07/01/2014
Editor Page's (founder and editorial manager, Comma Pr.; editor, The City Life Book of Manchester Short Stories) work emphasizes the shared components of the short story, based on the theory of Vladimir Propp's Morphology of the Folktale. Page identifies the narrative elements common to all short stories (plots, story arcs, etc.). He interviews 15 contemporary English short story authors to reveal the "structural appreciation of their favourite past masters," who include Nathaniel Hawthorne, Edgar Allan Poe, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Anton Chekhov, and Rudyard Kipling. Additional commentary proposes that the stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald remain relevant because people continue to struggle with issues of class and status. Other entries suggest that the motivation for most of these classic authors was monetary. Each essay includes recommended further reading. VERDICT This academic book for students of the short story blends history and the literary arts. It provides an exceptional short story reading list for readers who wish to delve further into the material.—Joyce Sparrow, Kenneth City, FL
