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The Short Story Advent Calendar
The 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar
This is the standard edition slipcase of the calendar. For the special edition slipcase please go here.
We are pleased to announce that the Short Story Advent Calendar is back—but with a new twist.
This time around, we’ve recruited one of our very favourite writers and readers to curate a unique globetrotting literary adventure. Edited and introduced by Alberto Manguel, the 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar spans the globe—from Canada to Australia, Africa to Scandinavia—featuring contemporary and classic works alike.
Contributors include:
Marcel Aymé (France)
Aleksandar Hemon (Bosnia)
José Saramago (Portugal)
Muriel Spark (Scotland)
Leo Tolstoy (Russia)
and 20 other writers from 20 other countries!
We are pleased to announce that the Short Story Advent Calendar is back—but with a new twist.
This time around, we’ve recruited one of our very favourite writers and readers to curate a unique globetrotting literary adventure. Edited and introduced by Alberto Manguel, the 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar spans the globe—from Canada to Australia, Africa to Scandinavia—featuring contemporary and classic works alike.
Contributors include:
Marcel Aymé (France)
Aleksandar Hemon (Bosnia)
José Saramago (Portugal)
Muriel Spark (Scotland)
Leo Tolstoy (Russia)
and 20 other writers from 20 other countries!
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
385 pages, Chapbooks in slipcase
Published October 1, 2021
15 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Alberto Manguel
245 books1,796 followersAlberto Manguel (born 1948 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-born writer, translator, and editor. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such as The Dictionary of Imaginary Places (co-written with Gianni Guadalupi in 1980) and A History of Reading (1996) The Library at Night (2007) and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: A Biography (2008), and novels such as News From a Foreign Country Came (1991).
Manguel believes in the central importance of the book in societies of the written word where, in recent times, the intellectual act has lost most of its prestige. Libraries (the reservoirs of collective memory) should be our essential symbol, not banks. Humans can be defined as reading animals, come into the world to decipher it and themselves.
Manguel believes in the central importance of the book in societies of the written word where, in recent times, the intellectual act has lost most of its prestige. Libraries (the reservoirs of collective memory) should be our essential symbol, not banks. Humans can be defined as reading animals, come into the world to decipher it and themselves.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 2, 2022
There’s a bit of background to this seventh — my sixth! — Short Story Advent Calendar. At the end of last year’s calendar, the two-person Canadian publishing company of Hingston & Olsen announced it would be the last as they focused on other projects. Adventarians were disappointed at the loss of our annual tradition and many must’ve let it be known, as in the autumn H&O announced they’d be bringing it back—with a twist.
For the first time the publishers brought in outside help: The 2021 calendar was edited by Alberto Manguel. (I’ve not read any of his own works, though I’ve now read two of his translations.) Manguel’s first ‘artificial’ parameter was that each story would be from a different country. As the days went on, other themes emerged: almost all of the stories have a fantastical element; many were spiritual, though not in a ‘usual’ way.
Four of the included stories were rereads for me: Saki’s “Tobermory,” Homer’s story of Ulysses and Polyphemus, and so-called fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen (“The Travelling Companion”) and Oscar Wilde (“The Young King”).
Several of the authors were completely unknown to me— Susanna Harutyunyan; Saadat Hasan Manto; Mia Couto (to name just a few!)—and were a delight to discover. Several were known, though I knew them through their novels, not their short stories, such as Leo Tolstoy’s “The Three Hermits” and Muriel Spark’s “A Member of the Family.” The Spark story may have been my favorite, unless it was the one by Mavis Gallant (“From the Fifteenth District”). I now need more.
Of course I read every single day anyway, but having a surprise story to open and read every morning (or as close to morning as I could get) is the best way to start every day of Advent. Here’s to next year.
For the first time the publishers brought in outside help: The 2021 calendar was edited by Alberto Manguel. (I’ve not read any of his own works, though I’ve now read two of his translations.) Manguel’s first ‘artificial’ parameter was that each story would be from a different country. As the days went on, other themes emerged: almost all of the stories have a fantastical element; many were spiritual, though not in a ‘usual’ way.
Four of the included stories were rereads for me: Saki’s “Tobermory,” Homer’s story of Ulysses and Polyphemus, and so-called fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen (“The Travelling Companion”) and Oscar Wilde (“The Young King”).
Several of the authors were completely unknown to me— Susanna Harutyunyan; Saadat Hasan Manto; Mia Couto (to name just a few!)—and were a delight to discover. Several were known, though I knew them through their novels, not their short stories, such as Leo Tolstoy’s “The Three Hermits” and Muriel Spark’s “A Member of the Family.” The Spark story may have been my favorite, unless it was the one by Mavis Gallant (“From the Fifteenth District”). I now need more.
Of course I read every single day anyway, but having a surprise story to open and read every morning (or as close to morning as I could get) is the best way to start every day of Advent. Here’s to next year.
December 31, 2021
This is my fourth time reading the Short Story Advent calendar from Hingston & Olsen and unfortunately I think this was the weakest collection so far. This year is very different to previous version because instead of the selection being curated by the press themselves it was anthologized by a guest editor: translator Alberto Manguel. His approach to the collection got me really excited: 25 days of stories, a story from 25 different countries. The collection started off very strong, introducing me to many authors I’d never heard of and whilst the general structure of each story was the same (in contrast to previous calendars) the tone and genre varied.
However past the halfway mark the stories take a turn in tone. Some of the more moralizing lessons from earlier stories, e.g. the Fire balloons, become more lengthy and heavy-handed making them a chore to read. They also become much darker, for example The Young King on Christmas Eve that appears to chastise the reader for their material possessions. Or the Christmas Day story that cautions against a fictional aesthetic? There are strong Christian messages running throughout much of the collection. And whilst I appreciate that Advent is by its very nature a period originating from and observed by Christians, in many countries (especially the UK and Canada where this calendar originates) it’s become a non-denominational countdown to the new-year. The previous calendars balanced this well, there was a good mix of contemporary fiction and christmassy tales from the past (think about Algeron Blackwood’s spooky winter tale in last year’s calendar). This one however was really heavy-handed with its Christian messaging.
A few other complaints: of the 25 stories included here 20 are more than 20 years old. The majority are from the 1950’s-1990’s, 11 stories, with 4 from 1910-1940. The remaining 5 stories are all from the mid-1700’s to late-1800’s apart from the one Tang Dynasty translation. Something that I loved in previous collections was the good mix of older, lesser-known stories and contemporary stories. This is way too focused on works from the editor’s childhood and formative years, given that he was born in 1948. Only 2 stories from the past decade make it into this collection - TWO in the last decade. The most modern one is book 22, the Truman Capote story, which is still 7 years old! And it’s about Capote so its subject matter isn’t even slightly relevant to life in the last 10 years. It gives the whole collection a tired feel.
Another slightly sore point is the author selection. I’m not especially well read, but I knew ~40% of the authors in this collection and I’d say that at least 30% are incredibly popular. Selecting Leo Tolstoy for Russia? Oscar Wilde for Ireland? Franz Kafka for the Czech Republic? It’s way too predictable. I was hoping to discover some authors from these countries that I hadn’t heard of: maybe even a more modern work that wasn’t translated before this edition.
Can we talk about China for a second? Despite only story 20 coming from a Chinese author directly there are in fact 3 stories about China. The first, insultingly, is from a Japanese author. It strikes me as incredibly tone deaf to start off an international collection with a Chinese retelling by a Japanese author and not include a Japanese tale later in the collection given the history of the two countries. Story 25 is also a Chinese retelling but classed as a Belgian story because the author was born in Belgium. I don’t like Saki being included as a Myanmar author given that he moved to England when he was two years old and his stories are predominantly satires of the English. I’m not saying you should only pick authors that write about their own country but picking a Belgian to showcase their retelling of Chinese myths or a Myanmar-born person who lived their entire life writing about the British is really odd. If you do do that then why theme this around countries?
I have a lot of nit picks with this collection which is unfortunate since I’ve loved 2018-2020. I am really glad that H&O decided to continue doing the calendar but I hope next time they select a better guest editor who manages to bring back the balance of genre/literary contemprorary/classic religious/secular stories that their curations had. Or better yet, they start editing the collections again.
Overall this collection gets a 3/5, based on the average of ratings for each story (detailed below). This is the first miss I’ve seen from H&O so I remain optimistic for next year’s collection.
