33 Highly Recommended Short Stories from my 2015 Reading

Top Short Stories Read in 2015: A Celebration

I read 122 short stories in 2015. I’ve decided to put up my top 33 reads for the year (only a handful though are from 2015 publications). I suppose these yearly lists are a confusing fusion of styles and content. But as varied as all the stories listed are there is something I love about each and every story. Some of these stories resonated strongly with me; others simply entertained.  Within the brackets I've indicated the anthology I read the story in (in a few cases I've attached prior foundational homes). I'm happy to discuss and provide further comments for any of the mentioned works. 

 ‘Jon’ George Saunders  (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from In Persuasion Nation: Stories)  

                                                  

‘Johnny Bear’ John Steinbeck (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The Long Valley)                                                                                    

‘Fireworks’ Richard Ford (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from Rock Springs)

‘Patricia, Edith, and Arnold’ Dylan Thomas (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog)                        

‘The Hitchhiking Game’ Milan Kundera  (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from Laughable Loves Milan Kundera)             

‘Too Early Spring’  Stephen Vincent Benet(Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The Selected Works of Stephen Vincent Benet 1933)

                                                                                                                                                   

‘First Confession’ Frank O’Connor (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The Stories of Frank O’Connor 1951)                                                 

‘Bad Characters’ Jean Stafford (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)

                                       

‘The Moon in it’s Flight’ Gilbert Sorrentino (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from The Moon in it’s Flight by Gilbert Sorrentino)                  

‘The Five-Forty-Eight’ John Cheever (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)

                                                                                                                            

‘Unighted Lamps’ Sherwood Anderson (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny) 

                                                                                                        

‘Fever Flower’ Shirley Ann Grau  (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)                                                                                                                                

“The Inn of the Seven Blessings” by Matthew Hughes (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

‘Unnamed Children’ Joanne Anderton (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)                      

                                                                                                                       

‘Heavy Metal’ Cherie Priest (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

                                                                                                                         

‘The Meaning of Love’ Daniel Abraham (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)                                                                                                               

“Bazaar of the Bizarre’ by Fritz Leiber (Selected Stories by Fritz Leiber)             

‘Maria Concepcion’ Katherine Anne Porter  (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)                                                                                                         

‘Red Rose, White Rose’ Eileen Chang (My Mistress Sparrow is Dead Ed. Jeffrey Eugenides from Love in a Fallen City)  

“Born and Bread” Kaaron Waaren (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2013 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene)  

                                                                                       

‘By Bone-Light’ Juliet Marillier (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2013 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene)

“Tough Times All Over” by Joe Abercrombie (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

‘In the Blood’ Dirk Flinthart  (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)

‘The Stone and the Sheath’ Kelly Houlihan (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)        

‘The Tangled Streets’ Kathleen Jennings (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)                                       

‘A Better Way to Die’ Paul Cornell (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)                                                                                                                             

‘Azimuth’ Pete Kempshall (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)                                     

‘A and P’ John Updike (Points of View Ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny from The New Yorker) 

                                                                                                           

‘The Suicides of Private Greaves’ James Moffett (Points of View Ed.  James Moffett & Kenneth R . McEleheny)

                                                                                                              ‘The Signal-Man’ Charles Dickens (That Glimpse of Truth: 100 of the Finest Stories)     

“What Do You Do?” Gillian Flynn (Rogues Ed. George R.R Martin & Gardner R. Dozois)

                                                                                                                                      

“The Flowers that Bloom Where Blood Touches Earth’ Stephanie Gunn (Bloodlines Ed. Amanda Pillar)

                                                                                                                                               

‘Almost Beautiful’ Angela Rega (The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2013 Ed. Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene)                                                                                       

2015 Reading Review

2015 Reading Review

I keep my private life largely out of this blog - it's more about reading and writing. So if you're after something more personal I apologise but if you're after a few recommended books you've come to a welcoming place. 

I read 32 books this year, which is up from my norm of late. I read a number of strong books, which I’d happily recommend. Let me know if you want specific thoughts on any of those listed below (happy to hear yours too).

