If you’re stuck at home and have already resorted to organizing your sock drawer, take the opportunity to dive into some of the best new and classic fiction from the Post’s archives. We’ve handpicked contemporary fiction from new writers and classics by F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sinclair Lewis, and we promise they will spark more joy than those old tube socks.
“Wolf” by Lucy Jane Bledsoe
Published on December 17, 2012
As Jim tries to identify with the Yellowstone wolf trackers, both he and his wife have an awakening that changes their lives forever.
“I Want to Smoke Pot” by John Skow
Published on January 27, 1968
A personnel director spins a web of lies to satisfy his wife’s mod curiosities.
“They Grind Exceeding Small” by Ben Ames Williams
Published on September 13, 1919
A miserly lender goes about his cynical existence until he meets a shocking, ironic fate.
“Melodramas for Depressed Persons” by Rolli
Published on July 17, 2015
A depressed writer braves gloom and doom on a sarcastic quest for catharsis.
“The Refugees” by Edith Wharton
Published on January 18, 1919
Two well-meaning caregivers mistake one another for Belgian refugees in 1914 London.
“The Ice Palace” by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Published on May 22, 1920
A small-town southern girl wants to be “where things happen on a big scale,” but the dreariness of the North will test her resilience.
“Crack” by Myles McDonough
Published on December 22, 2016
A chance encounter between an Iraq War vet and an Iraqi immigrant awakens painful memories.
“Hobohemia” by Sinclair Lewis
Published on April 7, 1917
A Midwestern lumber businessman pens a pessimistic Russian novel to win back his poet lover.
“What’s the Worst a Date Can Do?” by Michael McGlade
Published on February 19, 2016
After Aileen leaves him, Eóin copes by living according to a strict routine. Now Ciara threatens that routine just by showing an interest.
“Every Hero an Hombre, Every Wolf a Clown” by Doug Lane
Published on February 26, 2016
In a Texas town where luchadores and clowns just don’t mix, one father risks exposing his double life to grant his son’s birthday wish.
“The Life of the Party” by Irvin S. Cobb
Published on January 25, 1919
Mishaps and mayhem befall a wealthy lawyer that finds himself on the wrong side of town in an outlandish costume after a theme party.
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Comments
I read the Knock at the Door and a Trace of Dampness. I am awed by these writer’s ability to immerse me in their world in such a short piece. Thank you for bringing these forward right now. They are part of the beauty in the world.
Thanks for listing these eleven stories here. I’ve already read the second one listed (highly recommend it) but should probably read them in the order they were written, including a re-read of that one. I’m not quarantined, but still need a pot/drug-free escape from the ‘situation’ which seems like it’s going to be here for quite a while.
By the way, is it just me, or does last Thanksgiving and Christmas already seem like they were in the distant past?!