Each month we offer you a chance to read mindfully, using literature to consider your reactions to and assumptions about the world in which we live and work. Through these short texts and accompanying questions, we hope to give you a small taste of Books@Work. Grab a friend, family member or colleague to read, share and discuss together.
An English-speaking native of predominantly French-speaking Limbe, Cameroon, acclaimed author Imbolo Mbue arrived in the United States at age 17. Her first novel Behold the Dreamers was published in 2016 and tells the story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York City just as the Great Recession hits. Earning wide critical praise, the novel won the PEN/Faulkner Award and was selected for Oprah Winfrey’s book club. O, the Oprah Magazine wrote that the book “challenges us all to consider what it takes to make us genuinely content, and how long is too long to live with our dreams deferred.” As you read Mbue’s short story “A Reversal,” consider how we determine where we belong.
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Widely known for her short fiction, award-winning author Grace Paley was also an essayist, novelist, poet and activist. Born in the Bronx to Jewish immigrant parents in 1922, her prose is heavily influenced by “the language of her childhood, a heady blend of Yiddish, Russian and English.”
In 1978, Paley told The New York Times that she considered her work “a history of everyday life.”Paley’s short story “The Loudest Voice” was published in 1959 and follows Shirley Abramowitz, a young Jewish girl who is asked to be the narrator in her school’s Christmas pageant. As you read the story, think about how we decide who “owns” a certain tradition or ritual.
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O. Henry is one of the most beloved short story writers in American history. His stories are known for their wit and playfulness, often featuring misunderstandings and surprise endings. Born in North Carolina in 1862, O. Henry later moved to New York, using Manhattan and its societal divisions as fodder for his fiction. Henry is the namesake for the prestigious O. Henry Prize, awarded annually to the most outstanding published short story of the year.
As you read O. Henry’s “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen,” consider why traditions and rituals like Thanksgiving are so important to us.
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T. Coraghessan Boyle’s prolific literary career spans over three decades and twenty-six books of fiction. His work has earned numerous accolades including multiple O. Henry Awards for his short stories and a PEN/Faulkner Award for his novel World’s End. His prose, writes The Paris Review, is “lush, manic, overblown, satiric, highly imaginative and, on occasion, shamelessly melodramatic.” His short story “Are We Not Men?” was published in the November 2016 issue of The New Yorker. As you read the story, consider your own notions of parenthood. Why do we care so deeply about our children’s success?
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Born in the Dominican Republic in 1968, Junot Díaz spent his childhood in Parlin, New Jersey and read voraciously, building up an appetite for apocalyptic films and books. As you read his autobiographical essay “The Terror,” consider your own fears and how they’ve changed over time.
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James Joyce is one of the most celebrated and influential writers of the 20th century. Born in 1882 in Dublin, his novels are known for their stream-of-consciousness prose and experimental style. His early short story volume Dubliners is a more straightforward read. Published in 1914, the powerful collection depicts Irish middle class life through the eyes of Dublin’s residents, including young Eveline Hill. His short story “Eveline” is a musing on home and family. How does our definition of home evolve throughout our lives?
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Franz Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist” was originally written in German and published in 1922. Kafka’s work attracted scant public attention during his lifetime, but “A Hunger Artist” became the title story for a collection of short stories published in 1924 just before his death. We have used this story in several Books@Work programs. As you read “A Hunger Artist,” consider what the story reveals about hard work, skill and exploring new avenues in life.
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Jean de La Fontaine published “The Oak and the Reed” in the first of his twelve books of fables. Published in 1688, the fable is adapted from Aesop’s Fables and is written in poetic meter and rhyme in French. La Fontaine’s adaptation is not unique: the tale has been retold in Greek, Latin, Italian and English and has even been interpreted in statue and song. Why do you think this story is so inspiring, across cultures and generations?
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The prolific French author, Guy de Maupassant, is primarily remembered for his mastery of the short story, although he wrote novels and travel memoirs as well. Maupassant published his first short story, “Boule de Suif,” in 1880 at the age of thirty.
A realist author, Maupassant’s short stories tell the tales of common people permanently altered by larger forces at work in the world. “The Piece of String”is no exception. The story was published in 1884, within Maupassant’s larger collection, “Miss Harriet.” “The Piece of String” follows the experience of Maitre Hauchecorne, a peasant and farmer, as he is accused of theft. Join us as we use “The Piece of String” to reflect misunderstanding and misinterpretation.
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