Short Stories Essay

Which stories in this collection have you most and least enjoyed reading and why?

With so many novels available today, it is fair to say that people’s tastes vary considerably in relation to which type of story they prefer to read. Their reason for liking or disliking a particular story may also vary. For example two people could enjoy reading the same story but for different reasons which are personal to the individual. Personally, I enjoy reading a wide range of fiction. Recently I read ‘A little place off the Edgeware road’ by Graham Greene and ‘The Winters and the Palmleys’ by Thomas Hardy, as well as ‘Eveline’ by James Joyce.
One reason I really enjoyed reading ‘A little place off the Edgeware road’ by Graham Greene is because of his style of writing and his choice of words. Although his use of vocabulary is rather mature it is also straight forward which makes it easy to understand. The author uses many descriptive words throughout the story which adds to the enjoyment of reading it. Examples of this are highlighted on page one hundred and seventy five – ‘In the thin summer rain... the glittering tinselly rain’. The unusual description Graham Greene gives paints a picturesque image in the reader’s mind. It also proves to give a precise account of what the weather was like, e.g. it becomes clear that it is only raining lightly and not heavily.

The plot and setting throughout the story is also relatively easy to grasp. The way in which I could relate to the characters makes this story all the more enjoyable to read. I felt a sense of sympathy for Cravan he was reminded of passion, but you needed money for love. All that a poor man could get was lust...’ (Page one hundred and seventy five, A little place off the Edgeware road by Graham Greene). I particularly enjoyed the ‘twisted ending’ of the story. It seemed to end suddenly, which left me feeling rather puzzled and wondering what happened next.

‘The Winters and the Palmleys’ by Thomas Hardy was also a well written short story in my opinion. I particularly enjoyed the opening paragraph because I felt it me a clear idea of what the story was going to be about. ‘Two women... who were... rivals in good looks... (Page. Eighty nine, The Winters and the Palmleys by Thomas Hardy). It instantly makes it obvious that it is a story of jealousy, rivalry, love and disappointment. As the story unfolds it remains easy to understand with just enough detail and descriptive words to words to leave the rest to my imagination which i liked in this story.

My favourite part in this story is when the entire focus is on Jack’s poor handwriting and his passion to get the letters back which had written to Harriet. I found the situation quite humorous. I really enjoyed the ending with great pleasure because it was so different and unexpected and I usually enjoy stories with an unexpected ending.
The Winters and the Palmleys made me laugh in places, and sometimes filled me with a sense of sadness (the death of the little boy) but most of all kept me interested throughout. The fact that I tried to predict what was going to happen next and yet something different happened added to my enjoyment of reading the story.

‘Eveline’ by James Joyce is a story that I did not enjoy reading at all. I found it all rather tedious and predictable and maybe this is the case with most stories revolving around the theme of saying goodbye.
Another theme I find frustrating is the whole issue of looking back on childhood years. Again in most cases with these types of stories it appears to be the case of dreary, depressing childhood by one character for some odd reason is unable to break free from. ‘No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy’. (Page. 187, Eveline by James Joyce).

I struggled with trying to hold some sort of interest in this story and I am disappointed to say that I not only felt let down by the typical (common) ending but it just did not feel like an interesting story from the start. It was simply just not a visual tale in the slightest in my opinion. There was no flavour in it and there was nothing unusual about the characters.

The only thing that perhaps would have given this story a little enjoyment to read is if the ending had have been made inspirational. It would have perhaps been justified if Eveline had just left her depressing life behind and started living her life as it should be lived. I just could not relate to her situation in the slightest.

Although I did not enjoy reading Eveline, it was worth reading the other two. It is fair to say that all the other stories I have read in ‘The New Windmill Book of Classic Short Stories’ were exceptionally good and interesting to read.