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Microfictions
Cinderella’s sisters surgically modify their feet to win the prince’s love. A werewolf gathers up enough courage to visit a dentist. A medium trying to reach the afterworld gets a recorded message. A fox and a badger compete to out-fool each other. Whether writing of insomnia from a mosquito’s point of view or showing us what happens after the princess kisses the frog, Ana María Shua, in these fleet and incandescent stories, is nothing if not pithy—except, of course, wildly entertaining. Some as short as a sentence, these microfictions have been selected and translated from four different books. Flashes of insight, cracks of wit, twists of logic, and quirks of these are fictions in the distinguished Argentinean tradition of Borges and Cortázar and Denevi, as powerful as they are brief.
One of Argentina’s most prolific and distinguished writers, and acclaimed worldwide, Shua displays in these microfictions the epitome of her humor, riddling logic, and mastery over our imagination. Now, for the first time in English, the fox transforms itself into a fable, and “the reader is invited to find the tail.”
One of Argentina’s most prolific and distinguished writers, and acclaimed worldwide, Shua displays in these microfictions the epitome of her humor, riddling logic, and mastery over our imagination. Now, for the first time in English, the fox transforms itself into a fable, and “the reader is invited to find the tail.”
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
196 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
178 people want to read
About the author
Ana María Shua
248 books108 followersAna María Shua has earned a prominent place in contemporary Argentine fiction with the publication of many books in nearly every genre: novels, short stories, short short stories, poetry, children's fiction, books of humor and Jewish folklore, anthologies, film scripts, journalistic articles, and essays.
Her award-winning works have been translated to many languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Islandic, Bulgarian, and Serbian, and her stories appear in anthologies throughout the world. Born in Buenos Aires in 1951, Shua began her literary career at the young age of sixteen with the publication of El sol y yo (The Sun and I), a volume of poetry which received two literary prizes in 1967.
She went on to study at the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires and worked as an advertising copywriter and journalist during the early stages of her career. Since then, she has received numerous national and international awards, and a Guggenheim Fellowship for her novel El libro de los recuerdos(The Book of Memories, 1994).
Her other novels include Soy Paciente (Patient, 1980), Los amores de Laurita (Laurita's Loves,1984), which was made into a movie, La muerte como efecto secundario (Death as a Side Effect, 1997). and El peso de la tentación (The Weight of Temptation, 2007).
Her first four microfiction books have been published in Madrid in one volume: Cazadores de Letras, (Letter’s Hunters, 2009). Her complete short stories have been published as Que tengas una vida interesante (Buenos Aires, 2009). Her last microfiction book is Fenómenos de circo in 2011.
She published Contra el tiempo, short-stories, in 2013
Her award-winning works have been translated to many languages, including English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Islandic, Bulgarian, and Serbian, and her stories appear in anthologies throughout the world. Born in Buenos Aires in 1951, Shua began her literary career at the young age of sixteen with the publication of El sol y yo (The Sun and I), a volume of poetry which received two literary prizes in 1967.
She went on to study at the Universidad Nacional de Buenos Aires and worked as an advertising copywriter and journalist during the early stages of her career. Since then, she has received numerous national and international awards, and a Guggenheim Fellowship for her novel El libro de los recuerdos(The Book of Memories, 1994).
Her other novels include Soy Paciente (Patient, 1980), Los amores de Laurita (Laurita's Loves,1984), which was made into a movie, La muerte como efecto secundario (Death as a Side Effect, 1997). and El peso de la tentación (The Weight of Temptation, 2007).
Her first four microfiction books have been published in Madrid in one volume: Cazadores de Letras, (Letter’s Hunters, 2009). Her complete short stories have been published as Que tengas una vida interesante (Buenos Aires, 2009). Her last microfiction book is Fenómenos de circo in 2011.
She published Contra el tiempo, short-stories, in 2013
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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January 2, 2023
Back in my younger years I wrote microfictions. Below is a link where Microfiction Monday Magazine just today published one of those previously unpublished microfictions of mine - Jack-in-the-Box. Enjoy! Happy New Year to all my Goodreads friends.
https://microfictionmondaymagazine.com/
February 4, 2019
Microfictions was a delight! Shua elicited chuckles, some gasps, and some 'ooh, clever' moments. She has written 50+ books, and is best known for these flash fictions, a genre that seems to get more "notice" in Latin American literature than in Anglophone (based on an interview Shua gave). Many themes of the stories are eerie, fantastical, and weird. Some of these flashes could also be called prose poetry... Whatever they are categorized as, I loved it. It'd be great to see more of her work in translation.
August 3, 2009
These short short stories, little excerpts are mainly forays into the absurd with the occasional glimpse at the profound. Breezing through the nonesense you might cross paths with a passage like this which tie fables to common sense:
"Two scoundrels sell a treasure map to a fool. The fool digs in the marked spot and finds nothing. The scoundrels bet the money at a casino and win a forture.
