The Short Stories of Conrad Aiken

by Conrad Aiken

This indispensable volume, which includes the classic stories “Silent Snow, Secret Snow” and “Mr. Arcularis,” is a testament to the dazzling artistry of one of the twentieth century’s most influential writers A young woman passes through the countryside to visit her dying grandmother for a final time. A cabbie, exhausted from a long day’s work, fights to get an intoxicated woman out of his taxi. A man on his way to a bachelor party tries to come to grips with the brutishness that lies within every gentleman—and finds that Bacardi cocktails do nothing to help. A master craftsman whose poetry and prose offer profound insight into the riddle of consciousness, Conrad Aiken thrills, disturbs, and inspires in all forty-one of these astute and eloquent tales.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Known American writer Conrad Potter Aiken won a Pulitzer Prize of 1930 for Selected Poems .

Most of work of this short story critic and novelist reflects his intense interest in psychoanalysis and the development of identity. As editor of Selected Poems of Emily Elizabeth Dickinson in 1924, he largely responsibly established her posthumous literary reputation. From the 1920s, Aiken divided his life between England and the United States and played a significant role in introducing American poets to the British audience.

He fathered gifted writers Joan Aiken and Jane Aiken Hodge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_...

Reviews

[Cathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is actually just a review of the short story, "Impulse," rather than all of Aiken's stories. "Impulse" is one that I read many years ago and kind of forgot about until re-reading it this week. Oh, my! Talk about bleak! But it's a wonderful story if you want to think about integrity and the power of decision-making, whether good or bad. Very thought-provoking. Aiken does a whole lot in just twelve pages, and that makes a good short story.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Conrad Aiken (1889-1973) was an accomplished poet and novelist, but his short stories also make for fascinating reading. This collection covers most of his career and includes some of his more famous works. The standout here is "Mr. Arcularis," a masterpiece of foreshadowing and perhaps one of the most frequently anthologized stories in all of American literature. Equally transfixing is "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," a creepy psychological suspense story in which a boy's imaginary world consumes the rest of his life. The remaining stories hit and miss and sometimes the narrative mannerisms seem dated, but Aiken was a master of characterization, and his comedies of manners hit the mark more often than not. Pieces such as "Thistledown," a tragic tale of dissipation, and "Bow Down, Isaac!" which recalls Shirley Jackson at her most enigmatic and menacing, have stood up well over time. But the entire collection is well worth the effort of seeking it out.

[Jon]

Little read today (except maybe "Silent Snow, Secret Snow", which I was assigned to read in school) Conrad Aiken's stories are subtle, oblique, in the Henry James rather than Hemingway tradition. His timid, alienated male characters in stories such as "A Man Alone at Lunch" reminded me of Thurber pieces such as "One Is A Wanderer" and "The Evening's At Seven", though he lacks Thurber's tendency to revel in misogynistic, violent fantasies. My favorite Aiken story "No, No, Go Not to Lethe", deals with a young woman and an older man who may or may not be in love with each other and may or may not be capable of feeling love for anyone, even themselves, and who are separated at story's end with these issues left unresolved. As I say...subtle.