The sprite bemoans the fact that his beloved forest has disappeared and that wherever he traveled, after escaping the ravaging of his home, he found nothing but death and destruction. The Wood-Sprite is very short at a mere three pages in length, but packs a tremendous impact.Ī man imagines (or, does he?) that a wood sprite he played with as a child in Russia has come to visit him as he sits at a desk. They're 'self-contained', 'immediately accessible', and 'offer the reader immediate gratification'.

I love Nabokov and, the preface of this set of short stories, by Dmitri Nabokov, does excellent job of pinpointing the reason his short stories are so satisfying. The Wood-Sprite - from The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov. However, I'm guessing that I've heard mention of the story a few too many times and the build-up simply resulted in a severely diluted thrill. It was definitely suspenseful, but I actually made a decent guess as to what was going to occur, without predicting the specifics. Maybe the timing was bad, again, but I didn't care for this story at all. I read three of the other stories in the book, late last year, and was so disappointed that I returned the book to the shelf. My friend John mentioned The Lottery as a favorite short story in his column at Criminal Brief. The Lottery - title story from The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson.

I didn't look as attractive as the cat, but the photo seemed to fit. I did, however, manage to read a few short stories before I caved and fell supine on the futon in fits of agony. Unfortunately, my head wasn't on the verge of exploding, rendering me completely unable to sign up for anything. Quickie post! I was hoping to sign up as a participant in the Sunday Salon, in the event that I managed to read something other than the Bible study lessons I routinely save and cram into Sunday afternoons.

Virtual Unrealities by Alfred Bester