FICTION

FLASH FICTION: 75 Very Short Stories, edited by James Thomas, Denise Thomas and Tom Hazuka (W. W. Norton: $19.95 cloth; $9.95 paper; 176 pp.) The oddest thing about this collection of extremely short stories, which brings together works no longer than 750 words, is their conventionality. With so little space to develop characters, plots and engaging themes, you’d think writers would be compelled to re-conceive stories to fit, or take advantage of, the form. That’s not generally the case, however; Gregory Burnham’s “Subtotals” stands out because his telescoping of the narrator’s life into a literal summing-up (“number of embarrassing moments: 2,258; number of states visited: 38,” etc.) both exploits and comments on the modern propensity for instant quantification. Quite a few writers manage, nonetheless, to turn brevity to good use, even when adhering to a standard narrative trajectory. In this collection they do tend to be “name” authors; among the more effective stories are those by Francine Prose, Allan Gurganus, Jamaica Kincaid, Margaret Atwood, Tim O’Brien and Mary Morris. But there are some pleasant surprises here, too--Carol Edelstein’s “232-9979,” Jo Sapp’s “Nadine at 35--A Synopsis” and Marlene Buono’s “Offerings”--each dealing with a woman’s attempt to make a meaningful life for herself. This last story is especially memorable, simultaneously heartfelt and mythic in describing how Emily, a widow, transforms the innumerable hollow apologies she has been given over the years into origami butterflies, birds and pterodactyls.