Short stories by Lydia Davis.
Lydia Davis is the author of The End of the Story: A Novel and several story collections. Her collection Varieties of Disturbance: Stories was a finalist for the 2007 National Book Award. She is the recipient of a MacArthur fellowship, the American Academy of Arts and Lettersâ Award of Merit Medal, and was named a Chevalier of the Order of the Arts and Letters by the French government for her fiction and her translations of modern writers, including Maurice Blanchot, Michel Leiris, and Marcel Proust. Lydia Davis is the winner of the 2013 Man Booker International Prize.
Listing 36 stories.
A woman considers her possible shortcomings when her boyfriend tells her that he doesnât like some things about her. After a period of reflection, she acknowledges the futility of self-deprecation.
A man tries to determine the cost of a passionate but brief love affair, and his calculations lead him to a solemn but hopeful realization.
A city employs people to act strangely to order to make others feel normal.
An initially unwanted infestation fosters understanding between a woman and the cockroaches in her house.
As a young Japanese man reflects on significant moments in his life, a stunning musical encounter leads him on the path to self-acceptance.
A paranoid old woman makes a disturbing discovery that intensifies her fears about being the victim of a crime.
A depressed woman searches for a new apartment in her city. As she prepares to move, lethargy threatens to inundate her.
An innocent introductory French course called la Muerte teaches vocabulary, by describing a typical farm until the farmer disappears.
A poet attempts to sleep comfortably at a friendâs house without disturbing his hosts.
As they hide from an enemy in their house, a woman and man argue about the nature of the enemy--whether it is human or weather-related.