The fool's wife leaves him and runs off with one of the soundrels or perhaps both. The fool sits down by the door of his shack to lament the breaking down of traditional codes."
---
"In hell repression is firm but necessary: the constant rebellion of its inhabitants is barely controlled. The terrible, crushing resignation of paradise, however, more closely resembles death."
"Two scoundrels sell a treasure map to a fool. The fool digs in the marked spot and finds nothing. The scoundrels bet the money at a casino and win a forture.
The fool's wife leaves him and runs off with one of the soundrels or perhaps both. The fool sits down by the door of his shack to lament the breaking down of traditional codes."
---
"In hell repression is firm but necessary: the constant rebellion of its inhabitants is barely controlled. The terrible, crushing resignation of paradise, however, more closely resembles death."
November 18, 2014
Wonderful bite-sized stories about the bizarre, imaginative, and surreal. Deftly translated. Thought-provoking, humorous, and entertaining.
March 1, 2016
Strange, surreal, bite-sized fictions that surprise and delight the reader.
August 23, 2019
After being thrown off by a printing error, being out of town, etc, I finally got my library's other copy of this book and was able to finish it. Section 5 Literature was completely missing from the first copy, and I enjoyed that section quite a lot.
I tagged this poetry, but really it is flash fiction. Many are very flash to the point of almost being poetry. A story in 4 lines type thing--others are over a page. This is a very quick read and hard to rate, as the topics are all over the place and the stories tend to follow a pattern of an odd twist at the end.
These would actually be great for a creative writing class to read and discuss one a week or one a day, as these are certainly a different way to tell a story. So much can be said in 4 lines, if cultural knowledge is assumed and used to let the reader interpret the rest.
I tagged this poetry, but really it is flash fiction. Many are very flash to the point of almost being poetry. A story in 4 lines type thing--others are over a page. This is a very quick read and hard to rate, as the topics are all over the place and the stories tend to follow a pattern of an odd twist at the end.
These would actually be great for a creative writing class to read and discuss one a week or one a day, as these are certainly a different way to tell a story. So much can be said in 4 lines, if cultural knowledge is assumed and used to let the reader interpret the rest.
April 15, 2020
I've had this one in my collection for quite some time (before my Goodreads days) and stumbled upon it today while sharing an excerpt for National Poetry Month. Split up into seven sections (Monsters, Dreams, Magic, Health, Literature, Men and Women, Faith), this book is a bedside gem. Something to read to your lover, to your garden, to the wind.
Squids: https://twitter.com/neonpajamas/statu...
Squids: https://twitter.com/neonpajamas/statu...
July 2, 2017
An incredible collection of work. almost all of the shorts need several readings. they are small, but they are mighty.
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January 20, 2022Fiction S5624m 2009
December 26, 2024
A fasinating cascade of stories, ideas and varied prose.
November 7, 2019
Está mas o menos, pero interesante a la vez.
September 7, 2009
I am really enjoying this book of short stories -- very very short stories, some only a single sentence long. Here's an example:
"In the summer night, calm and warm, all that can be heard is my sleeping daughter's breathing and the soft purring of a refrigerator in heat calling for its mate."
These stories have made me appreciate how actively our minds work to fill in the gaps around each new bit of information we get. First the summer night, then the daughter, then the fridge, and then the surreal punch line, leaving our minds to fill in the rest of the story. Sometimes what's absent is more interesting than what's present.
"In the summer night, calm and warm, all that can be heard is my sleeping daughter's breathing and the soft purring of a refrigerator in heat calling for its mate."
These stories have made me appreciate how actively our minds work to fill in the gaps around each new bit of information we get. First the summer night, then the daughter, then the fridge, and then the surreal punch line, leaving our minds to fill in the rest of the story. Sometimes what's absent is more interesting than what's present.
November 29, 2013
By turns amusing and surreal, these snippets read more like blank verse poems than actual flash fiction stories. Some are more subtle than others, but as a collection, they fall prey to the author's insistence that every absurd statement be turned into a punchline.
It could have been worse, it could have been better. As things stand, substance is lacking.
It could have been worse, it could have been better. As things stand, substance is lacking.
February 10, 2020
You connect intimately with some poems and suspect you will cherish them forever—I think I will always see fried eggs as eyes now! But others don’t land so solidly, and you find yourself in the company of someone who finds herself hilarious while you fail to understand many of her jokes. It comes down to personal preference like anything else.
July 22, 2020
First reading: June 11, 2012
Second reading: July 22, 2020 Some of these little fictions are so poignant and imaginative. They tell just enough story to get you hooked and then you think about them all day. Great creative writing!
Second reading: July 22, 2020 Some of these little fictions are so poignant and imaginative. They tell just enough story to get you hooked and then you think about them all day. Great creative writing!
September 9, 2009
I love love loved this book.
The little flashes of story were just great.
I would read more of her work.
The little flashes of story were just great.
I would read more of her work.
January 17, 2011
Clever, funny, etc. Sometimes hints of substance. But when I finished I had to say, "So what?"
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews