May 31, 2022
The narrator in Cynthia Asquith’s “The Corner Shop” has a relatable problem: he needs to buy a wedding gift. So, one foggy, cold London night, he stops into a little antique shop and finds exactly what he needs. He enjoys the shop so much that he returns again. This time, though, he buys something for himself: a...
May 17, 2022
In Rosemary Timperley’s 1955 story “Harry,” a mother finds herself terrified of her daughter’s new imaginary friend named Harry. At first, it irritates Mrs. James to see 5-year-old Christine chatter away to someone who is not there when she plays by the rose bush in the yard. However, she becomes...
May 3, 2022
Octavia Butler’s “Speech Sounds” imagines a world that has been ravaged by a disease. The illness ravages the brain especially, attacking the ability to process and use language. For our protagonist, who used to be a history professor, losing the ability to read and write has hit especially hard.
Recommended in...