Books Read in 2015

The Shadow Year Jeffrey Ford                                                          

The Prestige Christopher Priest
                                                                 

The Blade Itself Joe Abercrombie

The Year of the Ladybird Graham Joyce

My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro ed. Jeffrey Eugenides (anthology)

Points of View: An Anthology of Stories ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R. McEelheny
  
Before They Are Hanged Joe Abercrombie 

The Last Argument of Kings Joe Abercrombie 

We Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson                                                     

Tallula Rising Glen Duncan 
                                                                               

Peace by Gene Wolfe 

Station 11 Emily St. John Mandel                                                                         

Behold the Man Michael Moorcock (novella)

The Man Within Graham Greene 

My Cousin Rachel Daphne Du Maurier
                                                                                            
 The Princess Bride William Goldman
                                 

A Little Life Hanya Yanagihara 

Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar (anthology)

The Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror 2013 ed. Liz Grzyb (anthology)

The Buried Giant Kazuo Ishiguro                                                               

The Roving Party Rohan Wilson 

Love and Romanpunk Tansy Rayner Roberts (collection)                                                                                                 
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
                                                              

Selected Stories Fritz Leiber (collection)                       

 
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms N.K Jemisin                                                  

The Dwarves by Markus Heitz                                        

Flying Dinosaurs: How Fearsome Reptiles Became Birds John Pickrell  (expository)

The Sleeping Sorceress (Elric #4) Michael Moorcock  

Thief of Lies Lucy Sussex (collection)  

Bad Brass Bradley Denton (novella from Rogues ed. George R.R. Marin & Gardner Dozois) 

A Dark Matter Peter Straub 

Inside Creative Writing: Interviews with Contemporary Writers ed. Graeme Harper (expository and a complete dud)

                                                                                                                                 

Novel Highlights

I thought I’d mention my top 4 novel reads for the year  - many  came close.

 The Shadow Year by Jeffrey Ford

A wonderfully reflective novel relating to family, childhood and the neighbourhood, to the extent that, although not a memoir, it has a memoir-like sense of nostalgia at times. The Shadow Year is peppered throughout with dark mystery. Superb. Deserved its World Fantasy Award. 

The Prestige by Christopher Priest.

Dueling rival magicians from different backgrounds weave webs of deceit and illusion. Though there is a contemporary first person thread the text is largely epistolary, which suits the late Victorian and Edwardian era in which the novel is chiefly set.  In a structural sense, along with its intriguing unreliable narrators, The Prestige is a masterpiece. Very clever. 

The Blade Itself  by Jo Abercrombie

Love Abercrombie's short stories and I'll now say that I’m a fan of his longer work too. Not everyone’s cup of tea but Abercrombie’s characters are vivid, there’s plenty of escapist action and acerbic humour and his lively active prose has dollops of impressive imagery. Perhaps Abercrombie tries too hard to subvert genre narrative conventions at times; the red herrings and overt subversion make it fall a little short in terms of overall plot but there are plenty of exceptional scenes. Gripping, fun and you’ll enjoy the series. 

The Year of the Ladybird by Graham Joyce

Joyce’s passing was a sad loss to the world of literature this year. The Year of the Ladybird is a gentle read and a wonderful love story. Set in an old fashioned summer entertainment camp in coastal Skegness, the novel’s nostalgic setting allows for an array of colourful characters. It explores a vanishing culture, nationalism, love and coming to terms with one’s past. A lovely summer read. 

Anthologies

Two anthologies really stood out for me (not including anthologies I have stories in or in recommended reading lists here as that just seems unethical): My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead: Great Love Stories from Chekhov to Munro ed. Jeffrey Eugenides and the old classic Points of View: An Anthology of Stories ed. James Moffett & Kenneth R McEelheny.

Like most anthologies there are a few stories I dislike,  but there are also many incredible works in these two anthologies. A few featured on last year's short story list and more will be on this year's (I'll put it up in soon) 

Wishing you all a fruitful, thoughtful and happy 2016.

Post-launch of Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar in Perth

Amanda Pillar, the editor of the anthology Bloodlines, was in Perth for a few days so publishers, Liz Grzyb and Russell B Farr (Ticonderoga Publications), organised a delightful Perth 'post-launch' of the anthology.

Three of the four Perth writers with stories in the anthology were available: Pete Kempshall, Martin Livings and myself – Stephanie Gunn had a forgivable reason for being unavailable with her husband's 40th birthday.

It was a suitably quirky launch at the new honey store 'Honey I'm Home' on Railway Parade in Maylands. I ended buying three jars of honey: two raw whipped honeys (ginger snap and lemon zest), along with a cinnamon infused honey (which I thought appropriate as cinnamon is mentioned thrice in the story). I love these independent stores – go down and check it out if you're in Perth and get the chance.

