A Tiny Feast

by Chris Adrian

Titania and Oberon, the immortal Queen and King of the Fairies, live under a hill in a modern city park. To save their marriage, they adopt a mortal toddler and begin to raise him, only to discover he has developed terminal leukemia. What follows, set in a fairy den and an oncology ward, is one of the best (and, somehow, realest) short stories ever written, a haunting exploration of love and death that has followed this reader, at least, into marriage, parenthood, and nearly every subsequent day spent on this earth.

Genres: Short Stories, Fantasy, Fiction

15 pages, ebook

First published April 20, 2009

About the author

Chris Adrian was born in Washington D.C. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, he attended Harvard Divinity School, and is currently a pediatric fellow at UCSF. He received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2009. In 2010, he was chosen as one of the 20 best writers under 40 by The New Yorker.

Reviews

[Jeremy Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best stories I have ever read.
It was funny, it is very sad, it looks at cultural difference and understanding of death and gifts and childhood. "this is the worst gift" was a repeated thought :D

Great book club choice.

[LindaJ^ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This short story is available through the New Yorker. It tells the story of how a mortal child, stolen by a god and goddess, is unsuccessfully treated for leukemia and the story of how the human child came to be with the god and goddess. The god and goddess use "glamour" to disguise what they are from the humans around them, at least until their grief pushes them to a fight and the glamour slips.

[Fatma Nur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Adrian’s “A Tiny Feast” follows the tragedy of the characters Titania and Oberon, who are an immortal Queen and a King living among mortals. In the story, they adopt a boy in hopes for saving them from the boredom of eternal life and their rocky marriage. However, Titania and Oberon finds out that the boy has cancer and because they have never experienced sorrow or illness before in their immortal life, they have no clue as to what they should do or how to feel. İllness is a rather normal thing for humans but they just can not normalize it as fairies. As the story unfolds they try to cope with the situation and the narrator takes us into Titania and Oberon’s life as parents whose child is in an immense suffering. Even though this story is about a dark subject, the narrator managed to set the tone as humorous time to time so it does not suck the life out of you as you are reading it. The story takes place in an oncology ward and although it is not necessarily a descriptive story the narrator manages you to take you to world of fairies. The story makes you question what would it be like if there was no illnesses, what would it be like to have an immortal life or how hard would it be to experience a terminal illness as parents. It focuses on how something one can not control and the mystery of a illness can be so devastating even if you are a fairy. The feeling of despair plays a big part in the story, making it more relatable. The story’s genre is fantasy but the feeling behind it is so real and raw that it touches your heart in not a cheesy way unlike most cancer stories tend to do. So, I urge everyone to read this short story if you are in search for a great fantasy short story with some sorrow, humour and magic twists. You will not be dissappointed.

[Kay ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some spoilers ahead.

This short story ripped out my heart and tossed it out of the window. This was a dark, happy, and sad story all rolled into one. It is about love, loss, confusion, humanity, and compassion. I don’t normally like cancer stories, but this one captivated me.

In this masterpiece we meet the King & Queen of fairies and their sick human son. After one of their many fights, King Oberon gifts Titania with a human child as a pet. Titania and Oberon grow to love the child and we see how the modern world mystifies them. Queen Titania in particular does not understand why humans get sick and we see her struggle with that. I don’t want to give too much away because you should go read it but, the language used throughout the piece is intriguing, and vivid. Obviously the story is unrealistic but, the topic of losing someone you love is not and this story tackles it marvelously.

Unfortunately, it is never really addressed why the King & Queen love the boy so much. They have had other pets before so I do not understand why the boy is different. Is it because he is sick? Is it because he slept in their bed? Regardless of that, I still give it 5 stars.

[Tom O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful short story, full of heart rending detail and analogies about parenthood, love, sickness, humanity and loss.

[Keifer Lud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely on the high end of four stars.

I often find myself compelled by why writers chose to make a specific world or story magic. Often, I think writers don't give too much thought to this -- they just want to write a story with magic in it. But for Adrian, it's obviously different. Many stories about cancer, especially kids having cancer, are romanticized and made out to be this big stoic battle ending in monumental tragedy. But Adrian knows that that isn't a true narrative to people with cancer. By contrasting these magical outsiders with the grim and daily life aspects of an oncology ward, Adrian shows the discontinuity of how other writers often treat cancer.

This story is weird, it is sad, and it is wildly imaginative. I certainly recommend it for a quick read.

[Paula TwoBears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly moving. Incredibly creative and hard to believe it’s written by a children’s cancer doctor. I recommend with all my heart and it won’t take long.

