3 Best Short Stories

 No one on this planet can resist themselves from stories. They take us down to the memory lane and we try to search our feelings and emotions in the characters of the story. When it comes to picking up a story, there are certain parameters that we look for. First, being the plot, that keeps us glued to the story. Secondly, we search for good characters, to which we can relate and connect. And if it is a short story, then it’s a cherry on the top!!

I have come up with 3 Best Short Stories that are worth a read and fit best to all the above parameters.

1. "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant

The Necklace is an amazing work by Guy de Maupassant, set up in Paris. It puts the best example of greed and a lack of satisfaction on the table. It revolves around a couple who lives a mediocre life, but the wife, named Mathilde, dreams of leading a luxurious lifestyle. This greed of Mathilde takes her and her husband a long way in returning back a borrowed necklace that gets lost by them. It is an amalgamation of various emotions; hard work, greed, dreams, and love, and the curiosity of “What will happen next” keeps the reader engaged.  All these attributes, summed up make ‘The Necklace’ a must-read.

2. "Cathedral" by Raymond Carver

Someone has rightly said: “Beauty lies within the eyes of the beholder”. Cathedral, by Raymond Carver, justifies this saying completely. Robert a blind man visits the narrator’s home for dinner. He is a former employer of the narrator’s wife. The narrator shows jealousy and gets awestruck by the activities that Robert can do despite being blind. One such incident is when the narrator defines the buildings on the television to Robert and he helps him draw the Cathedral on the paper with his eyes closed. The author makes the readers realize that one does not need eyes to see the world, rather a heart to feel its beauty with closed eyes. Cathedral is a remarkable work that directly strikes your inner consciousness and changes your perspective towards the universe.

3. "The Bear Came over the Mountain" by Alice Munro

Alice Munro, Nobel Prize winner, is the lady behind this impeccable creation. The mere name of the author makes this work a must-read. It is a story about 4 people; Grant, Fiona, Marion, and Aubrey. Grant and Fiona is happy couple but Alzheimer’s disease turns Fiona’s life upside down and she lands into an assisted living facility at Meadow Lake, where she meets Aubrey.  Fiona and Aubrey develop affection for each other and Fiona find it difficult to regain memories of Grant. Marion, partner of Aubrey lets him see Fiona in exchange for Grant’s time. Fiona starts getting better in the context of her health and in the end; both the couples play a word game. Just like any other work of Alice Munro, this one also leaves the reader with a lot of questions.