Fiction Short Stories
For the last several decades, the short story has been the neglected stepchild of the publishing world. The genre began, in its modern sense, in the early 19th century, with collections by Poe, Hawthorne, and the brothers Grimm. In the latter half of that century, the growth of magazines brought authors such as Chekhov to a wider audience. By the mid-20th century, the genre was in full flower. The Saturday Evening Post published Fitzgerald, Redbook published Grace Paley, and when Life published Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea," the issue sold 5,300,000 copies in two days. The popularity of the short story began to fade in the 1960s and '70s, and soon the genre existed only in elite journals such as The New Yorker and literary magazines. Short stories began to enjoy a revival as the Internet became more widely available. Online collections brought back the pleasure of the finely crafted and narrowly focused story, something that could be read in a single sitting, as opposed to the time commitment it takes to read a novel. It's hard to read from your laptop at the beach, though, or on a commuter train, so the printed collection is regaining favor. At Bouncing Ball Books, we are proud to bring you two fine collections of short stories. Stories from South Beach, by Sunday Lee, is set in the Art Deco world of Miami Beach and told with a humorous style. True Animal Stories was written by Stedman H. Carr, who was a veterinarian for 47 years. Either one will provide you with perfect beach reading, or a story at night to ease you into sleep!
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