5 ms·

Ask HN: What's the most thought provoking short story you've read?

18 points by jason_zig 7y ago

jqbx_jason 7y ago
"Winter Dreams" by Fitzgerald is pretty great. It changed my perspective on wealth and has in general stuck with me for a long time: https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl494/winterdreams.pdf https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl494/winterdreams.pdf
auslegung 7y ago
The open boat by Stephen Crane is amazingly well written
AnimalMuppet 7y ago
"For sale, Baby shoes, Never worn." Attributed to Hemingway, but he may have cribbed the idea from others...
arthev 7y ago
"The Machine Stops" by Forster sent me for a loop back in high school.
bloodorange 7y ago
Metamorphosis by Kafka
- perilunar 7y ago
  http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5200 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5200
csquires 7y ago
The Egg by Andy Weir http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html
- htanirs 7y ago
  It was Excellent. Sometimes I feel the other way. I am the only human and everything else is made up.
  - quickthrower2 7y ago
    I’m real
- k4ch0w 7y ago
  This one always stuck with me too.
simonblack 7y ago
"The last man alive was alone in a room. He locked the door."
Jackypot 7y ago
"I have no mouth and I must scream"
masonic 7y ago
"Postpaid to Paradise" aka "Postmarked for Paradise" aka "The Marvelous Stamps from El Dorado", a short story by Robert Arthur.
giardini 7y ago
"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.
minnca 7y ago
Not sure about MOST thought-provoking, but "The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species" and "State Change" (both by Ken Liu) are two good ones I read recently and think a lot about.
milkcircle 7y ago
I recommend "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang! An excellent sci-fi story set in the past that explores themes of guilt and repentance.
wintercarver 7y ago
Funes the Memorious, by Borges. "About" a dude (Funes) suffering from an infinite memory, written in a non-fiction tone/style. http://vigeland.caltech.edu/ist4/lectures/funes%20borges.pdf http://vigeland.caltech.edu/ist4/lectures/funes%20borges.pdf
altsyset 7y ago
The Stranger by Albert Camus
3minus1 7y ago
I read a lot of good ones in school: * Hills like White Elephants by Hemingway * A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor * Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut * Most Dangerous Game

18 points by jason_zig 7y ago

"Winter Dreams" by Fitzgerald is pretty great. It changed my perspective on wealth and has in general stuck with me for a long time: https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl494/winterdreams.pdf https://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/engl494/winterdreams.pdf

auslegung 7y ago

The open boat by Stephen Crane is amazingly well written

AnimalMuppet 7y ago

"For sale, Baby shoes, Never worn." Attributed to Hemingway, but he may have cribbed the idea from others...

arthev 7y ago

"The Machine Stops" by Forster sent me for a loop back in high school.

bloodorange 7y ago

Metamorphosis by Kafka

perilunar 7y ago
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5200 http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/5200

csquires 7y ago

The Egg by Andy Weir http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html http://www.galactanet.com/oneoff/theegg_mod.html

htanirs 7y ago
It was Excellent. Sometimes I feel the other way. I am the only human and everything else is made up.
- quickthrower2 7y ago
  I’m real
k4ch0w 7y ago
This one always stuck with me too.

simonblack 7y ago

"The last man alive was alone in a room. He locked the door."

Jackypot 7y ago

"I have no mouth and I must scream"

masonic 7y ago

"Postpaid to Paradise" aka "Postmarked for Paradise" aka "The Marvelous Stamps from El Dorado", a short story by Robert Arthur.

giardini 7y ago

"A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.

minnca 7y ago

Not sure about MOST thought-provoking, but "The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species" and "State Change" (both by Ken Liu) are two good ones I read recently and think a lot about.

milkcircle 7y ago

I recommend "The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate" by Ted Chiang! An excellent sci-fi story set in the past that explores themes of guilt and repentance.

wintercarver 7y ago

Funes the Memorious, by Borges. "About" a dude (Funes) suffering from an infinite memory, written in a non-fiction tone/style. http://vigeland.caltech.edu/ist4/lectures/funes%20borges.pdf http://vigeland.caltech.edu/ist4/lectures/funes%20borges.pdf

altsyset 7y ago

The Stranger by Albert Camus

3minus1 7y ago

I read a lot of good ones in school: * Hills like White Elephants by Hemingway * A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor * Harrison Bergeron by Vonnegut * Most Dangerous Game