The Tristan Cafe is an example of the literary genre of Flash Fiction. Assessment 1: Write a 5–10 sentence paragraph outlining the qualities of TristanCafe that distinguish it as a twenty-first-century literary work. Because the narrative was so brief, it is referred to as "flash fiction." The narrative is only about 1000 words long. Tristan Thorne is a young man who leaves his home in New York City for an island off the coast of North Carolina where he hopes to create a new life. When he arrives at the island, he finds that it is not exactly as he expected. Instead of finding peace and solitude, as he hoped, Tristan encounters problems that challenge him in ways he never thought possible. Tristan Cafe can be considered a modern-day version of the medieval poem "Tristan and Iseult". Both stories focus on a couple who must face many challenges to be together. Unlike the original story, however, Tristan Cafe is written in flash fiction format and is therefore only a few hundred words long. In conclusion, Tristan Cafe is a modern-day take on a medieval poem that is itself based on a Celtic legend. Although the narrative is fictional, it still uses elements from history and mythology to tell its story.