============ Story reviews =============
1. The Moon over the Mountain by Atsushi Nakajima is a Chinese fable (from a Japanese author?) of an arrogant but deeply insecure young man who sabotages himself after showing great promise in his youth. This was a traditional, self-contained little story with a moral at its heart. A great start to the month! First line: "Li Zheng of Longxi was a very talented and learned young man who, in the last year of the Tianbao era passed the qualifying examination to become a government official." (1942) 4/5
2. Lend Me Your Character by Dubravka Ugresic is a Croatian literary drama in which two authors morph between themselves and their work as they embark on an unhealthy, doomed relationship. This was a very well-crafted story, exploring death of the author, autobiographical characters, and how personal creative decision-making is. First line: "You should never have anything to do with writers." (1983) 3/5
3. Next we traveled to Australia with Chris Womersley’s A Lovely and Terrible Thing. A man working for Ripley’s believe it or not gets stranded at night in a rural area and uncovers a family with a strange secret. This had excellent pacing and a lot of atmosphere but I don’t think it quite lived up to the latter half of its namesake. It was a powerful image but I think I missed the broader strokes of the story. Maybe learning to, literally, let go as a parent? He liberates this daughter from a prison also not of her own making: something he cannot do for his daughter? First line: "What a burden it is to have seen wondrous things, for afterwards the world feels empty of possibility." (2011) 4/5
4. The State of Grace by Marcel Aymé is a French story about a man trying desperately to lose his halo. He goes from being a man of upstanding character, with humility and charity in abundance to a gluttonous pimp. Yet all the while the halo remains. I’m not sure what this is trying to tell me: that the saints are judged by their past actions, not what they do after attaining sainthood? That doesn’t seem right. That god is punishing Duperrier by maintaining his halo? Or is it that Duperrier tried to commit these acts but his heart was never truly in it and god saw his true intentions? So actions don’t matter, only intention? What does it all mean? First line: "In the year 1939 the best Christian in the Rue Gabrielle, and indeed in all Montmartre, was a certain Monsier Duperrier." (1947) 3/5
5. On day 5 we have a small selection from Alexander Pope’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey, more specifically Ulysses and the Cyclops which is one of the episodes I feel gets the most airtime. To be honest I’m neither a massive fan of verse nor the classics so I skipped through most of this. I wish the editor had selected a lesser-known Greek classic, or even just a snippet from the Illiad! It’s like putting a Dickens snippet in the anthology (hopefully there isn’t one). Weakest entry thus far. 1st line: "Then thus Ulysses: 'Thou whom first in sway; As first in virtue, these thy realms obey;'" (1725) 2/5
6. Representing the USA is The Fire Balloons by Ray Bradbury, which brings us up to short story number 6 and it was also a little odd. All of the stories this year are the same in overall form but have nuances. This one was about priests colonizing Mars and one maverick amongst them looking to prolethisize any sentient life just not those in human-form. And when he finds them, they don’t need him.. So what is this telling me? Just that faith is well-placed, god works in mysterious ways? 1st line: "Fire exploded over summer night lawns." (1951) 3/5
7. The Complete Gentleman by Amos Tutola was excellent! I love the weird imagery and unusual writing style of this Nigerian author. How does it work when you change a woman into a kitten, put her into your pocket, and then change into a sparrow. Is she proportionally shrunk too? Is she now a part of your body? Classic. 1st line: "He was a beautiful 'complete' gentleman, he dressed with the finest and most costly clothes, all the parts of his body were completed, he was a tall man but stout." (1952) 5/5
8. In The Night of the Comet by Liliana Heker we anticipate the arrival of, I assume, Halley's comet with a group in Buenos Aires. This story gave so much in only 12 pages. In it we get to know the mind of the crowd in Argentina, the flavour of the city with its hot sausage and bread stands and tram drawbridge over the river, and the speculation of the comet. Great ending too! 1st line: "All we knew about the comet was that someone had plunged to his death
to dodge its arrival." (2001) 4/5
9. During The Marine House by Mozambican Mia Couto I came across this wonderful turn-of-phrase: I would follow him as he distributed his footsteps along the sands of the beach. This is a magical realism tale with an old man, perfect sticks, and a boat full of the sea. 1st line: "What man feels for a bird is envy." (1997) 4/5
10. Next we travel to Bosnian-US immigrants in Aleksander Hemon's The Bees, part 1. This was quite a long story in the collection coming in at 29 pages, but very easy to read. It's a portrait of the protagonist's father: a complicated man who writes, keeps bees, and hates fiction. 1st line: "Many years ago my sister and I went to see a movie with our parents." (2009) 4/5
11. On day 11 we have the short Mr Dombey, the zombie by Geoffrey Drayton which comes to us via Barbados. This is a strange little ghost story that was filled with all sorts of terms I wasn't used to and resulted in a very interesting wiki walk. 1st line: "Mr Dombey, the zombie, took the 8:10 train every morning of the working week." (1990) 3/5
12. Day 12! Josephine the Singer by Franz Kafka. Ooo I hated this. I found it really boring. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind? 1st line: "Our singer is called Josephine." (1946) 1/5
13. In my opinion having Saki be the entry for Myanmar is a little odd since he’s quintessentially known for being the English short story guy but nevertheless, day 13 is Tobermory. This is the story of a gentleman called Cornelius who has found a way to allow his hosts’ cat to air its grievances. 1st line: "It was a chill, rain-washed afternoon of a late August day, that indefinite season when partridges are still in security or cold storage." (1912) 4/5
14. Today we have an Armenian story by Susanna Harutyunyan: God has passed though here. This was a fun, almost magical story about generations of pilgrims to a small mountainside village. But how nefarious are their intentions with the girl in the mountain village? Good story. 1st line: "When the Europeans came to see the girl they were still naïve because the driver hadn't told them yet." (2007) 4/5
15. Book 15 is from India and the 1947 Partition of Hindustan. Saadat Hasan Manto’s Toba Tek Singh is the name of both the story and the town where our protagonist, a ‘lunatic’, hails. The story is meant to be a satire of the partition but I had a hard time grasping the context without a wikipedia refresher. 1st line: "Two or three years after Partition it occurred to the governments of Pakistan and Hindustan that like criminal offenders, lunatics too ought to be exchanged." (1955) 1/5
16. The Dwarf in the television Set by Brazilian Moacyr Scliar is described by the editor as being a ‘marital farce’. I reread it with that in mind and then it becomes quite abusive: a man hiding his wife from strangers, servants, guests and only then can she come out. Till then, she’s watching, waiting. Is this funny? Am I interpreting it wrong? Kind of a weird story. 1st line: "It is terrible to be a dwarf and have to live inside a television set - even if it happens to be a gigantic color TV." (1999) 2/5
17. I liked From the Fifteenth District by Mavis Gallant. It’s 3 short biographies of hauntings, except the twist is that those being haunted are ghosts and those doing the haunting are the living. This story was Canadian. 1st line: "Although an epidemic of haunting, widely reported, spread through the fifteenth district of our city last summer, only three acceptable complaints were lodged with the police." (1979) 3/5
18. Day 18 includes a wonderful story from Hans Christian Anderson that I hadn’t read before called The Traveling Companion. It’s a satisfying story with a good ending but what really sets it apart is the quaint writing and the creepy descriptions:
19. A Member of the Family by Muriel Spark was very dry and Scottish. I really didn’t like her most famous novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at all because it was about a sociopathic bitch who groomed young women and ruined their lives.. This was better. The snarky wit is there but better directed at a lovesick fool. The old wives club was a bit odd - maybe something about women being better companions for each other in the end than these immature men they keep dating? But no, there’s something more to it. Why does Lucy Idolise Gwen so much? Because she doesn’t care? A good story. 1st line: " 'You must', said Richard, suddenly, one day in November, 'come and meet my mother.'"(1985) 3/5
20. Day 20 is very short, a 3-page entry from the Tang Dynasty called Ch’ien-niang by Chen Xuanyou. It’s barely a story, more the sketch of an idea. Strange to include it. 1st line: "When I was small I often heard a story about a young girl called Ch'ien-niang." (779)1/5
21. On day 21 we have another classic piece: The Three Hermits by Tolstoy. And it’s another christian story about how we are not worthy to determine who to preach to. Wasn’t that the same message in the fire balloons? I know this is an advent calendar but previous editions were not this.. preachy. 1st line: "A bishop was sailing in a ship from Arkhángelsk to Solóvki." (1886) 1/5
22. I don’t get most of the selections in the past couple of days. This one was called Truman Capote by Hassouna Mosbahi and is set in Tunisia. It’s a guy who is forgetful, sees Truman Capote, follows him to a house of ill repute, and then goes back to Germany. I didn’t get anything out of this and I didn’t get why we followed Capote around. 1st line: "I don't know why I wasn't surprised when I suddenly found myself at the entrance to the city of my birthplace, teh city of Qaf, Tunisia, after a long absence that lasted almost five years." (2015) 2/5
23. Reflux by Portuguese authorJosé Saramago was not great. It was the definition of bloated, replete with run-on sentences. I skimmed the last half. They build a cemetery. That’s about it. Part of the 1st line: "First of all, since everything must have a beginning, even if that beginning is the final point from which it cannot be separated, and to say cannot is not to say wishes not or must not, it is simply impossible, for if such a separation were feasible" (etc) (1978) 1/5
24. Day 24 was The Young King by Oscar Wilde. So at this point I’m wondering if the editor is trolling us? This story in essence is about how fine goods and materials are for the most part from slave/child labour and result in death. And a true king/leader doesn’t need the garbs to prove it. But then the workers & peasants themselves rise up against the king and tell him that if he puts aside these trifles then he’s also putting whole industries out of a job. So what’s to be done. Nothing apparently, because god makes his shepherd’s cloak and briar crown beautiful and everyone forgets their complaints.. what am I missing here? Is this really the story to share on Christmas Eve? Anti-consumerist messages to make us all feel guilty? The story itself had a flowery language but was a great deal easier to read than the 23rd. Oscar Wilde though.. another incredibly famous author. 1st line: "It was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young king was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber." (1891) 2/5
25. Christmas Day and How Wang-Fo was saved by Belgian author (?) Marguerite Yourcenar! And.. what a story. Ling is a spoiled, lonely man with everything set out on a plate for him. As such, nothing has any flavor, and he is afraid of ants and thunderstorms. His beautiful, lovely, pre-arranged wife feels like a pretty trinket. He eventually meets a painter who is enamored with all of life’s mundanities and expounds upon them until Ling too can see the beauty in his surroundings. Ling and his wife become subjects for the painter until his wife realizes Ling prefers the artist’s depiction of her to the real her. So she hangs herself. And they paint her:
The rest of the story takes place in the imperial palace, where the emperor, raised by Wang-Fo’s paintings, grew up to be disappointed that his kingdom was not as lovely as it was depicted. So he asks Wang-Fo to finish one last painting before he will burn out his eyes (!) and cut off his hands (!) and then he kills the disciple. Technically the story ends on a high note but my god, what a story to end on. Very depressing. 1st line: "The old painter Wang-Fo and his disciple Ling were wandering along the roads of the Kingdom of Han." (1963) 2/5
A plate from Hans Christian Anderson's The Travelling Companion, which was featured on Day 18.
