Since John Fox asked me to write a guest entry on his blog, the thing that came to mind, was an argument we had the last time I saw him.
Maybe it wasn’t so much an argument as me talking out of my ass about what I perceive to be the hallmark of most great short stories: “The Ambiguous Ending.” John Fox – as he often does – completely misinterpreted what I meant by ambiguous. I don’t mean a vague ending or the half-assed attempt by a stymied author to escape the story without you know actually ending it. I mean in the sense that the story ends with a small human gesture, or a bit of dialogue that can change your entire perception of the story and its characters.
Most of my favorite short story endings have stuck with me to a greater degree than the conclusions of the great classic novels. That might be to my deficit but the structure of a good short story throws the reader into the action fast, and is built to deliver a powerful emotional turn in those last sentences. No time for a drawn out epilogue or extended goodbyes. I recommend a few examples from some of my recent favorites.
“Modern Love” by TC Boyle
“The Magic Barrel” by Bernard Malamud
“The Artificial Nigger” by Flannery O’Connor
“93990” by George Saunders
