A Political and Literary Forum

Donate Shop Join

Short story

Arts in Society

Dog Tiger Horse

“I could have been a clever girl. When the first of the Japanese bombs fell on Penang, my father stopped us from going to school. And when the war was over, there was no question of going back. So I married your father.” Three generations of a family struggle to maintain their way of life in a country changed irrevocably by war.

Arts in Society

How It Was

“Aunt Steph got ugly after Gammy died, although people were often ugly to her first.” In this short story, a woman reflects on a series of charmed summers before loss descended.

Jessica Hudgins

Arts in Society

Three Sisters

“Her sister was only visiting for as long as it took the mother to die.” A family reunion takes a surreal turn in this short story.

Arts in Society

Loudspeaker

A woman, menaced late at night by catcalling men, tries a novel approach to self-defense. Translated from the Spanish by the author and Arthur M. Dixon.

Anjanette Delgado

Arts in Society

Night Picnic

The last humans on a planet attempt a nice family outing—except that they can’t remember how. A short story from Japanese counterculture icon Izumi Suzuki, available for the first time in English in a new translation by Sam Bett.

Izumi Suzuki, Sam Bett

Arts in Society

Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel

“Come back, Sebastian. You are shaking. That is not a productive movement.” As Sebastian prepares to go work on the moon, he reviews his contract’s terms and conditions and wonders what his mother must think.

Julian K. Jarboe

Arts in Society

Apart

“I see it all. What you did, Papa. I’m not angry at you. Don’t worry.” A Moroccan woman living in exile in Paris remembers her father’s dying days.

Arts in Society

Alheri

“I want to open the door again. I want to bring him back. And I want him to last longer this time.” A grieving widow makes a man of mud.

Hussani Abdulrahim

Arts in Society

How to Date a Hindu Fundamentalist

“I was perhaps judging him. His poor choice. The way he forsook the greater good for the pleasures of the bed, or something like that. I was sleepy. I wasn’t sure what I was thinking. Probably I was surprised by my bad luck.” Short Story

Arts in Society

Another Way to Love This World

In a wrenching dialogue, a man searches for human connection, even as he recalls childhood abuse. Translated from the French by Amanda DeMarco. Short Story

Arts in Society

Chapati Recipe

“Pinch off fist-sized balls and roll these into flat circles. Circles you turned in the morning of the coup.” Short Story

Arts in Society

Meniscus

“'I felt no hunger but the habit of food struck me intensely. My nightgown was grubby and torn. My limbs were scraped, spotted with yellow bruises, but I felt no pain.” Short Story

Theo Costantino

Pages

Copyright © 1993-2021 Boston Review and its authors.

Support Boston Review

Make a tax-deductible donation today

A Political and Literary Forum

Search

Boston Review Printing Note: For best printing results try turning on any options your web browser's print dialog makes available for printing backgrounds and background graphics.