[Awan · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I've been reading this because, well, I have my exam in may. Well, short stories are short and I'm in need of a short break in my studies. THIS STORY BROKE MY HEART. It's magic that I can feel this much, considering how short the story is. I just googled Top high rating short story and I come upon this link:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/20...

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This short story from The New Yorker not only had me google the author to see what else he has written, but it made me realize how easily this author made me believe in faeries, spells, changelings, and magic as though I were a young child again, unaware of the adult world of correctness.

I am simply moved by his writing.

[Ariste Egan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"...She peered at the parents, imagining their hearts like machines, manufacturing surfeit upon surfeit of love for their children, and then wondered how something could be so awesome and so utterly powerless."

[Tamara Lischka · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite short stories I've ever read. I went on to read the full book that this short story was pulled from. The full novel didn't engage me quite as completely. The short story stand wonderfully on its own.

[Charmaine Haughton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. It captured my imagination. A interesting way to deal with the illness of a child.

[Beth Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Weird short story about fairies who kidnapped a baby.

[Danyel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really touching short story. Using fantasy to capture human heartbreak over the loss of a child.

[Дани от Две Маймуни · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the most moving piece of literature I've read this year

[Hari Brandl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love fairie/mortal interactions stories, and this one is especially pleasing because it is so droll.

[Matina Lgt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Touches a painful subject with tons of respect.

[David Wurtsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get ready to cry a lot. 😭

[Jonathan]

I thought it was a beautiful story

[Ana Rebelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The New Yorker é uma revista cheia de escritores talentosos com liberdade para expressar o que sentem e para deixar as palavras fluir.
Este pequeno texto foi publicado na revista em 2009 e eu encontrei-o num artigo do Huffington Post "The 10 Best Short Stories You've Never Read". E posso dizer agora que foi uma das 10 melhores pequenas histórias que já li.
Conta a história de fadas que se encontram num momento da sua vida tão estranhamente humano: o cancro e a consequente morte de um dos seus. A história é, sobretudo, acerca do amor, mostrando que este não é exclusivo à natureza humana, atravessando diferentes espécies com a mesma intensidade e importância, capaz de alterar as suas vidas e dar-lhes valor. A fada Titania não conhecia esse sentimento, apenas o reconhecia nos humanos, mas, de repente, tornou-se tudo o que ela conseguia ver e sentir. E o seu amor, como todos os outros, trouxe-lhe uma grande felicidade e, no final, uma tremenda dor.
"It seemed a marvel to her that any mortal should suffer for lack of love, and yet she had never known a mortal who didn’t feel unloved. There was enough love just in this ugly hallway, she thought, that no one should ever feel the lack of it again."

[Valentina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story about loss, love and the mortality ! Haunting emotions and it summarizes perfectly the feeling that parents have when they see their children fighting cancer... It broke my heart

"She peered at the parents, imagining their hearts like machines, manufacturing surfeit upon surfeit of love for their children, and then wondered how something could be so awesome and so utterly powerless. A feeling like that ought to be able to move mountains, she thought, and then she wondered how she had come to such a sad place in her thoughts, when she meant to live entirely in the blank present."

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[Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written short on sickness, love, heartbreak and hospitals. Chris does a wonderful job of entering his characters minds. I was thoroughly convinced this was written by a woman, and that she may have lost a child, until I saw the authors name at the bottom of the page.

Vivid imagery, with well timed licks of bitter-sweet humour that balm the pain the prose evokes. Insight (without pretension) into the pains of child loss, and the impact on the relationship, told through lovely, quirky, and often insightful characters.

One of the best shorts I've had the pleasure of reading.

[Rosaleen Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The juxtaposition of the fairy world with a cancer ward gives us a new viewpoint with which to see the world of science. Real life needs hopes and dreams without which we would not strive to overcome our trials. Sometimes it's better to be 'away with the fairies' than to engage with the sadness and hardship of human life and death. All this and so much more, presented with humour, warmth and a hospital environment we can believe in, wrapped in the guise of a short story.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"...it seemed insufficient to describe a process that to her felt less like a violent unpredictable ride than like someone ripping your heart out one day and then stuffing it back in your chest the next."

This short story took me for a ride and broke my heart in the process. Despite all the fantasy elements, it's an incredibly real short story, dealing with love, loss and heartbreak.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good short story that speaks of life, marriage, illness from the stand point of fairies. But the death was that of a human child. And thus, this book is so human! It's beautifully written and worth of a read. 4 stars.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this short story.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A slightly out there but enjoyable short story.

[Jessica Leigh Hamby · Rating 3 out of 5]

It broke my heart a little. Short read, but worth the time.

[Anmol Kaushal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly well written with wonderful character development.

[Travis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most memorable and moving stories I've ever read.