However past the halfway mark the stories take a turn in tone. Some of the more moralizing lessons from earlier stories, e.g. the Fire balloons, become more lengthy and heavy-handed making them a chore to read. They also become much darker, for example The Young King on Christmas Eve that appears to chastise the reader for their material possessions. Or the Christmas Day story that cautions against a fictional aesthetic? There are strong Christian messages running throughout much of the collection. And whilst I appreciate that Advent is by its very nature a period originating from and observed by Christians, in many countries (especially the UK and Canada where this calendar originates) it’s become a non-denominational countdown to the new-year. The previous calendars balanced this well, there was a good mix of contemporary fiction and christmassy tales from the past (think about Algeron Blackwood’s spooky winter tale in last year’s calendar). This one however was really heavy-handed with its Christian messaging.
A few other complaints: of the 25 stories included here 20 are more than 20 years old. The majority are from the 1950’s-1990’s, 11 stories, with 4 from 1910-1940. The remaining 5 stories are all from the mid-1700’s to late-1800’s apart from the one Tang Dynasty translation. Something that I loved in previous collections was the good mix of older, lesser-known stories and contemporary stories. This is way too focused on works from the editor’s childhood and formative years, given that he was born in 1948. Only 2 stories from the past decade make it into this collection - TWO in the last decade. The most modern one is book 22, the Truman Capote story, which is still 7 years old! And it’s about Capote so its subject matter isn’t even slightly relevant to life in the last 10 years. It gives the whole collection a tired feel.
Another slightly sore point is the author selection. I’m not especially well read, but I knew ~40% of the authors in this collection and I’d say that at least 30% are incredibly popular. Selecting Leo Tolstoy for Russia? Oscar Wilde for Ireland? Franz Kafka for the Czech Republic? It’s way too predictable. I was hoping to discover some authors from these countries that I hadn’t heard of: maybe even a more modern work that wasn’t translated before this edition.
Can we talk about China for a second? Despite only story 20 coming from a Chinese author directly there are in fact 3 stories about China. The first, insultingly, is from a Japanese author. It strikes me as incredibly tone deaf to start off an international collection with a Chinese retelling by a Japanese author and not include a Japanese tale later in the collection given the history of the two countries. Story 25 is also a Chinese retelling but classed as a Belgian story because the author was born in Belgium. I don’t like Saki being included as a Myanmar author given that he moved to England when he was two years old and his stories are predominantly satires of the English. I’m not saying you should only pick authors that write about their own country but picking a Belgian to showcase their retelling of Chinese myths or a Myanmar-born person who lived their entire life writing about the British is really odd. If you do do that then why theme this around countries?
I have a lot of nit picks with this collection which is unfortunate since I’ve loved 2018-2020. I am really glad that H&O decided to continue doing the calendar but I hope next time they select a better guest editor who manages to bring back the balance of genre/literary contemprorary/classic religious/secular stories that their curations had. Or better yet, they start editing the collections again.
Overall this collection gets a 3/5, based on the average of ratings for each story (detailed below). This is the first miss I’ve seen from H&O so I remain optimistic for next year’s collection.
============ Story reviews =============
1. The Moon over the Mountain by Atsushi Nakajima is a Chinese fable (from a Japanese author?) of an arrogant but deeply insecure young man who sabotages himself after showing great promise in his youth. This was a traditional, self-contained little story with a moral at its heart. A great start to the month! First line: "Li Zheng of Longxi was a very talented and learned young man who, in the last year of the Tianbao era passed the qualifying examination to become a government official." (1942) 4/5
2. Lend Me Your Character by Dubravka Ugresic is a Croatian literary drama in which two authors morph between themselves and their work as they embark on an unhealthy, doomed relationship. This was a very well-crafted story, exploring death of the author, autobiographical characters, and how personal creative decision-making is. First line: "You should never have anything to do with writers." (1983) 3/5
3. Next we traveled to Australia with Chris Womersley’s A Lovely and Terrible Thing. A man working for Ripley’s believe it or not gets stranded at night in a rural area and uncovers a family with a strange secret. This had excellent pacing and a lot of atmosphere but I don’t think it quite lived up to the latter half of its namesake. It was a powerful image but I think I missed the broader strokes of the story. Maybe learning to, literally, let go as a parent? He liberates this daughter from a prison also not of her own making: something he cannot do for his daughter? First line: "What a burden it is to have seen wondrous things, for afterwards the world feels empty of possibility." (2011) 4/5
4. The State of Grace by Marcel Aymé is a French story about a man trying desperately to lose his halo. He goes from being a man of upstanding character, with humility and charity in abundance to a gluttonous pimp. Yet all the while the halo remains. I’m not sure what this is trying to tell me: that the saints are judged by their past actions, not what they do after attaining sainthood? That doesn’t seem right. That god is punishing Duperrier by maintaining his halo? Or is it that Duperrier tried to commit these acts but his heart was never truly in it and god saw his true intentions? So actions don’t matter, only intention? What does it all mean? First line: "In the year 1939 the best Christian in the Rue Gabrielle, and indeed in all Montmartre, was a certain Monsier Duperrier." (1947) 3/5
5. On day 5 we have a small selection from Alexander Pope’s translation of Homer’s Odyssey, more specifically Ulysses and the Cyclops which is one of the episodes I feel gets the most airtime. To be honest I’m neither a massive fan of verse nor the classics so I skipped through most of this. I wish the editor had selected a lesser-known Greek classic, or even just a snippet from the Illiad! It’s like putting a Dickens snippet in the anthology (hopefully there isn’t one). Weakest entry thus far. 1st line: "Then thus Ulysses: 'Thou whom first in sway; As first in virtue, these thy realms obey;'" (1725) 2/5
6. Representing the USA is The Fire Balloons by Ray Bradbury, which brings us up to short story number 6 and it was also a little odd. All of the stories this year are the same in overall form but have nuances. This one was about priests colonizing Mars and one maverick amongst them looking to prolethisize any sentient life just not those in human-form. And when he finds them, they don’t need him.. So what is this telling me? Just that faith is well-placed, god works in mysterious ways? 1st line: "Fire exploded over summer night lawns." (1951) 3/5
7. The Complete Gentleman by Amos Tutola was excellent! I love the weird imagery and unusual writing style of this Nigerian author. How does it work when you change a woman into a kitten, put her into your pocket, and then change into a sparrow. Is she proportionally shrunk too? Is she now a part of your body? Classic. 1st line: "He was a beautiful 'complete' gentleman, he dressed with the finest and most costly clothes, all the parts of his body were completed, he was a tall man but stout." (1952) 5/5
8. In The Night of the Comet by Liliana Heker we anticipate the arrival of, I assume, Halley's comet with a group in Buenos Aires. This story gave so much in only 12 pages. In it we get to know the mind of the crowd in Argentina, the flavour of the city with its hot sausage and bread stands and tram drawbridge over the river, and the speculation of the comet. Great ending too! 1st line: "All we knew about the comet was that someone had plunged to his death
to dodge its arrival." (2001) 4/5
9. During The Marine House by Mozambican Mia Couto I came across this wonderful turn-of-phrase: I would follow him as he distributed his footsteps along the sands of the beach. This is a magical realism tale with an old man, perfect sticks, and a boat full of the sea. 1st line: "What man feels for a bird is envy." (1997) 4/5
