Free summaries
Short Stories
5 public-domain short stories books, summarised. Page 1 of 1.
Tales grotesque and curious
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
The shadows of old Japan and the bright, unsparing light of the modern era collide in these brief, haunting glimpses of human frailty. Behind the masks of tradition and the rigid structures of social status, every character hides a secret shame or an desperate, often ridiculous, impulse.
The bar act
Bud La Mar
To win a prize, a cowboy must outride his rivals, but to win a legend, he must dare to bolt a piece of junk to his saddle and spin like a hurricane.
A municipal feud
Ernest Haycox
The history of two bitter neighbors is a study in how easily pride and malice can be mistaken for principle.
The hand of God
Murray Leinster
HOOK A mob gathers at a dark, stifling jail, desperate to lynch a man accused of a cold-blooded murder. The sheriff stands alone against them, clutching a revolver and praying for a miracle to stop the bloodshed.
The Old Lady flies
Raoul Whitfield
A battered, oil-stained Jenny biplane is all that stands between a veteran stunt pilot and the end of his career. Can a piece of machinery really possess a soul, or is it just the last, desperate hope of a man who refuses to be grounded?