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“A Visit” (“The Lovely House”) by Shirley Jackson Analysis
This Shirley Jackson short story goes by two titles. Penguin decided to call it “A Visit” for their 2013 Dark Tales anthology, reverting back to the 1952 title. But for about half a century various publishers decided to call it “The Lovely House”. Yes, this is a haunted house story. But — surprise! — this beautiful old mansion isn’t exactly…
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Labor Day Dinner by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
Well, it’s Labor Day here in Australia, that time of year when smartphones decide we must rise and shine a full hour earlier due to that sacrilegious custom called “Daylight Savings”. Why not enjoy an Alice Munro short story with that extra hour of daylight I now enjoy at the other end of the day?
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How to Read an Animal Encyclopedia Together
If your animal loving kid wants to read an animal encyclopedia together, how to approach it? Here are some fun and light-hearted questions.
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Grandparents in Art and Children’s Literature
Grandparents and children appear frequently together in children’s literature. How has the granny archetype changed over the years, and what does science say about the role grandparents play in the lives of children?
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Types of Rhetorical Questions
Rhetorical questions: Grammatical questions which are not meant to be answered. Not all rhetorical questions have the same function.
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An Ideal Family by Katherine Mansfield Short Story Analysis
“An Ideal Family” is a 1921 short story by modernist writer Katherine Mansfield. This is a young Mansfield writing about the tiredness of ageing as an elderly man who feels disconnected from his family.
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Cognitive Bias and Time Perception
We think older things are better than newer things. Old history is more interesting than recent history. If we’re already spent lots of time on it, we should spend more. If something took longer to produce, it’s worth more than something done quickly. If something endures, we should take it more seriously than something fleeting.
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Winter Wind by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
“Winter Wind” is a coming-of-age short story by Canadian author Alice Munro. Find it in Something I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You (1974).
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What is humanism in simple terms?
If you’re wondering about the definition of ‘humanism’, you’re not alone. The word has many meanings.
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The Hitch-hiker by Roald Dahl Short Story Analysis
“The Hitch-hiker” is the second short story in Roald Dahl’s 1977 collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More. This story was originally published in the July 1977 issue of the Atlantic Monthly. Find it also in Dahl’s Eight Further Tales of the Unexpected, a section of The Collected Short Stories of Roald […]
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Where to start reading Alice Munro
If you’d like to read Alice Munro but are not sure where to start, I have some recommendations.
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Six Years After by Katherine Mansfield
“Six Years After” is a short story by Katherine Mansfield, first published in 1923 after the author’s death. Find it in The Doves’ Nest and Other Stories, alongside other works considered incomplete.
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How To Write Like Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson did not only write disturbing supernatural stories. Her most famous short story is “The Lottery”.
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The Found Boat by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
Short story “The Found Boat” by Alice Munro can be found in Munro’s 1974 collection Something I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You.
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Emotional Incest and Parentification
Sometimes fiction explores a character dynamic which psychologists now have a word for: Covert incest. You sometimes also hear the phrases ’emotional incest’, ’emotional enmeshment’ and ’emotional parentification’. Sometimes you will have to be more mature than your own parent. It will feel odd and unfair, like everything is off its place. It is not […]