10. Next we travel to Bosnian-US immigrants in Aleksander Hemon's The Bees, part 1. This was quite a long story in the collection coming in at 29 pages, but very easy to read. It's a portrait of the protagonist's father: a complicated man who writes, keeps bees, and hates fiction. 1st line: "Many years ago my sister and I went to see a movie with our parents." (2009) 4/5
11. On day 11 we have the short Mr Dombey, the zombie by Geoffrey Drayton which comes to us via Barbados. This is a strange little ghost story that was filled with all sorts of terms I wasn't used to and resulted in a very interesting wiki walk. 1st line: "Mr Dombey, the zombie, took the 8:10 train every morning of the working week." (1990) 3/5
12. Day 12! Josephine the Singer by Franz Kafka. Ooo I hated this. I found it really boring. Maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind? 1st line: "Our singer is called Josephine." (1946) 1/5
13. In my opinion having Saki be the entry for Myanmar is a little odd since he’s quintessentially known for being the English short story guy but nevertheless, day 13 is Tobermory. This is the story of a gentleman called Cornelius who has found a way to allow his hosts’ cat to air its grievances. 1st line: "It was a chill, rain-washed afternoon of a late August day, that indefinite season when partridges are still in security or cold storage." (1912) 4/5
14. Today we have an Armenian story by Susanna Harutyunyan: God has passed though here. This was a fun, almost magical story about generations of pilgrims to a small mountainside village. But how nefarious are their intentions with the girl in the mountain village? Good story. 1st line: "When the Europeans came to see the girl they were still naïve because the driver hadn't told them yet." (2007) 4/5
15. Book 15 is from India and the 1947 Partition of Hindustan. Saadat Hasan Manto’s Toba Tek Singh is the name of both the story and the town where our protagonist, a ‘lunatic’, hails. The story is meant to be a satire of the partition but I had a hard time grasping the context without a wikipedia refresher. 1st line: "Two or three years after Partition it occurred to the governments of Pakistan and Hindustan that like criminal offenders, lunatics too ought to be exchanged." (1955) 1/5
16. The Dwarf in the television Set by Brazilian Moacyr Scliar is described by the editor as being a ‘marital farce’. I reread it with that in mind and then it becomes quite abusive: a man hiding his wife from strangers, servants, guests and only then can she come out. Till then, she’s watching, waiting. Is this funny? Am I interpreting it wrong? Kind of a weird story. 1st line: "It is terrible to be a dwarf and have to live inside a television set - even if it happens to be a gigantic color TV." (1999) 2/5
17. I liked From the Fifteenth District by Mavis Gallant. It’s 3 short biographies of hauntings, except the twist is that those being haunted are ghosts and those doing the haunting are the living. This story was Canadian. 1st line: "Although an epidemic of haunting, widely reported, spread through the fifteenth district of our city last summer, only three acceptable complaints were lodged with the police." (1979) 3/5
18. Day 18 includes a wonderful story from Hans Christian Anderson that I hadn’t read before called The Traveling Companion. It’s a satisfying story with a good ending but what really sets it apart is the quaint writing and the creepy descriptions:
Big spotted spiders with silver crowns on their heads were kept spinning long hanging bridges from one bush to another, and palaces, which looked like glittering glass in the moonlight when the fine dew settled on them.. It’s made me want to pick up HCA again. 1st line: "Poor John was in sad trouble, for his father was very ill and could not recover." (1835) 5/5
19. A Member of the Family by Muriel Spark was very dry and Scottish. I really didn’t like her most famous novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at all because it was about a sociopathic bitch who groomed young women and ruined their lives.. This was better. The snarky wit is there but better directed at a lovesick fool. The old wives club was a bit odd - maybe something about women being better companions for each other in the end than these immature men they keep dating? But no, there’s something more to it. Why does Lucy Idolise Gwen so much? Because she doesn’t care? A good story. 1st line: " 'You must', said Richard, suddenly, one day in November, 'come and meet my mother.'"(1985) 3/5
20. Day 20 is very short, a 3-page entry from the Tang Dynasty called Ch’ien-niang by Chen Xuanyou. It’s barely a story, more the sketch of an idea. Strange to include it. 1st line: "When I was small I often heard a story about a young girl called Ch'ien-niang." (779)1/5
21. On day 21 we have another classic piece: The Three Hermits by Tolstoy. And it’s another christian story about how we are not worthy to determine who to preach to. Wasn’t that the same message in the fire balloons? I know this is an advent calendar but previous editions were not this.. preachy. 1st line: "A bishop was sailing in a ship from Arkhángelsk to Solóvki." (1886) 1/5
22. I don’t get most of the selections in the past couple of days. This one was called Truman Capote by Hassouna Mosbahi and is set in Tunisia. It’s a guy who is forgetful, sees Truman Capote, follows him to a house of ill repute, and then goes back to Germany. I didn’t get anything out of this and I didn’t get why we followed Capote around. 1st line: "I don't know why I wasn't surprised when I suddenly found myself at the entrance to the city of my birthplace, teh city of Qaf, Tunisia, after a long absence that lasted almost five years." (2015) 2/5
23. Reflux by Portuguese authorJosé Saramago was not great. It was the definition of bloated, replete with run-on sentences. I skimmed the last half. They build a cemetery. That’s about it. Part of the 1st line: "First of all, since everything must have a beginning, even if that beginning is the final point from which it cannot be separated, and to say cannot is not to say wishes not or must not, it is simply impossible, for if such a separation were feasible" (etc) (1978) 1/5
24. Day 24 was The Young King by Oscar Wilde. So at this point I’m wondering if the editor is trolling us? This story in essence is about how fine goods and materials are for the most part from slave/child labour and result in death. And a true king/leader doesn’t need the garbs to prove it. But then the workers & peasants themselves rise up against the king and tell him that if he puts aside these trifles then he’s also putting whole industries out of a job. So what’s to be done. Nothing apparently, because god makes his shepherd’s cloak and briar crown beautiful and everyone forgets their complaints.. what am I missing here? Is this really the story to share on Christmas Eve? Anti-consumerist messages to make us all feel guilty? The story itself had a flowery language but was a great deal easier to read than the 23rd. Oscar Wilde though.. another incredibly famous author. 1st line: "It was the night before the day fixed for his coronation, and the young king was sitting alone in his beautiful chamber." (1891) 2/5
25. Christmas Day and How Wang-Fo was saved by Belgian author (?) Marguerite Yourcenar! And.. what a story. Ling is a spoiled, lonely man with everything set out on a plate for him. As such, nothing has any flavor, and he is afraid of ants and thunderstorms. His beautiful, lovely, pre-arranged wife feels like a pretty trinket. He eventually meets a painter who is enamored with all of life’s mundanities and expounds upon them until Ling too can see the beauty in his surroundings. Ling and his wife become subjects for the painter until his wife realizes Ling prefers the artist’s depiction of her to the real her. So she hangs herself. And they paint her:
Wang-Fo painted her one last time. Because he loved the green hue that suffuses typeface of the dead. His disciple Ling mixed the colors and the task needed such concentration that he forgot to shed tears.Lovely.
The rest of the story takes place in the imperial palace, where the emperor, raised by Wang-Fo’s paintings, grew up to be disappointed that his kingdom was not as lovely as it was depicted. So he asks Wang-Fo to finish one last painting before he will burn out his eyes (!) and cut off his hands (!) and then he kills the disciple. Technically the story ends on a high note but my god, what a story to end on. Very depressing. 1st line: "The old painter Wang-Fo and his disciple Ling were wandering along the roads of the Kingdom of Han." (1963) 2/5
A plate from Hans Christian Anderson's The Travelling Companion, which was featured on Day 18.
Read
January 10, 2022My calendar didn't arrive on time, so I'm not reading these stories on the appropriate days, but I want to keep track of the stories as I read them.
