World's Shortest Stories: Murder. Love. Horror. Suspense. All This And Much More...
A short story in 55 wordsAimpossible! Yet these stories, the world's shortest, have setting, characters, conflict, and resolution. They address murder, love, suspense, horror, betrayal, and often end with a catchy turnaround. The answer lies in the author's ability to write with amazing compression and economy, making each word count. These bite-sized stories, the haiku of short fiction, can be one long sentence or can begin every word with the same letter. As exercises for writers, they can be fun and challenging; as literature they are nibbles. One noteworthy example tells of a man seeking a hit man to kill his wife only to find out she has hired his girlfriend for a similar purpose. These stories demand considerable concentrationAone missed word and the meaning is lostAmaking them perhaps more effective in a print format. The performers, all professional actors, read with clarity and feeling, increasing the drama. At the conclusion, directions and encouragement are offered to all would-be writers of this new genre. Recommended with some reservations for public libraries.ANancy R. Ives, SUNY at GeneseoCopyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to theAudio Cassetteedition.