Continuing from Toonari Post’s Top 5 Books to Get You Thinking, here are five short stories that will do the same. Although they are called short stories, it does not mean that they are missing any component a longer story may have. These five short stories will change your life, your mentality, and how you feel about society around you.

Do not let the publishing dates scare you off or cause you to question their relevancy; they are just as entertaining and impactful now as they were when first released. The five authors discussed are well-known authors who tend to draw a lot of attention to their controversial stories told with jaw-dropping talent. These short stories are not in any way ranked, but are equally important and complex.

1. Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin

Published in 1957, this short story sums up the beginning and initial revolution of modern jazz music. The story tells of Sonny, a man who struggles with drug addiction and finding his place in society, yet finds an escape in playing the piano. However, Sonny’s story is told by the unnamed narrator; Sonny’s brother. Baldwin writes in a way where jazz is the rhythmic formation, and fills in the gaps between characters through the style of writing that mimics typical jazz style.

The story doesn’t just mirror a jazz song, it also creates a story that makes the concept and components to jazz music feel as if it is a true character that helps the reader understand the diverse lives of the two brothers. This is done in a way that reshapes any previous ideas of jazz and musicians in a way that the reader can see how people around them make decisions and deal with life differently than they might.

2. Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway’s short story was published in 1927, yet still finds ways to leave readers astounded throughout the entire plot. Hills Like White Elephants is a very short story that tells of a man and woman who are waiting at a train station in an ambiguous way. Hemingway’s ingenuity shines through because the story leaves everything for the reader to form, allowing for great conversations and an excuse to use the imagination.

There is a lot of controversy including topics such as marriage, abortion, and the roles men and women play with these ideas. It is a great visual short story, yet indefinite in the important scenes, which is impactful by allowing the reader to place themselves in the position of the characters and their actions.

3. Everything that Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor

Flannery O’Connor tends to shock readers with her writings, no matter how short. She usually goes for the shock value by taking on very intense and dismal situations in life. This specific story, published in 1965, deals with a tense mother-son relationship where they both have personal issues to deal with, yet take it out on each other and others around them. The story from beginning to end, of course lives up to O’Connor’s Southern Gothic writing style.

A well-known quote from the story is during some dialogue between the mother and son examining culture.  O’Connor writes, “‘True culture is in the mind, the mind,’ he said, and tapped his head, ‘the mind.’ 
’It’s in the heart,’ she said, ‘and in how you do things, and how you do things is because of who you are.’” There are so many themes and underlying motifs throughout the story that the reader will have to take time to read it more than once. Also, be ready for a surprise ending that will really get the reader thinking.

4. Nineteen Fifty-Five by Alice Walker

Alice Walker is a very strong female writer who has many well-known works, and this short story does nothing but live up to her famous voice as an author. Nineteen Fifty-Five was published in 1981 and describes a famous musician and his way to fame, while never knowing the real meaning to the song that got him there. The world loves this musician, and yet he struggles with finding the same meaning the lady who he bought the song from feels when she sings it.

The story does not ever say who the musician is, but the reader can definitely pin point it by the end, if not before. Walker takes on the situation when people get caught up in stuff they either do not know the truth about, or something that does not truly matter. The ending to the story states, “They was crying and crying and didn’t even know what they was crying for.”

This line gets you thinking about how as a whole we tend to get caught up in following and being the perfect fans for musicians and the like, but do we know the truth or see bigger problems in the world? The story shows the reader how we sometimes let less important things impact us the most.

5. Recitatif by Toni Morrison

Morrison is known for her multi-faceted stories, covering all sorts of decades and topics that cause the reader to rethink his or her actions and mind-set. This short story, published in 1983, may be shorter than her other works, but has the same strong impact. She writes about two young girls who meet in a children’s home because their moms are unable to care for them.

There are five different times throughout these two characters’ lives that they run into each other. Morrison makes it clear that one girl is black and one is white, but she never tells you which is which. The story truly shows that it does not matter what race you are, since everyone has issues and triumphs throughout their lives that should not be stamped to a specific race. We all can learn and relate to each other no matter what.

No matter which story you start with, be ready to be impacted and challenged.

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In order to gain a better understanding into the world around you, you must see how others view the past, present, and future. These five books will do just that. They have sparked much controversy over time; yet continuously intrigue the minds of their readers in a very positive way. Although these books are very different from each other, they all have writing strategies that cause the reader to really think about what the author is trying to say, as well as how they personally would react in the situations presented.

1. Beloved by Toni Morrison

What is real love? Is real love a justifiable reason to kill your child to give them the best alternative to their future? Morrison takes on the aftermath of slavery in a way that makes the reader reevaluate the decisions and circumstances they are able to make today, and how they would be altered if he or she were a slave. The book consists of mystery, history, and supernatural circumstances.

2. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli

The Prince is a book that can be read either as a satire or a straightforward guideline of how a successful king or leader should act. Machiavelli did not explain any of his motives behind this book while he was alive, which allows us to draw our own interpretations. Tupac made the ideas of Machiavelli famous when he took on the persona of Makaveli. The underlining theme for this book is an entertaining way to understand how countries were ran in the 16^th century, and seeing how our leadership is not that much different.

3. Unchristian by David Kinnamn and Gabe Lyons

Unchristian is a book that is based on surveyed information on how people today view Christians. This book is a great book for either Christians or non Christians to see how our society has changed over time in regards to religion and how it is viewed. It is a very eye opening text that examines the misunderstandings on both sides, as well as the false assumptions and stereotypes. This very factual text allows readers to get a better understanding of where the society of the U.S. is heading.

4. Malcom X Autobiography by Malcom X and Alex Haley

Malcom X is notoriously connected with any variation of black pride. He was very outspoken, and was very influential throughout his life. But if you are at all like me, that was all I knew about him. His Autobiography allows readers to see his life from the source. The book includes his entire life, including an epilogue by the co-author explaining Malcom’s assassination. It allows the reader to think about how much people’s past influences their future and their lifestyle, including Malcom X.

5.Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry Charles

Manson is still currently serving life imprisonment, which he was sentenced to in 1972. This book discusses the Manson Family, which was led by Charles Manson. The details to how Manson gained so many followers and power, as well as his personal actions causes the reader to understand the severity of his actions. Bugliosi, one of the authors of this book was the prosecutor, and gives first hand experience of Manson, his followers, and the murders they committed.

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A whole slew of stellar books was released in these past few months, with many more on the way. Readers of all kinds should keep an eye out for these books; everyone will find something they can enjoy.

Books already released include The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King, the latest chapter in his epic The Dark Tower series. Though it is the eighth book in the series, it takes place between the fourth and the fifth volumes. Those wanting something more in the realm of science fiction than fantasy, however will be right at home in Kim Stanley Robinson’s 2312.

Known for his legal and crime thrillers, John Grisham has already had two books released in 2012. The Accused is a thriller novel written for adolescents while his other book, Calico Joe, is a departure from most of his other work, as it is about baseball instead of Grisham’s typical subject matter. In addition, John Grisham will have yet another book released this year on June 25 called The Litigator.

For those who want more action, look for Stephen Berry’s The Columbus Affair and James Patterson’s  11th Hour, the fifteenth book in the Women’s Murder Club series.

Be on the look out too for In One Person by John Irving, best known for his novel The World According to Garp.

If you are more interested in historical settings, check out Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel, the second in a planned historical fiction trilogy set in Tudor England during the reign of Henry VIII. The first book in the trilogy, Wolf Hall, won the Man Booker Prize.

Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison also recently published a new novella entitled Home.

As for works not yet released, June 4 will welcome The Kiss of Death by Laurell K. Hamilton, the latest in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series.

Fans of Hamilton will likely enjoy E.L. James’ 50 Shades of Grey, which originally began as Twilight fanfiction, now being released for the first time in a single box set the following week.

The sixteenth volume of the Walking Dead graphic novels by Robert Kirkam should be in stores by June 18.

Due out later this year is the paperback edition of G.R.R. Martin’s A Dance of Dragons. The latest in the fantastic A Song of Ice and Fire series, fans of the new HBO scared off by the hardcover copy’s price should take note. 

Odd Apocalypse by Dean Koontz and Zoo by James Patterson will also be released sometime later in the year.

Two novels no reader wants to miss out on are also set to be published. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling marks her first novel since Harry Potter. Meanwhile, Michael Chabon, after years of experimenting with genre fiction, is returning to his roots with Telegraph Avenue, writing about ordinary families with the same narrating skills that won him the Pulitzer.

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Toni Morrison has long been heralded for her difficult yet beautiful books. Ever since she won the Nobel Prize, Morrison has become a household name most commonly associated with her early books, such as The Bluest Eye and Beloved, and is both loved and hated by high school students everywhere. Her latest book, Home, however, is a far cry from the lyrical works that earned her fame.

Set during the 50s, Home follows the story of Korean War veteran Frank Money as he embarks on a journey to reach his home in Georgia where his sister is supposedly at death’s door. Along the way, Morrison explores the lives of those who have left their mark on Frank and his sister, often going back and forth through time to do so.

An examination of racial relations, a theme that carries on throughout all of Morrison’s work, is still present. Absent, though, are the breathtaking narratives that strung together those themes so well.

Frank Money has seen friends die on the battlefield and innocent orphans shot, and when he returns to the United States, he finds himself in a world where just looking suspicious can result in jail time. These horrors are so commonplace and so undeveloped that they lose meaning within the book.  A plot summary might read something like a list of terrors with little else included.