~
day 1 / Atsushi Nakajima, "The Moon Over the Mountain" (Japan)
A strong start. This is about a Chinese administrator who turns into a tiger and an old school friend speaks with him. He wants his poetry recorded and laments that it is not as good as it could have been, because he had a kind of timid pride - too scared to ask for help to become better, but unwilling to be one of the many untalented. And then, at the end, a plea to help his family, who came after his concerns with being a (mediocre) poet. A good piece to think about how we're spending our time. Still trying to decipher what it means to turn into a tiger.
day 2 / Dubravka Ugresic, "Lend Me Your Character" (trans. Celia Hawkesworth) (Croatia)
A female writer "lends" a male author her character and he puts her in his piece as a sexual object. The two writers embark on a relationship in which this "loan" is reflected back in a different angle. Feminist and opaque. I liked it.
day 3 / Chris Womersley, "A Lovely and Terrible Thing" (Australia)
A man who works for Ripley's Believe It Or Not stumbles upon a family who want to show him their daughter who can levitate. Seeing her father's "avaricious glint", he sets her free to float up and up after everyone has gone to bed. Clearly some sort of metaphor for his own failure to let his daughter, who has been paralyzed by a horrific car accident, go. Parents doing things to help themselves, if not their children. Uncanny and slightly surreal.
day 4 / Marcel Aymé, "The State of Grace" (trans. Norman Denny) (France)
A pious man is bestowed with a halo, much to the displeasure of his wife who, in a very Dursley like fashion, does not want to be different from her neighbours. And so, to save his wife's soul, as she is cursing God for this event, he sets out to lose his halo by sinning. When it doesn't go away, he keeps sinning further and further. It brought to mind how the outward appearance of good can make it easier to rationalize inward evil.
day 5 / Homer, "Ulysses and the Cyclops" (trans. Alexander Pope) (Greece)
I'm going to be real: I've never read the Odyssey and if I decide I'm going to, I'm not going to do it by starting in book IX as translated by an 18th century poet.
day 6 / Ray Bradbury, "The Fire Balloons" (United States)
A missionary heads to Mars and discovers a life form that may have already transgressed the need for saving. Honestly really enjoyed this universe and was pleased to discover it's part of a collection that has the same setting - will be picking it up. Kind of weird to have two stories that discuss sin (France) so close to each other.
day 7 / Amos Tutuola, "The Complete Gentleman" (Nigeria)
This story freaked me right out. Literally I stopped reading and had to say "what the fuck" multiple times throughout it. When I saw the editor's comments on the story were about the language, I was bemused (though looking back, there are interesting choices). I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but it definitely evoked feelings in me (horror, amusement, confusion).
day 8 / Liliana Heker, "The Night of the Comet" (trans. Alberto Manguel) (Argentina)
I ended up reading this book on Christmas Eve, which felt fitting as it's all about gathering together to wait for something to happen. Of course, in the case of Christmas, the wait is generally worth it, which was not the case for the comet watchers.
day 9 / Mia Couto, "The Marine House" (trans. David Brookshaw) (Mozambique)
A strange story where the narrator helps an old man find pieces of wood that fit together into a boat, the marine house of the title, apparently built by men-fish. Almost reads like a fable, but without any discernible moral that I could see.
day 10 / Aleksandar Hemon, "The Bees, Part 1" (Bosnia)
A character study of the narrator's father, who has a distaste for anything not "real" and attempts to write a book and film a movie made entirely of truth. There were pieces of this I liked, but overall, it felt meandering, long and just made me sad.
day 11 / Geoffrey Drayton, "Mr. Dombey, The Zombie" (Barbados)
A zombie inadvertently (maybe?) kills his maker and ends up tried for her murder. Unable to die as his spirit is still trapped in a gourd, he stays in prison for decades until the gourd is finally burned, and with it, Mr. Dombey. This was short, snappy and fun, especially right after the previous story.
~
day 1 / Atsushi Nakajima, "The Moon Over the Mountain" (Japan)
A strong start. This is about a Chinese administrator who turns into a tiger and an old school friend speaks with him. He wants his poetry recorded and laments that it is not as good as it could have been, because he had a kind of timid pride - too scared to ask for help to become better, but unwilling to be one of the many untalented. And then, at the end, a plea to help his family, who came after his concerns with being a (mediocre) poet. A good piece to think about how we're spending our time. Still trying to decipher what it means to turn into a tiger.
day 2 / Dubravka Ugresic, "Lend Me Your Character" (trans. Celia Hawkesworth) (Croatia)
A female writer "lends" a male author her character and he puts her in his piece as a sexual object. The two writers embark on a relationship in which this "loan" is reflected back in a different angle. Feminist and opaque. I liked it.
day 3 / Chris Womersley, "A Lovely and Terrible Thing" (Australia)
A man who works for Ripley's Believe It Or Not stumbles upon a family who want to show him their daughter who can levitate. Seeing her father's "avaricious glint", he sets her free to float up and up after everyone has gone to bed. Clearly some sort of metaphor for his own failure to let his daughter, who has been paralyzed by a horrific car accident, go. Parents doing things to help themselves, if not their children. Uncanny and slightly surreal.
day 4 / Marcel Aymé, "The State of Grace" (trans. Norman Denny) (France)
A pious man is bestowed with a halo, much to the displeasure of his wife who, in a very Dursley like fashion, does not want to be different from her neighbours. And so, to save his wife's soul, as she is cursing God for this event, he sets out to lose his halo by sinning. When it doesn't go away, he keeps sinning further and further. It brought to mind how the outward appearance of good can make it easier to rationalize inward evil.
day 5 / Homer, "Ulysses and the Cyclops" (trans. Alexander Pope) (Greece)
I'm going to be real: I've never read the Odyssey and if I decide I'm going to, I'm not going to do it by starting in book IX as translated by an 18th century poet.
day 6 / Ray Bradbury, "The Fire Balloons" (United States)
A missionary heads to Mars and discovers a life form that may have already transgressed the need for saving. Honestly really enjoyed this universe and was pleased to discover it's part of a collection that has the same setting - will be picking it up. Kind of weird to have two stories that discuss sin (France) so close to each other.
day 7 / Amos Tutuola, "The Complete Gentleman" (Nigeria)
This story freaked me right out. Literally I stopped reading and had to say "what the fuck" multiple times throughout it. When I saw the editor's comments on the story were about the language, I was bemused (though looking back, there are interesting choices). I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but it definitely evoked feelings in me (horror, amusement, confusion).
day 8 / Liliana Heker, "The Night of the Comet" (trans. Alberto Manguel) (Argentina)
I ended up reading this book on Christmas Eve, which felt fitting as it's all about gathering together to wait for something to happen. Of course, in the case of Christmas, the wait is generally worth it, which was not the case for the comet watchers.
day 9 / Mia Couto, "The Marine House" (trans. David Brookshaw) (Mozambique)
A strange story where the narrator helps an old man find pieces of wood that fit together into a boat, the marine house of the title, apparently built by men-fish. Almost reads like a fable, but without any discernible moral that I could see.
day 10 / Aleksandar Hemon, "The Bees, Part 1" (Bosnia)
A character study of the narrator's father, who has a distaste for anything not "real" and attempts to write a book and film a movie made entirely of truth. There were pieces of this I liked, but overall, it felt meandering, long and just made me sad.
day 11 / Geoffrey Drayton, "Mr. Dombey, The Zombie" (Barbados)
A zombie inadvertently (maybe?) kills his maker and ends up tried for her murder. Unable to die as his spirit is still trapped in a gourd, he stays in prison for decades until the gourd is finally burned, and with it, Mr. Dombey. This was short, snappy and fun, especially right after the previous story.
Read
January 1, 2022Just delightful--I really enjoyed the variety of story styles that came with having every author from a different country!
December 26, 2021
A collection of twenty-five short stories, each by an author from a different country with a strong emphasis on folklore, magical realism and spiritual awakenings. The collection includes both well known authors such as Oscar Wilde and Homer and works that are little known in the English speaking world. The stories towards the beginning and end of the advent calendar are especially engaging. Always an enjoyable holiday tradition!
January 3, 2022
It nearly didn’t happen.
For fans of this literary tradition, it was sad news indeed, when it was announced that the 2020 edition of the Short Story Advent Calendar (SSAC) was to be the last edition. Since 2015, lovers of fiction would wait in eager anticipation for the arrival of this beautifully created collection of cultivated stories prepared by independent publishers Hingston and Olsen (Edmonton, Canada).
So, when in October this year, the email dropped announcing the new edition was actually happening after all, it was a complete shock yet pleasant surprise for Christmas!
Renowned Argentine - Canadian author Alberto Manguel (‘A History of Reading’) has edited 25 stories from 25 different countries. From Tolstoy to Ray Bradbury, once again voices from the eclectic to the unexpected come together in one beautifully bound bibliophile dream.
As ever, the proof of this literary pudding is in the drip fed devouring over 25 days. Let the games begin…
Hingston and Olsen (H & O) had managed to create a very niche but highly anticipated tradition for the last six years. These collections were pieces of publishing art in themselves. A box set that would attract attention on anyone bookshelf.
Every day from December 1st, one would carefully slit the seal of that days story. The rich pleasure was in anticipating what journey one would be taken for those delicious 20 minutes in the still of a quiet house that early morning.
It was a little hard to understand why the publishers would want to end such a wonderful initial idea. ‘Better to quit’ while ahead rang a little hollow when the entire world of literary voices is just waiting to be discovered. That’s a lot of eager writers and ideas out there! Well, as is part of this experience, H & O listened and heard the collective groan on social media. Plus it is genius to assign an independent editor to collect the new collection.
In the past, more contemporary writers have been showcased in previous collections. This year has some significant and established writers of the 20th century including Oscar Wilde, Hans Christian Anderson and Kafata among others. All suggesting the generous use of public domain. Yet, a good story is a good story regardless. But a strength of past editions has been providing an avenue for new writers to hear their voice.
