Short and Sweet

As a journalist, one of my main goals when writing an article is to write economically. Instead of using four words to describe something, I try and use one. However, in literature, the rules of the game are a little different. It takes pages of description and explanation to develop characters, climax to the conflict, weave in irony and resolve issues.

But some writers are able to take the formula of a long-winded novel and re-package it into a smaller literary offering known as a short story.

One of my new favourite authors, M.G. Vassanji has a great book of short stories called When She Was Queen. The Giller-Prize Winning author tells stories of East Africans living in pre-revolutionary Tanzania and their connection to the familiar streets of East York.

The title story in Vassanji's book is about a young East African man living in Toronto who tries to figure out what happened to his mother the night his father, Rashid, lost her to his friend during a reckless night of gambling.

Shauna Singh Baldwin's We Are Not in Pakistan also includes ten stories of characters from various walks of life, living a paradox. From a sixteen-year-old girl, Kathleen who has a Pakistani grandmother, to a Punjabi doctor who receives an unexpected e-mail from a girl claiming to be his daughter, the stories are about people who are or feel "displaced."

I've always preferred reading a novel over a book of short stories. Short stories have always reminded me of Grade 11 English class and the hours spent analyzing symbolism and metaphors.

But after reading these books, I look at short stories in a different light. They have the same depth and meaning as a long novel, but take less time to read. It's something any good writer - or reader for that matter- can appreciate.

Until next time... WORD!