Try our Advanced SearchShort stories by William Saroyan
William Saroyan[2] (/səˈrɔɪən/; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film The Human Comedy. When the studio rejected his original 240-page treatment, he turned it into a novel, The Human Comedy. Saroyan wrote extensively about the Armenian immigrant life in California. Many of his stories and plays are set in his native Fresno.[3] Some of his best-known works are The Time of Your Life, My Name Is Aram and My Heart's in the Highlands. He has been described in a Dickinson College news release as "one of the most prominent literary figures of the mid-20th century"[4] and by Stephen Fry as "one of the most underrated writers of the [20th] century." Fry suggests that "he takes his place naturally alongside Hemingway, Steinbeck and Faulkner".[5] Kurt Vonnegut has said that Saroyan was "the first and still the greatest of all the American minimalists.[6]
Listing 13 stories.
A grocer in desperate need of help enlists a lawyer to fix his problems, though he refuses to trust the lawyer enough to actually receive help.
While visiting her estranged father in Paris, a little girl makes a friend with an initially unwelcome critter.
A writer wakes up every day hoping each day would be the day he finally manages to write, though each day he finds new reasons to delay his writing.
A group of people at a bar discuss their experiences with an eccentric and impulsive boy as they anticipate his arrival.
A father reflects on his parental failures and his growing age as he drives through California on a rainy night.
A man who couldn't afford a piano as a child stops to play one in a store as his companion thinks about his potential and the importance of self-confidence.
A man reflects on his time as a newspaper boy during World War I. Overwhelmed by the horror of the headlines, he must confront harsh truths about morality during wartime.
A marble gambling machine becomes a huge hit in front of a hotel of a small town and becomes more than just a place for competition and earning money. The infamous machine, The Crusader, becomes the place where new friendships are built and love is explored.
An Armenian man discovers an injured hummingbird and tries to save the animal.
A young Catholic Armenian boy is asked to sing for the Presbyterian Choir because of his fantastic voice. However, he hates the church and is skeptical about his faith.