From the Argentina to Australia, Nigeria to Japan, India to Myanmar, this collection enticed for its global representation. Themes were as varied as the interpretation of humour from cultural perspectives. ‘The Dwarf in the Television Set’ (Moacyr Scliar. Brazil) speaks for itself. While hauntings of which ‘…only 3 acceptable complaints were lodged with the Police’ trouble Paris ‘From the Fifteenth District’ (Mavis Gallant. Canada). Farce is alive highlighting the absurdies of social society. A cat given voice observes his leisured mistress with devastating effect in ‘Tobermory’ by Saki of Myanmar.
Voices shine strong highlighting such subjects as the immigrant experience with ‘Truman Capote’ by Tunisian author Hassouna Mosbahi. The disruption and aftermath of colonization can be personal as Susanna Harutyunyan ‘God Passed Through Here’ shows on scientist’s buying a living being to observe. ‘Toba Tek Singh’ by Sadat Hasan Manto shows that even the insane have rights in post partition India.
The greats make light of god (Tolstoy ‘The Three Hermits’); a overripe convoluted tale of a diva who is a mouse by Kafka (‘Josephine the Singer or the Mouse Folk’) and the enlightenment of a commoner about to take the throne in ‘The Young King’ Oscar Wilde.
The experience of past collections is to gather a diverse collection of styles and genres together. Not all will appeal yet its always good to have the synapses fired dragged into unfamiliar territory. This collection certainly continued that tradition. It is also often the case that stories will resonate so sweetly for the reader. Beautifully crafted words that evoke images and feelings beyond the page. For this reader at least, two stores this year did this. ‘The Night of the Comet’ by Argentinian author Lilian Heker highlights the arrival of a comet which many gather to witness, whilst highlighting our own mortality in the immensity of the universe.
The comet is ‘..cold and beautiful since the awakening of the world, cold and beautiful when the last glimmer from our planet is extinguished’
As I was reading this at 7:48am a delicious moment of serendipity arrived when CBC News chimed that Comet Leonard was on its way!
A seemingly black comedic story of a families recollection of the struggles of a new life having escaped war torn Bosnia, actually had an almost visceral reaction of ache in reading.
‘The Bees, Part 1’ by Aleksander Hermon recalls the importance of bees and beekeeping to their family. (‘Like a member of the family, the bees have always come back’). Yet, time and again, whilst men killed in each other in war, it was the innocent bees who also suffered at their hands.
Once again this years SSAC has been the coming together of a varied collection rich in styles and genres. The decision to continue and also hand over the reins of editorship, certainly heralds a bright future of this established literary tradition. Not all stories will resonate for all, yet that continues to be this annual collection’s strength.
Once again, nicely played Highston and Olsen! 9/10
For fans of this literary tradition, it was sad news indeed, when it was announced that the 2020 edition of the Short Story Advent Calendar (SSAC) was to be the last edition. Since 2015, lovers of fiction would wait in eager anticipation for the arrival of this beautifully created collection of cultivated stories prepared by independent publishers Hingston and Olsen (Edmonton, Canada).
So, when in October this year, the email dropped announcing the new edition was actually happening after all, it was a complete shock yet pleasant surprise for Christmas!
Renowned Argentine - Canadian author Alberto Manguel (‘A History of Reading’) has edited 25 stories from 25 different countries. From Tolstoy to Ray Bradbury, once again voices from the eclectic to the unexpected come together in one beautifully bound bibliophile dream.
As ever, the proof of this literary pudding is in the drip fed devouring over 25 days. Let the games begin…
Hingston and Olsen (H & O) had managed to create a very niche but highly anticipated tradition for the last six years. These collections were pieces of publishing art in themselves. A box set that would attract attention on anyone bookshelf.
Every day from December 1st, one would carefully slit the seal of that days story. The rich pleasure was in anticipating what journey one would be taken for those delicious 20 minutes in the still of a quiet house that early morning.
It was a little hard to understand why the publishers would want to end such a wonderful initial idea. ‘Better to quit’ while ahead rang a little hollow when the entire world of literary voices is just waiting to be discovered. That’s a lot of eager writers and ideas out there! Well, as is part of this experience, H & O listened and heard the collective groan on social media. Plus it is genius to assign an independent editor to collect the new collection.
In the past, more contemporary writers have been showcased in previous collections. This year has some significant and established writers of the 20th century including Oscar Wilde, Hans Christian Anderson and Kafata among others. All suggesting the generous use of public domain. Yet, a good story is a good story regardless. But a strength of past editions has been providing an avenue for new writers to hear their voice.
From the Argentina to Australia, Nigeria to Japan, India to Myanmar, this collection enticed for its global representation. Themes were as varied as the interpretation of humour from cultural perspectives. ‘The Dwarf in the Television Set’ (Moacyr Scliar. Brazil) speaks for itself. While hauntings of which ‘…only 3 acceptable complaints were lodged with the Police’ trouble Paris ‘From the Fifteenth District’ (Mavis Gallant. Canada). Farce is alive highlighting the absurdies of social society. A cat given voice observes his leisured mistress with devastating effect in ‘Tobermory’ by Saki of Myanmar.
Voices shine strong highlighting such subjects as the immigrant experience with ‘Truman Capote’ by Tunisian author Hassouna Mosbahi. The disruption and aftermath of colonization can be personal as Susanna Harutyunyan ‘God Passed Through Here’ shows on scientist’s buying a living being to observe. ‘Toba Tek Singh’ by Sadat Hasan Manto shows that even the insane have rights in post partition India.
The greats make light of god (Tolstoy ‘The Three Hermits’); a overripe convoluted tale of a diva who is a mouse by Kafka (‘Josephine the Singer or the Mouse Folk’) and the enlightenment of a commoner about to take the throne in ‘The Young King’ Oscar Wilde.
The experience of past collections is to gather a diverse collection of styles and genres together. Not all will appeal yet its always good to have the synapses fired dragged into unfamiliar territory. This collection certainly continued that tradition. It is also often the case that stories will resonate so sweetly for the reader. Beautifully crafted words that evoke images and feelings beyond the page. For this reader at least, two stores this year did this. ‘The Night of the Comet’ by Argentinian author Lilian Heker highlights the arrival of a comet which many gather to witness, whilst highlighting our own mortality in the immensity of the universe.
The comet is ‘..cold and beautiful since the awakening of the world, cold and beautiful when the last glimmer from our planet is extinguished’
As I was reading this at 7:48am a delicious moment of serendipity arrived when CBC News chimed that Comet Leonard was on its way!
A seemingly black comedic story of a families recollection of the struggles of a new life having escaped war torn Bosnia, actually had an almost visceral reaction of ache in reading.
‘The Bees, Part 1’ by Aleksander Hermon recalls the importance of bees and beekeeping to their family. (‘Like a member of the family, the bees have always come back’). Yet, time and again, whilst men killed in each other in war, it was the innocent bees who also suffered at their hands.
Once again this years SSAC has been the coming together of a varied collection rich in styles and genres. The decision to continue and also hand over the reins of editorship, certainly heralds a bright future of this established literary tradition. Not all stories will resonate for all, yet that continues to be this annual collection’s strength.
Once again, nicely played Highston and Olsen! 9/10
Read
January 1, 2022This was a really fun idea. I didn’t end up reading one story a day like you’re supposed to for an advent calendar but I enjoyed having a this collection of short stories, each one from a different country, to enjoy over the course of my December.
My favourites were:
The Moon Over the Mountain by Atsushi Nakajima
The Night of the Comet by Liliana Heker (my #1 fave)
The Bees, Part 1 by Aleksander Hemon
Tobermory by Saki
How Wang-Fo Was Saved by Marguerite Yourcenar
My only complaint was that the tape stickers that were used to keep each story shut often times ripped up the covers so there are quite a few that now have little rips where the stickers were, which kind of sucks.
Overall, I thought this was a really well curated selection of stories. I’m really glad I got this as a birthday gift and I really enjoyed the idea of a short story advent calendar. Also a plus is that it’s a small publisher in Edmonton that puts the calendars out each year, so it’s great to also be supporting a Canadian publisher!
My favourites were:
The Moon Over the Mountain by Atsushi Nakajima
The Night of the Comet by Liliana Heker (my #1 fave)
The Bees, Part 1 by Aleksander Hemon
Tobermory by Saki
How Wang-Fo Was Saved by Marguerite Yourcenar
My only complaint was that the tape stickers that were used to keep each story shut often times ripped up the covers so there are quite a few that now have little rips where the stickers were, which kind of sucks.
Overall, I thought this was a really well curated selection of stories. I’m really glad I got this as a birthday gift and I really enjoyed the idea of a short story advent calendar. Also a plus is that it’s a small publisher in Edmonton that puts the calendars out each year, so it’s great to also be supporting a Canadian publisher!