The launch itself was a real treat with a genuine and sincere atmosphere. A fantastic chance to catch up with friends and family and lovers of the short story. I believe we sold out of books on the day (either that or one lonely book was left).

Martin, Pete and I read. I'm an avid reader, but not orally, and due to being in isolated Perth it's only my third reading at a launch. After hearing Pete I look forward to polishing up that skillset.

It was also a lovely opportunity to congratulate Amanda, Russell, Liz, Pete and Martin on their work.

Unfortunately, due to reading and signing and chatting away I didn't manage to take any pics. Happy for you to post them up or send them my way if you do have them. 

I had to leave soon afterwards as Peter and Danae Gavalas had cooked up a storm at their home for a group of close friends.

Absolutely adore the cover by the gifted Kathleen Jennings – I'll be sinking my teeth into the anthology soon.

Currently Reading: just read A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, which is definitely strong but so continuously hard hitting that Yanagihara could easily be mistaken for a sadist.  Wonderful friendships, relationships and prose ,but I also found it melodramatic, incredulous at times, and a little job-porn too. I think the notion of success is a bit odd (not exploring it here in this quickfire post but happy to answer any questions in the comments section). Regardless of my criticisms, A Little Life is a very good novel if you're thick-skinned (otherwise don a panoply of plate armour before you go into battle).

And I've also read The Year of the Ladybird by Graham Joyce, which is a far gentler read.  The setting of an old-fashioned seaside summer-holiday entertainment camp creates a wonderful atmosphere of nostalgia. Joyce highlights a prominent part of the English culture in decline and on the edge of vanishing, as well as issues of nationalism and acceptance of the past. It's also a beautiful love story.

Like many writers, I'm saddened that Joyce passed away this year. Joyce was loved by writers and critics and certainly deserved an even greater readership.

I'd recommend The Year of the Ladybird for your summer read if you're in the Antipodes. It's an easy read with plenty of merit...and if you're weathering the chill of the Northern hemisphere at this festive time, I'm sure it'll make for a great summery escape.

Writers [on Writing]: Roxana Robinson

Perhaps the best thing about the family is that all the emotions within it depend upon love, which is the most powerful. All the darker ones–rage and hatred and resentment–result from the absence of love, or its witholding; but love is the prime mover. 

  

Roxana Robinson, If You Invent the Story, You're the First to See How it Ends

Latest story news: 'Crossing' in the anthology At the Edge

Latest story news: 'Crossing' in the anthology At the Edge ed. Dan Rabarts & Lee Murray

It's raining covers... 

It's refreshing to see more original cover art. This one by the gifted Wellington artist, Emma Weakley. It's a rich and stunning artwork, evocatively capturing a dystopian landscape. I've attached the promotional banner down below so that you can see Weakley's cover artwork in all its glory. For more of Weakley's art and graphic novel work, please check out the link: http://porceliandoll.deviantart.com/

At the Edge will be released in June 2016, and it contains spec-fic stories solely from the Antipodes. I hadn't come across editor Dan Rabarts before we were table of contents mates in the anthology Dreaming of Djinn ed. Liz Grzyb (Ticonderoga Publications). I thought his story in that anthology ('Silver, Sharp as Silk') excellent - to the extent that it made my incredibly nerdy 25 Top Reads of 2013 http://anthonypanegyres.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/25-recommended-stories-from-my-2013.html

As you can imagine, I have expectations that a writer of Dan Rabarts' calibre will produce the goods here this time around as an editor. The table of contents from Dan Rabarts and Lee Murray looks impressive. Think it's the second anthology in a row I've had the pleasure of being alongside Joanne Anderton and Martin Livings (Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar being the previous one).

Congratulations to all involved. 

