Greatest short story of all time?

Question

What do you think is the greatest short story of all time? I'm trying to get a grasp on the techniques of the greats.

Answer 1

The Brothers Karamozov by Dostoevsky because it can be read on so many levels. It is a mystery, it is theological, it is philosophical, and it is just a good story.

I also think Moby **** (Melville) is an incredible book. What a magnificent piece of work.

There are some good ones being written now, too, like Atonement - But everyone will go to the movie and skip the book, which is too bad.

Answer 2

Try "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream", "Croatoan", "The Paladin of the Lost Hour" by Harlan Ellison, "Wine on the Desert" by Max Brand, "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs, "How the Camel got his Hump" by Rudyard Kipling, "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Man Who Corrupted Hadleyburg" by Mark Twain, "If There's a Will..." by Richard Matheson and Richard Christian Matheson, "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe, "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., "I Sing the Body Electric" by Ray Bradbury, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, "Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving, "In the Hillls, the Cities" by Clive Barker, "Survivior Type" by Stephen King, "3 O'Clock" by Cornell Woolrich.....here's a start, anyway. I don't know what the "greatest short story of all time" is, neither does anyone else. There are thousands that are well worth reading that I haven't named, authors such as Algernon Blackwood, Issac Beshevis Singer, Doris Lessing, Raymond Chandler, even Mickey Spillane and Louis L'Amour have written great ones. The short story is an art form all it's own.

Answer 3

I don't know about the greatest short story of ALL time, but I do know that I have two faves, both by Stephen King and I consider them pretty great because they stand out from all of the books and short stories that I have read and that is not a small number. But I admit I haven't read everything ever printed - short story or novel.
"The Long Walk"
"You Know They Have a Hell of a Band"

Answer 4

I've always rather liked 'The Dwarf' by Ray Bradbury, but I'm sure it's not the greatest of all time.

I like a short story with a twist likean episode of Tales of the Unexpected! For this reason I'm also fond of 'Mr Loveday's Little Outing' by Evelyn Waugh...

'The Happy Prince' by Oscar Wilde is great too (bu very naive - I suppose it was written with children in mind.)

Answer 5

Pearls, or, The String of Beads, by W. Somerset Maugham. Mr Maugham, IMHO, was the best of the short story writers. I practically based most of my stories ( which I write for my own amusement, lol) on his style.

Edit:

I almost forgot another author, Guy de Maupassant. The Diamond Necklace, A Vendetta, The Horla and The Umbrella are all excellent stories, too.

Answer 6

Kay, I've watched you post questions over the last year or so and you habitually ride above your ability. Please listen to your gut and don't try galloping yet regardless of the 'bond' you have with your gelding. Something is going on with your seat that's not yet fixed. Add to that your shaken confidence and you have a recipe for disaster. No where do you mention taking proper lessons with a qualified instructor. So, sadly, you're experiencing first hand the expression "Garbage in, garbage out". Be safe. You're young. Take your time before you push yourself out of your comfort zone and until them take some good lessons. ......... How does one take eventing lessons, but only in an arena? Be kind to yourself. You don't need to explain yourself further. You have a valid nervousness and there's no hurry in pushing yourself. One day, when you have competent riders on quiet horses for company, you will spontaneously all go out for a gallop together. Don't push it. It will come.

Answer 7

I suggest "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Urusla Leguin.
Any short stories by Franz Kafka.
I have to agree with the person who mentioned "Bartleby the Scrivener by Melville.
Ann Proulx' and Munro's short stories were great too.

Answer 8

I know the longest comedic story of all time, yeah...you know what I'm talking about...."the Bible"!!! Ha, made me laugh.....lol....I was like ....lmfao.....in every page ....every verse....it keeps getting funnier....page...by page....

1. God gave us choice knowing it would lead us into temptation. Talk about placing cheese on the mouse trap....after making us.......mice.
2. People live like forever in the Bible. I believe Noah was over a hundred years old and still building an ark three-stories high.
3. Incest was God's preferred method for populating the world.
If that's true, we're all suffering from down-syndrome. The humor / irony never ends.

Answer 9

Bartleby the Scrivener, Herman Melville

or something by Alice Munro, I can't pin down one in particular though.

Answer 10

My personal favorite is "In the Penal Colony" by Kafka.