December 26, 2021
I love these Hingston & Olsen advent calendars, but 2021’s guest editor Alberto Manguel’s tastes and mine are obviously a little different. Past H&O box sets always had at least a handful of full-on, life-changing, 5-star stories, but I don’t think this collection had any. I admired Dubravka Ugresic’s LEND ME YOUR CHARACTER, Chris Womersley’s A LOVELY AND TERRIBLE THING, and Geoffrey Drayton’s MR. DOMBEY, THE ZOMBIE, but I don’t know that I truly liked most of the other stories. Saki’s TOBERMORY was probably the only five-star story of the entire box for me, and most of the other stories left me apathetic. It’s odd on one level, because so many of the stories dealt with fairy tales or religion, subjects that I usually find fascinating, but I think the healthy dose of magical realism on display in many of the stories is what ultimately killed this set for me. It’s just not a genre I appreciate, and your mileage may vary. Really hoping they do a 2022 box though, at this point it’s become a tradition for me.
December 22, 2021
Really enjoyed the concept and getting to read a different short story every day. I also liked that each story was from a different country, as it introduced me to a lot of authors I hadn't necessarily heard from before. On the whole a lovely way to dip into different writing styles, and I've got a few more authors to check out!
December 26, 2021
I loved the idea of short stories from around the world, but there were too many capital-C "Classics". Why make the entry from Greece be a tale by Homer? Tolstoy and Kafka are obviously amazing , but why not use the opportunity to showcase lesser-known short story authors? A for the concept, C for the execution.
December 26, 2021
An interesting collection of short stories from around the world. I enjoyed the focus on magical realism, fantasy and fairy stories. The Oscar Wilde story stood out. I also liked the stories set in ancient China. Bravo on editing and organizing the collection Alberto! I hope next year's collection features a few original commissioned stories.
December 25, 2021
Loved the 2019 set; 2020 sold out fast; did not enjoy 2021 selection.
December 25, 2022
This year (2022), I have finally finished reading the 2021 Advent Calendar! I started it last year and only got about a week in before I ended up giving it up, but this year I managed to keep up with it AND the 2022 Advent Calendar all month, and I’m pretty excited about it. I might actually keep reading a short story a day throughout all of 2023.
The 2021 Advent Calendar came at it from an interesting direction: Alberto Manguel chose a short story from 25 different countries for this, and I’m giving the anthology and extra half-star for that (bringing it up to 4 stars, instead of 3.5*, the 3.5* gathered from an average rating across all 25 stories). A lot of the stories tend to still be pretty heavily Christian, but given that it’s an Advent Calendar anthology, I’ll forgive that.
So, here we go!
”The Moon Over the Mountain” by Atsushi Nakajima This is the story of a man who was both proud and hy and held himself away from others until he forgot what it was to be human. It was delightfully poignant, and it stuck with me both from my first reading actually in 2021, and my reread this year. 4*
“Lend Me your Character” by Dubravka Ugresic This is the story of a woman who enters a loveless relationship with a fellow writer. It was funny-ish and somewhat confusing, bitter and sardonic. I struggled with it last year; rereading it this year brought more understanding, but I can’t say I liked it much more. 3*
“A Lovely and Terrible Thing” by Chris Womersley There was something very beautiful about the narrator setting the girl free, even as he got his ass kicked, but overall I feel like this story is fairly ableistic and that it was really a metaphor for this brave father ending his (or someone else’s) disabled daughter’s life. 2.5*
“The State of Grace” by Marcel Ayme This is a funny and scathing critique about the religious, and how often they hide and excuse their sins as piousness. Funny how the most powerful test God can bestow on someone is his blessing. 4*
“Ulysses and the Giant” by Homer I wonder sometimes how accurate a translation is capable of being if it maintains the rhyme scheme and the metre of the original; how much meaning is being sacrificed for form? But this was entertaining enough. After reading Circe, Ulysses’ arrogance shines like a beacon. 4*
“The Fire Balloons” by Ray Bradbury I liked this much better on a second readthrough, especially the message surrounding the folly of missionary work. 4.5*
“The Complete Gentleman” by Amos Tutuola While there’s something unique about the syntax and the writing style, I just didn’t like it or the simplistic structure to the story. 2*
“The Night of the Comet” by Liliana Hekcer The image of a whole city waiting for something together, but in vain, is lovely and lends a certain sense of togetherness to the story, but I don’t 100% know if the translator did it justice. 3*
“The Marine House” by Mia Couto Like water in the ocean, this story slips away from me. I read it twice, and now three days later my impressions are gone, even if the story remains. 3*
“The Bees, Part 1 by Aleksander Hemon I loved this story a lot. It seemed heartfelt and deeply personal; a mans relationship with his father. 4*
“Mr. Dombey the Zombie” by Geoffrey Drayton This was short and sweet. Very charming, somehow. 3.5*
“Josephine the Singer, or, The Mouse Folk” by Franz Kafka I don’t know if it’s Kafka’s translations that make his work the way it is, or if it’s Kafka himself, but his writing always seems so circular and redundant (this being the second Kafka piece I’ve read). I spent the whole story thinking Josphine must be something other than a mouse, but I don't’t think she was. I kept waiting for something to happen. 2.5*
“Tobermory” by Saki This was an exceptionally fun story, right up until the death of the cat. I loved the prose, and I loved Tobey’s complete lack of fucks to give; an exceptionally true-to-life depiction of a cat. 4*
“God Has Passed Through Here” by Susanna Harutyunyan This did not go the way I thought it would, and for that, I’m glad. I’m going to continue thinking that Noem was immortal, even if I’m not sure she was, because I love the idea of her just scamming the people who wanted to take advantage of her.
“Toba Tek Singh” by Saadat Hasan Manto I am definitely missing the historical context that makes this story work, but I could tell it would have hit hard if I had it. 3*
“The Dwarf in the Television Set by Moacyr Scliar I didn’t really get this story, except, perhaps, as a metaphor for hiding your homosexuality or keeping your relationship hidden. Either way, I didn’t care for it. 2*
“From the Fifteenth District” by Mavis Gallant I actually loved this reverse ghost story. Clever and satirical and well-written. 4.5*
“The Travelling Companion” by Hans Christian Anderson This is a fairytale, and a morality tale told in that way, and as such its simplistic and a bit misogynistic. But it has inspired in me a retelling, so… 3*
“A Member of the Family” by Muriel Spark Poor naive Trudy. This was clever and scathing, but I found I had very little sympathy for Trudy, even as Ricahrd pissed me off. 3.5*
“Ch’ieng-Niang” by Chen Xuanyou This was very short, but it didn’t need to be any longer. The three pages were more than enough to convey the story and the ideas therein. 4*
“The Three Hermits” by Leon Tolstoy A clever little criticism of the church and how men who say there’s only one way to worship maybe aren’t as pious as they think. 3;5*
“Truman Capote” by Hassouna Mosbahi This was a strange sort of fever dream, clever in that you're always aware he’s dreaming without him saying so, but I failed maybe to appreciate it as I should have. I don’t think I got it. 3*
“Reflux” by Jose Saramago I don’t know if the translation is at fault here or not, but this was difficult to read. I did like that in trying to hide death from view, the king only made it more visible, and the idea of life sprouting from and around death. 3*
“The Young King” by Oscar Wilde I love Wilde a lot, and I love this story of a young king that realizes the true cost of the beautiful things he loves and disavows them despite everyone saying there’s no point and that’s just how the world works. Wilde is in excellent form for this story. 5*
“How Wang-Fo Was Saved” by Marguerite Yourcenar I actually first read this story last year since I accidentally started the Calendar backwards, and I’ve been looking forward to reading it afresh again this year. It’s excellent. I love how the prose paints the story as deftly as any brush stroke, and the two spectrums of losing sight of reality: of seeing only the beauty, and seeing only the pain, and how, perhaps, having an escape from reality isn’t such a bad thing. 5*
The 2021 Advent Calendar came at it from an interesting direction: Alberto Manguel chose a short story from 25 different countries for this, and I’m giving the anthology and extra half-star for that (bringing it up to 4 stars, instead of 3.5*, the 3.5* gathered from an average rating across all 25 stories). A lot of the stories tend to still be pretty heavily Christian, but given that it’s an Advent Calendar anthology, I’ll forgive that.
So, here we go!
