Flash Fiction Forward: 80 Very Short Stories [Paperback]

Robert Shapard (Editor), James Thomas (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2006

The eagerly anticipated anthology from the editors who coined the term “Flash,” with stories by today’s best fiction writers.

After publication of the first Flash Fiction anthology over a decade ago, “flash” became part of the creative writing lexicon for readers, writers, students, and teachers. In this follow-up collection, the editors once again tackle the question: “How short can a story be and truly be a story?” Determined to find the best flashes from America in the twenty-first century, James Thomas and Robert Shapard searched everywhere for stories that were not merely good but memorable. Moving, and certainly unforgettable, this collection includes stories from the best and most popular fiction writers of our time, including Ron Carlson, Robert Coover, Steve Almond, Amy Hempel, A. M. Homes, Grace Paley, and Paul Theroux. In addition, Rick Moody properly defines armoire, Lydia Davis delves into a world of cats, and Dave Eggers explores narrow escapes. Over and over, these stories prove that often less is more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In their second collection of "flash fiction" stories-aka "short shorts"-Thomas and Shapard have pulled together almost 80 works that are consistently swift and powerful, distilling the intricacies and flourish of short fiction into just a few pages. In "The Memory Priest of the Creech People," Paul Theroux's protagonist preserves the collective memory of the Creech people before he is cannibalized by his constituency. Hannah Bottomy's "Currents" replays in reverse the events surrounding the drowning of a young boy. Ron Carlson's "The Great Open Mouth Anti-Sadness" witnesses a father laying drunk on his bed after his daughter's wedding, feeling the whirl of the overhead fan and struggling to name his emotions. Jack Handey's darkly comic "The Voices in My Head," Lon Otto's parable of debating sloths in Costa Rica and David Galef's hilarious "My Date with Neaderthanal Woman" provide laughs. Profound revelations develop in Leonardo's Alishan's "The Black City," in which a minor shaving injury provides the vehicle for a frightening psychological journey; and in Barbara Jackson's "Gemoetry Can Fail Us," in which a man's struggle to fell a tree leads to surprising insight into his wife's love. Exquisite entries from a number of other notable authors, including John Edgar Wideman, Richard Bausch, A.M. Homes, Dave Eggers, John Updike, Amy Hempel, Tony Earley and Rick Moody will also delight. Ranging in style from crisp, sober realism to outlandish surrealism, these small treasures make a convincing argument for the relevance and vitality of this little-celebrated genre.
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From Booklist

Flash Fiction (1992) promulgated the joys of very short stories and started a trend. The "flash" approach has proven extremely popular for writers and readers alike, and the editors were curious as to why. Is it because our attention span has atrophied, thanks to our ardor for instant messaging and other snap electronic communications? Or is it because stories no longer than 750 words are compressed in the way that poetry is concentrated, so that flash fiction has impact and is memorable? Although the form is concise, the subjects broached tend to be substantial, and it is a particular pleasure to read these pared-to-the-bone stories that cover the spectrum from blithe to intense, funny to sad. The 80 writers gathered here range from emerging to well known. John Edgar Wideman imagines a man in the rain with a banana. Katharine Weber makes babysitting mysterious. Ander Monson presents "To Reduce Your Likelihood of Murder." Charles Baxter, Grace Paley, Ray Gonzalez, Ann Hood, Melanie Rae Thon, Richard Bausch, and John Updike all appear like flashes of lightning. Donna Seaman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 237 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (August 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393328023
• ISBN-13: 978-0393328028
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "You shouldn't have to turn the page more than once.", September 6, 2006

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flash Fiction Forward: 80 Very Short Stories (Paperback)

Maybe it's the pace of a society bedeviled by technology and the demands of busy lives. Maybe just an interesting form of fiction, concise, clear and sophisticated; in any case "flash" fiction challenges the parameters of the traditional short story, the editors asking, "How short can a story be and truly be a story?" With over eighty selections, this collection is representative of the creative efforts of those who have taken up the gauntlet, such writers as Paul Theroux, Jim Crace, Ann Hood, Rick Moody, Richard Bausch, Dave Eggers and John A McCaffrey.

The subjects of these flash fictions are not minor or trivial, but distilled, much like poetry. Most important, they are memorable. Writer Richard Bausch ("1951"), a writer used to creating longer pieces, found in condensing his story that "in order to make it work in so small a space its true subject must be proportionately larger". Indeed, Bausch accomplishes much in a few pages, the power of loss and responsibility sitting upon the narrow shoulders of one small girl. Ann Hood's "The Doctor" dissects the weight of a father's death with elegant precision, a refusal to forgive the physician who now pursues the grieving daughter: "He can't lose my father and win the girl, too."

In a paean to loneliness and frustration, Rick Moody's rambling "Drawer" contains the emotions of a lifetime, a man's inner diatribe at the pretensions of a woman who could not, would not give of herself, locked into the lexicon of her possessions, unavailable. "The Mesmerist" by Michael Knight is chilling, Svengali-like in intent, as one man assumes power over his unsuspecting victim, the young woman who has captured his imagination and his desire.

These short stories are a welcome addition to any collection, not to mention, a handy volume to carry to appointments, filling the spare minutes with thoughtful tales we might otherwise not have time to enjoy. Considerably entertaining and of an excellent variety, the selections are brilliantly chosen by editors James Thomas and Robert Shapard, a decade after their first edition. Stark, dramatic and intense in its brevity, flash fiction appeals in its length and breadth of topic, each story a small jolt, a journey to another reality, if only for a few minutes of escape. Luan Gaines/2006.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FORWARD IS THE OPTIMUM WORD!, July 15, 2010

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Salvatore Buttaci "Salvatore Buttaci, author ... (Princeton, WV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flash Fiction Forward: 80 Very Short Stories (Paperback)

Here is a delightful collection of 80 short-short stories worth adding to your books to read this summer. The tales are told masterfully and not a one will disappoint you. I highly recommend it.

Salvatore Buttaci, author of Flashing My Shorts

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Little gems, September 16, 2007

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R. J. Middleton (France) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Flash Fiction Forward: 80 Very Short Stories (Paperback)

These stories are beautifully written and crafted, so short, so significant. They are easy to read, hard to forget. Like stones dropped in wells, they ripple through your mind in ever widening rings.