Table of Contents

Joanne Anderton, “Street Furniture” 

Richard Barnes, “The Great and True Journey” 

Carlington Black, “The Urge” 

A.C. Buchanan, “And Still the Forests Grow though We are Gone” 

Octavia Cade, “Responsibility” 

Shell Child, “Narco” 

Jodi Cleghorn , “The Leaves No Longer Fall” 

Debbie Cowens, “Hood of Bone” 

Tom Dullemond, “One Life, No Respawns” 

A.J. Fitzwater, “Splintr” 

Jan Goldie, “Little Thunder” 

J.C. Hart, “Hope Lies North” 

Martin Livings, “Boxing Day” 

Phillip Mann, “The Architect” 

Paul Mannering, “The Island at the End of the World” 

Keira McKenzie, “In Sacrifice We Hope” 

Eileen Mueller, “Call of the Sea” 

Anthony Panegyres, “Crossing” 

A.J. Ponder, “BlindSight” 

David Stevens, “Crop Rotation” 

David Versace, “Seven Excerpts from Season One” 

Summer Wigmore, “Back when the River had No Name” 

E.G. Wilson, “12-36” 

'Lady Killer' and Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar and Current Reads

The October release of the dark-fantasy anthology Bloodlines ed by Amanda Pillar (Ticonderoga Publications) and a little on my included story 'Lady Killer' 

I'd written the following several days ago but I was eagerly awaiting the gorgeous cover by Kathleen Jennings before posting. How things change in Canberra - thought I'd leave the post as it was though (can't beat a good dose of irony). 

•  

Bloodlines will be pre-launched over East in Canberra on October 3rd (at Conflux).

I was tempted to visit our own capital for the first time (if only Perth were closer). But then again, I don't know what I'd say if I chanced upon our regressive politicians.

Hey there, Tony! Climate change is real and affecting the world. Take a leaf out of Obama's book! 

Dutton, your recent joke about water lapping at the doors of the Kiribati Islanders - just hilarious, what wonderful comic timing. I'm sure the Kiribati Islanders found it a hoot. I admire your lack of compassion - it's what I want to see in a politician.

Christopher,  university reforms to Americanise education and privilege the wealthy? That's so cool...

Are we stuck in the medieval times regarding gay rights, Tony? I thought living in a time-warp would rock ...

What about the Arts, Brandis? Afraid of some oppositional discourse?

Since when do we lack compassion regarding refugees (you're not to blame Di Natale)? Tony, I forgot that basic civil liberties relating to freedom of the press are something you don't believe in. What's really going on along our maritime borders and in those damned detention centres? 

Hunt, are you the Minister of the Environment or a campaigner for dirty brown coal mining? 

Hands off our ABC!

The table of contents in Bloodlines, however, is cause for celebration in our political capital.

There are some familiar faces here in the table of contents - I think I've been in anthologies or journals beforehand with at least five other authors. It's also exciting to have a multiple Hugo Award finalist and New York Times Best Seller, Seanan McGuire (also writes as Mira Grant) involved but there's a wealth of other superb writers on display here too.

Skip to currently reading if you want to avoid spoilers as the following relates to my own story 'Lady Killer'.

Since reading Neil Gaiman's magnificent 'Trollbridge' and Joyce Carol Oates' equally superb 'Fossil Figures' (two of my favourite stories), I've been interested in covering a lifespan (a few stages within a lifespan to be more specific) in a long short story. And Bloodlines provided the ideal opportunity for that. Hopefully 'Lady Killer' will be my own small addition to the oeuvre of dark fantasies/horrors exploring stages within a life span.

'Lady Killer' contains a sphinx. I asked myself when generating ideas about the bush in Mandurah: what better way to explore life's stages than link to the Sphinx's riddle to Oedipus? The sphinx itself - whether real or imagined, metaphorical or literal -  is a mystifying creature: a grotesque hybrid yet it remains an alluring and powerful seductress, potently dangerous, favoured by both the Muses and the Goddess Hera. Jorge Louis Borges examines the horror of the sphinx best in 'Ragnarok' but I'll save his quote regarding the sphinx for the story's opening.

Does the sphinx reflect our own horrors? Does it lure us? Does it parallel or reflect our own nature?

Whether it's due to the hybrid or whether due to the riddle to Oedipus, the sphinx is a unique vehicle with which to explore the human condition.

The unnamed protagonist in my story is a womaniser. Naturally all reading is subjective, but my intention here is to convey an uncomfortable sense of predation in sections of the story. I've focused on  a few stages of the protagonist's life, each entailing an encounter with the sphinx, so in essence the story is framed around the riddle (with a few liberties taken). That's why the narrative has a cyclical nature with events semi-reoccurring at various stages.

Yet the protagonist's love of reading and of nature, two qualities that I value, hopefully builds both atmosphere and intrigue. Can you completely despise the protagonist? Perhaps you can? Hopefully you'll be left thinking about the story for a while. What about life's stages? The protagonist's nature? Victim or predator or both?