”The Moon Over the Mountain” by Atsushi Nakajima This is the story of a man who was both proud and hy and held himself away from others until he forgot what it was to be human. It was delightfully poignant, and it stuck with me both from my first reading actually in 2021, and my reread this year. 4*
“Lend Me your Character” by Dubravka Ugresic This is the story of a woman who enters a loveless relationship with a fellow writer. It was funny-ish and somewhat confusing, bitter and sardonic. I struggled with it last year; rereading it this year brought more understanding, but I can’t say I liked it much more. 3*
“A Lovely and Terrible Thing” by Chris Womersley There was something very beautiful about the narrator setting the girl free, even as he got his ass kicked, but overall I feel like this story is fairly ableistic and that it was really a metaphor for this brave father ending his (or someone else’s) disabled daughter’s life. 2.5*
“The State of Grace” by Marcel Ayme This is a funny and scathing critique about the religious, and how often they hide and excuse their sins as piousness. Funny how the most powerful test God can bestow on someone is his blessing. 4*
“Ulysses and the Giant” by Homer I wonder sometimes how accurate a translation is capable of being if it maintains the rhyme scheme and the metre of the original; how much meaning is being sacrificed for form? But this was entertaining enough. After reading Circe, Ulysses’ arrogance shines like a beacon. 4*
“The Fire Balloons” by Ray Bradbury I liked this much better on a second readthrough, especially the message surrounding the folly of missionary work. 4.5*
“The Complete Gentleman” by Amos Tutuola While there’s something unique about the syntax and the writing style, I just didn’t like it or the simplistic structure to the story. 2*
“The Night of the Comet” by Liliana Hekcer The image of a whole city waiting for something together, but in vain, is lovely and lends a certain sense of togetherness to the story, but I don’t 100% know if the translator did it justice. 3*
“The Marine House” by Mia Couto Like water in the ocean, this story slips away from me. I read it twice, and now three days later my impressions are gone, even if the story remains. 3*
“The Bees, Part 1 by Aleksander Hemon I loved this story a lot. It seemed heartfelt and deeply personal; a mans relationship with his father. 4*
“Mr. Dombey the Zombie” by Geoffrey Drayton This was short and sweet. Very charming, somehow. 3.5*
“Josephine the Singer, or, The Mouse Folk” by Franz Kafka I don’t know if it’s Kafka’s translations that make his work the way it is, or if it’s Kafka himself, but his writing always seems so circular and redundant (this being the second Kafka piece I’ve read). I spent the whole story thinking Josphine must be something other than a mouse, but I don't’t think she was. I kept waiting for something to happen. 2.5*
“Tobermory” by Saki This was an exceptionally fun story, right up until the death of the cat. I loved the prose, and I loved Tobey’s complete lack of fucks to give; an exceptionally true-to-life depiction of a cat. 4*
“God Has Passed Through Here” by Susanna Harutyunyan This did not go the way I thought it would, and for that, I’m glad. I’m going to continue thinking that Noem was immortal, even if I’m not sure she was, because I love the idea of her just scamming the people who wanted to take advantage of her.
“Toba Tek Singh” by Saadat Hasan Manto I am definitely missing the historical context that makes this story work, but I could tell it would have hit hard if I had it. 3*
“The Dwarf in the Television Set by Moacyr Scliar I didn’t really get this story, except, perhaps, as a metaphor for hiding your homosexuality or keeping your relationship hidden. Either way, I didn’t care for it. 2*
“From the Fifteenth District” by Mavis Gallant I actually loved this reverse ghost story. Clever and satirical and well-written. 4.5*
“The Travelling Companion” by Hans Christian Anderson This is a fairytale, and a morality tale told in that way, and as such its simplistic and a bit misogynistic. But it has inspired in me a retelling, so… 3*
“A Member of the Family” by Muriel Spark Poor naive Trudy. This was clever and scathing, but I found I had very little sympathy for Trudy, even as Ricahrd pissed me off. 3.5*
“Ch’ieng-Niang” by Chen Xuanyou This was very short, but it didn’t need to be any longer. The three pages were more than enough to convey the story and the ideas therein. 4*
“The Three Hermits” by Leon Tolstoy A clever little criticism of the church and how men who say there’s only one way to worship maybe aren’t as pious as they think. 3;5*
“Truman Capote” by Hassouna Mosbahi This was a strange sort of fever dream, clever in that you're always aware he’s dreaming without him saying so, but I failed maybe to appreciate it as I should have. I don’t think I got it. 3*
“Reflux” by Jose Saramago I don’t know if the translation is at fault here or not, but this was difficult to read. I did like that in trying to hide death from view, the king only made it more visible, and the idea of life sprouting from and around death. 3*
“The Young King” by Oscar Wilde I love Wilde a lot, and I love this story of a young king that realizes the true cost of the beautiful things he loves and disavows them despite everyone saying there’s no point and that’s just how the world works. Wilde is in excellent form for this story. 5*
“How Wang-Fo Was Saved” by Marguerite Yourcenar I actually first read this story last year since I accidentally started the Calendar backwards, and I’ve been looking forward to reading it afresh again this year. It’s excellent. I love how the prose paints the story as deftly as any brush stroke, and the two spectrums of losing sight of reality: of seeing only the beauty, and seeing only the pain, and how, perhaps, having an escape from reality isn’t such a bad thing. 5*
June 10, 2022
I’ve read the Short Story Advent Calendar since 2017, so I was thrilled when it came back for 2021. This time with an exciting twist - a new editor to bring stories from different countries every day. However, my expectations were too high because this was a disappointment.
Some choices were simply uninspired, like Tolstoy for Russia, Homer for Greece, and H.C. Andersen for Denmark. Why not take the opportunity to highlight lesser-known authors? The stories were old, 20/25 were over 20 years old, and many were moralizing and preachy.
It was also odd to have Myanmar be represented by the British author Saki (born there to British parents and moved back to Britain when he was 2), telling a story about British society. Likewise, an odd choice to have two retellings of Chinese stories by Japanese and Belgian authors.Out of the 25 stories, only 5 had female writers. There’s just no excuse for that.
On the positive side, some stories were beautiful, and I found some new authors to explore, like Dubravka Ugrešić from Croatia.
“Fearing that I might not be a jewel, I made not effort to polish myself; but half-believing that I might be a jewel, I could not rest content among the common clay.”
- Atsushi Nakajima, "The Moon Over the Mountain" (Japan)
“For the thousandth time since her accident I was flooded with sudden, acute disappointment at how I had so quickly reached the limits of my love.”
- Chris Womersley, "A Lovely and Terrible Thing" (Australia)
January 10, 2022
This is the second year of the SSAC that I have received as a gift from my father, but only the first that I have actually committed to reading. I must say, although I was at a different point in my life when I got the 2020 edition (with my own set of excuses), I regret not giving it a try. I thoroughly enjoyed almost all 25 stories. There were only a few that I skipped because they seemed drawn out, boring, or I didn't connect with them for some other reason. As for the stories I did read, each one felt thoughtfully included, worth reading, and of an appropriate length. I loved the variety of backgrounds that were curated for this collection. Anyone who likes multicultural storytelling will enjoy this collection. There is also a wide variety of both well-known authors (Hans Christian Anderson and Oscar Wilde) as well as excellent authors that many have not heard about (Hassouna Mosbahi and Moacyr Scliar.) There were many times I finished a story and immediately searched for author only to find out that internet information on them is extremely limited. While my quest for understanding may have been thwarted, I took this as a sign that what I was reading was diverse in nature and provided a variety of perspectives to learn from. I can't wait for the 2022 SSAC!
December 30, 2021
This was a gift for December, and it was really a delight. There are 25 short stories here, all from authors from different countries, from different time periods. A few names you'd recognize, but most you wouldn't. I loved reading from other cultures and having that exposure. However, read daily in a row I think most of the stories could be summarized as "humans try to do something, but their humanity gets in the way of them doing it." A fun advent treat, and I'll probably look for it again next year.
December 26, 2021
Some absolutely amazing stories in here from a host of new-to-me authors, some fresh and intriguing stories from familiar authors, and a few absolutely inscrutable selections, both in terms of content and rationale for selecting the story for the calendar. It was a great experience to expand my internal library of world authors, and I hope the publishers either continue to do this in 2022 or republish prior years’ calendars.
December 29, 2021
Very enjoyable activity if you like reading a little each night. Note that although it's an 'advent calendar' it is not holiday related. Some of the stories were very good, others not so much, but I certainly was exposed to authors I've never heard of and stories I would not have encountered. Worth the purchase and will buy it again next year.
My partner and I particularly enjoyed each reading the stories and getting to discuss them every night.
My partner and I particularly enjoyed each reading the stories and getting to discuss them every night.
December 28, 2021
Like all short story collections, this one has some great reads and some real turkeys. Not a tonne of contemporary stories (which I think upped the percentage of content that, shall we say, didn't age well), but it was an engaging survey of stories from around the world.
I also did this as a virtual book club with some friends, which was awesome: 10/10 recommend that idea.
I also did this as a virtual book club with some friends, which was awesome: 10/10 recommend that idea.
December 26, 2021
What an absolutely wonderful premise, an advent calendar that contains one short story a day for 25 days. This year’s edition contained stories from around the world and it surely did not disappoint. I cannot wait for next year’s edition of the short story advent calendar, a book reader’s delight!
January 7, 2022
I bought this for a friend and myself. We really enjoyed reading each story and discussing them. Great range of authors, styles, lengths, topics, etc -- I was pleasantly surprised. I particularly enjoyed reading short stories from famous authors I've never gotten around to reading.
January 1, 2022
Favourite story from this collection: Day 3 Chris Womersely’s “A Lovely and Terrible Thing” (Australia).
January 4, 2022
My favorite one yet.
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