Short stories and novellas can get lost in the shadow of epic novels and great works of biography, but the compact storytelling form can pack a wallop. Aside from my standbys Poe, Maupassant and Conan Doyle, these are some of my favorite stories and novellas.
This collection of stories is frighteningly brilliant. Each is gently tied to the next by a tiny thread. This detailed stitching, when tugged, wrinkles and shapes the fabric around it. I truly hesitate to explain much about the stories themselves. The reader should discover them for himself. I can say that Ogawa makes the completely…