Writing 'Lady Killer' has left me firmly believing that time itself, and what we make of it, is very precious. It's encouraged me to embrace the cliche: time is not something to let slip away lightly.

Bloodlines ed. Amanda Pillar is available at various bookstores in hardback and paperback. And also from Amazon, Book Depository, and Indie Books Online (HB & TPB)

Currently reading:

Just finished  

• My Mistress Sparrow is Dead ed by Jeffrey Eugenides.

A few stories are conservative choices with ubiquitous homes (Checkov, de Maupassant, Faulkner) but other selections here are fresh and innovative. On the down side I've always found Guy de Maupassant dry and dated and the story 'Mouche' only confirmed this for me. Nabokov's story 'Spring in Fialta' is excessive; Moore's second person story 'How to be Another Woman' is difficult to digest (although that may relate to a natural aversion of mine towards second person narratives) and Denis Johnson's 'Dirty Wedding' falls flat. Other than these all other works are strong and what's more, many are

outstanding including: 'First Love and Other Sorrows' by Harold Brodkey (his other somewhat experimental story in the anthology 'Innocence' slows time right down with its famed many-page cunnilingus scene), the incredible 'Jon' by George Saunders (and if you want to talk about Hugo Awards, which seems a current hot topic due to some poorly trained puppies, then maybe the real discussion should focus on 'Jon' instead -  and why on Earth didn't it win a clean sweep - Locus, Hugo and Nebula - back in 2007?),'The Hitchiking Game' by Milan Kundera, 'The Moon in its Flight' by Gilbert Sorrentino,  'Red Rose, White Rose' by Eileen Chang, 'Fireworks' by Richard Ford, 'Something that Needs Nothing' by Miranda July, 'The Magic Barrel' by Bernard Malumud and 'The Bear Came over the Mountain' by Alice Munro. Nine sensational stories, which simply demand to be read, makes this anthology one to be savoured, and as previously mentioned, there are other great stories too. Sure, there's a handful not to my liking but isn't this the case with most anthologies?

My Mistress Sparrow is Dead explores the many facets of love and Eugenides is to be congratulated on not solely focusing on the romantic. I'd recommend  My Mistress Sparrow is Dead for lovers of the short story rather than just those interested in love stories. 

•  Read the creepy gothic romance My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier for my book club (looking forward to discussing it with the gang). The opening is brilliant and the ambiguous ending, which encourages pensive reflection, serves the novel much better than what could have been a stereotypical resolution. Nice prose. Felt a little bogged down in parts of the early-middle and I wasn't entirely convinced of Phillip's credibility as a male protagonist. Hope that's not gender bias creeping into my reading but Phillip's thoughts and emotions didn't feel authentic to me. Not disappointed at all by my first novel-length experience of du Maurier. The slow burn worked away and by the last hundred pages I was enthralled. In a structural sense both the opening and ending give My Cousin Rachel a real edge.

• The Year's Best Australian Fantasy & Horror, 2014 ed Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene. Really liked 'Black Swan Event' by Mago Lanagan, 'Sticks and Stones' by Ryan O'Neil, 'After Hours' by Thoraiya Dyer, 'Wyrding Women' by Rowena Cory Daniels, 'The Ninety-Two' by Claire McKenna and 'The Nest' by C.S. McMullen. But the absolute standouts for me were 'Born and Bread' by Kaaron Waaren, 'Almost Beautiful' by Angela Rega, 'The Oblivion Box' by Faith Mudge and 'By Bone Light' by Juliet Marillier. There are plenty of other worthwhile stories too -  the anthology displays the ludicrously high standards of spec-fic in the Antipodes. Nice to notice that my story 'Oleander:An Ottoman Tale' from Dreaming of Djinn is in Liz Grzyb & Talie Helene's 'Recommended Reading List'. 

Also reading:  

• Rogues ed George R.R. Martin & Gardner Dozois. Three stories in and wow!

• That Glimpse of Truth ed David Miller which contains a mere 100 stories. Only read a half-a-dozen or so, so I'll update you down the track. 

• Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts. 

• A Dark Matter by Peter Straub

• And the history The Great Sea (A Human History of the Mediterranean) by David Abullafia, which is of extraordinary scope and detail. One for  history buffs like me. 

Other News:
In two more anthologies soonish. One 'realist' the other 'genre' but I'll save that news for a later post.