SSM Reading List: "Ten Stories That Are Ready For Their Close-Up"
by Owen King
In the Bedroom (from Dubus’s “Killings”) and Brokeback Mountain (from the Annie Proulx story) are great examples of why, in general, most short stories probably make more sense as subjects of film adaptation than most novels. I’m not sure that the reason for this is all that complex. Turning a novel into a film usually requires a screenwriter to do lots of paring down, whereas a short story adaptation usually asks for rounding out. Neither thing can be easy, but I feel like the former needs a ruthless attitude that’s especially rare.
Anyway, here are ten short stories that have a sort of wonderful “roominess” – full, terrific characterizations, and narratives extended enough to bear the weight of elaboration – that makes them ripe for the motion pictures! (Come to think of it, for the same reasons, all these stories could be enlarged into novels…)
- “Death Defier” by Tom Bissell
- “The Man Who Knew Dylan” by William Gay
- “Flower Garden” by Shirley Jackson
- “Aerogrammes” by Tania James
- “The Specialist’s Hat” by Kelly Link
- “Intervention” by Jill McCorkle
- “Gators” by Mark Poirier
- “CivilWarLand in Bad Decline” by George Saunders
- “Batting Against Castro” by Jim Shepard
- “Blue Yodel” by Scott Snyder
(Recommended Reading 8/09)