Part of the reason for this is that Home is very sparsely written.  The novel begins, “They rose up like men. We saw them. Like men they stood,” and continues in such a fashion for the rest of the novel. Although this will certainly attract some readers, it is hardly like Morrison’s usual beautiful language. Although many characters have whole chapters dedicated to them, other than Frank Money, none are as fleshed out as they could be and many come off as cliché and boring figures, resulting in the reader feeling apathetic towards them.

Still, the book does have its good points. Some passages—mostly those concerning Frank Money and his past—are quite captivating.  Morrison depicts the veteran without any sugarcoating, showing exactly how the war has changed him. As he watches a drummer get carried away by his fellow band mates, still drumming the air as they take him away, Frank wonders, “Maybe, as with the drummer, rhythm would take charge. Maybe he too would be escorted away, flailing helplessly, imprisoned in his own strivings.”

Upon reflection, many will probably wonder just what the point of this flawed work is. At 150 pages, it is quick and to the point, and yet so many parts seem unnecessary. It is worth a read more because if you do not like it, you will be on the last page before you even realize it.

Image Courtesy of   Angela Radulescu

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WASTE CRISIS: did you know that Neapolitans are dirty people? That they do not have any attitude for the separate collection? that they are so selfish not to allow us to build new dumps in the area? Do you want to bet that, even this time, the North will be given the unfair burden to sort out the new scandalously astonishing problem of the South? Essentially, it is above all the Southerners’ fault if such bad rumors – and photos – are circulating about Italy, isn’t it? If these thoughts crossed your mind recently, there is no need worry: it is one of the several collateral effects of the usual media-feeding frenzy. Notwithstanding being a highly cloudy situation, still pending clarification, what you might have superficially come to know about is likely to be factious. In fact, at stake is an important and thorny question of silence and policing narratives.

The Nobel Prize for literature Toni Morrison wrote in one of her most famous book Playing in the Dark: ‘Silence from and about the subject was the order of the day. Some of the silences were broken and some maintained by authors who lived with and within the policing narrative. I am interested in the strategies for maintaining the silence and for breaking it.’ Unfortunately, this is even more true for a country, such as Italy, where a sort of great ‘videocracy’ is in force and which has been confirmed to be a ‘partly free” country by the ‘Freedom of the Press 2011 Survey Release’ provided by the international NGO Freedom of the Press.

You may be surprised to learn that the news of the day is that Naples’ “rubbish emergency” – threatening population with a wave of cholera similar to that of 1973 – has suddenly returned.  Thanks to the prompt government intervention, however, it will be solved in a very short time. On another note, it is an incontrovertible fact that in such a “crisis” is anything but unexpected. In fact, since 1994, an integrated waste management has always missed the area. In Campania dump sites are increasingly overflowing. For the last twenty year, heaps of rubbish have started to pile up along the road, with extremely detrimental effects on public health. The result? The smell is unbearable, all windows are closed, and when exasperation hits the limit, untold trash fires erupt, making the dioxin level in the air rocket in a quite disquieting way.

It might seem the distressing scenario of a so-called third world country, yet it is actually the hard reality of a marvelous Italian region like Campania. It has literally been reduced to black fetid powder because of a diabolic connivance of political, industrial and criminal interests, which appear alarmingly determined in keeping the refuse crisis alive. It needs to be pointed out that garbage is always a business, either in the case you create an emergency or you are at pains to smooth things over. Moreover, it shouldn’t be neglected that included in the tons of rubbish invading the insufficient dumps of Campania, there is, above all, industrial waste, which big firms of Northern Italy and parts of Europe quickly and inexpensively disposed off thanks to organized crime.

We decided to discuss these issues with Salvatore C. He was born in Naples in 1984, but soon emigrated to Bologna, where he will graduate in Cinema, television and multimedia productions. Hugely talented and a bit reserved, Salvatore has agreed to share his opinions about Neapolitans, media and refusal crisis in English for the Toonari news public:

In your opinion is there any kernel of truth in the common places (criminality, trash…) circulating about Neapolitans?

Well, it is difficult to reply: of course, they are generalizations and it is very convenient to think that we have such problems because of genetics. But it is absurd. Politics and history have always played a key role. If you read a capital book such as ‘The southern question’ by Gramsci, you will find a lot of answers.

What did that book teach you regarding our topic?

That the northern bourgeois class has subdued the South, reducing it in a real golden colony: despite of this fact, the main ideology tries to make us believe that the Southerners are almost lazy barbarians, maybe because of the hot climate.

According to you, Italy still has forms of communication capable of telling the complex story of your region. How?

Unquestionably television has always been the worst narrator, because of clear reasons dealing with political propaganda. On the contrary, many good books keeps on giving me interesting and honest perspective of the facts, for example Saviano’s ‘Gomorra’. Maybe I could also reply that at the cinema nowadays you can find lots of independent and original movies about the South, such as ‘Passione,’ the recent movie by John Turturro. I found it really really gorgeous: Naples is a city where, in spite of all, people keep on singing: indeed, where singing is the only truthful form of expression.

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