Believe it or not, Stephen King. A lot of them are less “Horror” and more “Americana”. Despite what the heft of his tomes might have you believe, he actually *does* understand the meaning of brevity.
If you’re into a bit of philosophical sci-fi, the works of Ted Chiang are exemplary. He has two collections I know of, *Stories of Your Life* and *Exhalation*, both breathtakingly beautiful.
MigEPie on
Raymond Carver, James Joyce, Claire Keegan, TC Boyle, William Gay, Ottessa Moshfegh, Leo Tolstoy
veggiegrrl on
Joyce Carol Oates, Flannery O’Connor
The_Pinned_Poet on
Not one author but I’ve got to recommend Jay Rubin’s ‘The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories’. It’s overflowing with gems and there’s a good variety, well-ordered.
scandalliances on
Ray Bradbury is a classic.
emily9065 on
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana–all stories set following characters who live in the same Harlem high rise.
RevolutionaryBug2915 on
John O’Hara. Many different collections, now including the Library of America.
EmmieEmmieJee on
George Saunders, Raymond Carver, Joy Williams, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ted Chiang
whitesar on
Shirley Jackson
Sorta horror. Psychological. Classic.
freerangelibrarian on
Ursula LeGuin.
Rudyard Kipling.
failedtheologian on
Flannery o’Connor
Fresh_water_Goblin on
Tobias Wolff
TheChocolateMelted on
If Murakami worked for you, I’ll definitely recommend Peter Carey. There are generally two collections – *The Fat Man in History* and *War Crimes*, which were eventually merged in *Collected Stories*. Like Murakami, you have a mix of weird mordernism and post-modernism. Brilliant stuff.
randomberlinchick on
William Trevor, Antov Chekhov, Ted Chiang, and Ernest Hemingway
Designer-Service-397 on
Claire Keegan
PegShop on
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe. Both have a darkness to them and have a thought-provoking moral.
clutch_me on
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle… “come, Watson, the game’s afoot! “
Pure-Stupid on
George Saunders and Lori Moore. You will LOVE both
Quiet_Statement01 on
{{a backpack filled with sunsets by ifeanyi Ogbo}}
EpicTituSen on
Flannery O’Connor and Raymond Carver have both been mentioned. I second them.
22 Comments
Kevin Wilson
Annie Proulx
Rick Bass
Believe it or not, Stephen King. A lot of them are less “Horror” and more “Americana”. Despite what the heft of his tomes might have you believe, he actually *does* understand the meaning of brevity.
If you’re into a bit of philosophical sci-fi, the works of Ted Chiang are exemplary. He has two collections I know of, *Stories of Your Life* and *Exhalation*, both breathtakingly beautiful.
Raymond Carver, James Joyce, Claire Keegan, TC Boyle, William Gay, Ottessa Moshfegh, Leo Tolstoy
Joyce Carol Oates, Flannery O’Connor
Not one author but I’ve got to recommend Jay Rubin’s ‘The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories’. It’s overflowing with gems and there’s a good variety, well-ordered.
Ray Bradbury is a classic.
Stories from the Tenants Downstairs by Sidik Fofana–all stories set following characters who live in the same Harlem high rise.
John O’Hara. Many different collections, now including the Library of America.
George Saunders, Raymond Carver, Joy Williams, Jhumpa Lahiri, Ted Chiang
Shirley Jackson
Sorta horror. Psychological. Classic.
Ursula LeGuin.
Rudyard Kipling.
Flannery o’Connor
Tobias Wolff
If Murakami worked for you, I’ll definitely recommend Peter Carey. There are generally two collections – *The Fat Man in History* and *War Crimes*, which were eventually merged in *Collected Stories*. Like Murakami, you have a mix of weird mordernism and post-modernism. Brilliant stuff.
William Trevor, Antov Chekhov, Ted Chiang, and Ernest Hemingway
Claire Keegan
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allen Poe. Both have a darkness to them and have a thought-provoking moral.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle… “come, Watson, the game’s afoot! “
George Saunders and Lori Moore. You will LOVE both
{{a backpack filled with sunsets by ifeanyi Ogbo}}
Flannery O’Connor and Raymond Carver have both been mentioned. I second them.