A Pair of Shorts

I've mentioned before that I picked up about a dozen short story anthologies at the local Historical Society book sales this past summer. The one I'm working through right now is full of the most amazing shorts I've ever read by a group of authors who are nothing short of a Who's Who's list in the mystery field.

The book is "The Crime Lover's Casebook" edited by Jerome Charyn and first published in 1993. The paperback copy I have was published in 1996. There's a nice mix of old and new writers, among them, Lawrence Block, Patricia Highsmith, Raymond Carver and Walter Mosley. The great thing about collections like this is being able to sample writers you have never read and finding some real jewels. This is the book where I found Harlan Ellison's "Soft Monkey" that I've mentioned before.

The latest two finds were "Cain" by Andrew Vachss and "Imagine This" by George C. Chesbro.

I'd seen Vachss' name mentioned on the Rara Avis list and if I remember correctly, there's an interview with him at PulpPusher. But his story "Cain" is one of the most perfect short stories I've ever read. It's short and to the point and nothing is what it seems to be, from the narrator to the most satisfying ending. And I can't tell you anything without giving it away. If you run across this story, take a few minutes and read it, its worth your time.

Chesbro's story is probably the most clever take on a writer telling a story I've ever read. The writer of a short story is trying to explain to an FBI agent about the writer in his story. The story revolves around fact and fiction and which is which in the story. Sounds complicated but as you read, you start chuckling because the narrator is thinking writing thoughts and trying to figure how to work what he's seeing into his writing. But it's the ending that leaves you wondering if just maybe, everything isn't what it seems. This is an amusing little gem that I recommend to the writer in all of you.