Review: Great selection of short stories
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 12, 2011
Short stories in a variety of styles - if you're looking for something that will give you a chance to read through something in a short period of time, a set of short stories is just what you want, and these are some particularly wonderful short stories!Choose Your Future - written in the very difficult 2nd person POV, this is a wonderfully evocative short.  The main character, while at a rave, has a sort of epiphany, an extreme experience, about how the world needs to be shaped, and that he is pivotal in deciding which way the world will go.  An interesting idea presented in a unique manner.Recycling - this was an interesting piece; on its surface, there was a great deal of "the children are being indoctrinated" rhetoric - with which I actually agree - but there was another layer to this morality play.  Recycling can be literal, or it can be figurative, and it is important to remember that it never hurts to do what one can to maintain a healthy living space - physically AND emotionally.The Waster's Tale - while many of these stories are written in "dialect," at least in part, this first-person POV story is written with a strong "accent" that makes it quite interesting to read.  Maybe not terribly easy to read for those of us across the Pond in the US, but interesting.  The story is basically told by a guy who likes to stay wasted, describing a 24-hour period in his life.The Wheel of Justice - What happens when the death penalty becomes entertainment?  What type of game show would be best suited to this?  "The Wheel of Justice" gives one possible answer to that question.  I was interested in the world from this story - I think it would be interesting to see a full story set there, exploring how the world got this way, what the rest of society is like, etc.She Won't Call - the conversation of two young bachelors as one tries to find love.  Quite amusing ending.A Cataract of Breaking Glass - the sound of breaking glass is the sound of a broken heart.  Incredibly sad story, beautifully written.Come Dancing - very short and well-written piece of erotica.The Farmer's Right Arm - the wonders of modern technology or the evils of genetic manipulation?  The reader is left to make his or her own decision.Jaipur Gems - a vacationer in India is given a great opportunity ... or is it?  Wonderful descriptions.The Adventures of Freddie the Moth - like "The Metamorphosis" only with a moth.Work Abroad - a very difficult story, based upon what I have heard to be true, about how young girls are lured from their home countries with the promise of new jobs and new lives abroad ... only to be enslaved.  Wonderfully told.The Tell-Tale Trunk - homage to the master, Edgar Allen Poe.