life in conversation with his assassin. Miscommunication, antic disposition, voyeurism, glee – this translation of one of Aichinger’s most famous stories provides windows upon windows upon windows. Simply expressed and made to linger long in the mind, it was my first experience of the prizewinning Austrian writer and her dark, precise prose styling, and the start of an ongoing pursuit on my part to read more of her work. Eley Williams “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe (1843)

Part poetic incantation, part eccentric kaleidoscopic vision, this is a story which contorts each time you read it. Born in Antigua, Kincaid invents aesthetics which are wholly unique, transfiguring human form and surroundings, in particular, the Caribbean landscapes. Here, she conveys the multiple textures of smaller islands, creating a literary geography which remains experimental, new and indefinable. Irenosen Okojie “Music at Annahullion” by Eugene McCabe (2004) A character discovers they have a terminal illness and decides to let people figure it out with a guessing game. You and three other players solve a hotel murder mystery together, but the decisions you make change the story and survival of various characters. A small community puts aside their differences to resist a corporation looking to make some changes to their town.

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A character is told a deep family secret that they must protect until their death, no matter how much it torments them. She was fully aware of what the future held and decided to refuse artificial ventilation. Rather than the fear of dying by choking or suffocation, she wanted a doctor to help her die when she was no longer able to communicate with her family and friends. She discussed this with her husband of 25 years, Brian, who had to come to terms with what she wanted and to respect her decision.

Toward the end of the novel, Belly’s attraction to Cam wanes, and after Jeremiah reveals his interest in her, she can no longer deny her crush on Conrad. Unwilling to let her affection remain unspoken, Belly confronts Conrad and tells him that she loves him. He rejects her, which leads to a physical altercation between the Fisher brothers. After Laurel breaks up the fight, Belly discovers the secret behind underlying tension in the house; Susannah’s cancer has returned, and she does not have long to live. Belly switches her attention from romance to supporting the Fisher family through their painful time. She comforts Jeremiah, promises Susannah that she’ll look after Conrad when she’s gone, and listens to Conrad express his devastation. Belly and Conrad share a kiss, but Conrad explains he is too distraught about his mother to start a relationship now.Mavis Gallant shows a profound grasp of the psychology of love affairs. Photograph: Eamonn McCabe/The Guardian “In the Tunnel” by Mavis Gallant (1971) Poe is a master of the “unreliable narrator” – a voice that speaks with devastating spontaneity and is utterly convincing – that has come to be a staple of much suspense and horror fiction in the 20th and 21st centuries. Unhampered by the literary pretensions of certain of Poe’s other, longer stories, totally committed to its unrepentant pathology, and its visceral celebration of this pathology, “The Tell-Tale Heart” is the very essence of Poe, as Poe is himself the very essence of the American gothic tradition. Joyce Carol Oates “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce (1890) A dramedy about a separated couple raising their kids under the same rough, waiting for the day they'll all go to college.

A character is sold the "Best Year of Their Life" by an illustrious company, with the caveat that they must die afterward. A roadside assistance technician stops to help a couple with their car, only to be roped into a strange affair.A character realizes they are a part of a lab experiment in the middle of a test and desires to do nothing but escape. An underwater city's infrastructure—and the people who live there—is threatened by an environmental breach that must be resolved in 48-hours. After spending a summer abroad in Europe, you come home to find your hometown in ruins and must uncover the truth.