What makes a short story collection work?

In a successful short story collection, each story is an integral piece of a larger puzzle that is greater than the sum of its parts.

In a successful short story collection, each story is an integral piece of a larger puzzle that is greater than the sum of its parts.Short Story Month is celebrated in May, apparently. I only just discovered this a few days ago, perhaps because I read short stories at about the same rate I read poetry. Which is to say, not very often. (Though I might need to amend this where poetry is concerned as I’ve read three poetry books this year so far – quite a record for me!)

I can’t say the same about short stories. Helen Oyeyemi’s What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is on my list. The YA collection Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories caught my eye on Instagram recently. Stephanie Perkins edited it, and I adored her holiday YA collection, My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories, the year before last. I haven’t acquired either yet, though. Continue reading “What makes a short story collection work?”