One of the functions of literature is to share experiences and reflections, thus improving the community as a whole. It is in this spirit that the authors compiled here wrote stories full of important lessons. Critic August Nemo selected seven short stories with timeless messages:
The Aged Mother by Matsuo Basho
– The Five Boons of Life by Mark Twain
– The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones by Stephen Leacock
– Work, Death and Sickness by Leo Tolstoy
– The Father by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
– Emancipation. A Life Fable by Kate Chopin
– An Uncomfortable Bed by Guy de Maupassant For more books with interesting themes, be sure to check the other books in this collection!
About the author
Leo Tolstoy (born August 28, 1828, Yasnaya Polyana, Tula province, Russian Empiredied November 7, 1910, Astapovo, Ryazan province), Russian author, a master of realistic fiction and one of the world’s greatest novelists.
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (8 December 1832 26 April 1910) is considered to be one of The Four Greats (De Fire Store) among Norwegian writers, the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland. Bjørnson is also celebrated for his lyrics to the Norwegian National Anthem.
Kate Chopin (born Katherine O’Flaherty; February 8, 1850 August 22, 1904) was an American author of short stories and novels based in Louisiana. She is now considered by some scholars to have been a forerunner of American 20th-century feminist authors of Southern or Catholic background, such as Zelda Fitzgerald. Within a decade of her death, Chopin was widely recognized as one of the leading writers of her time.
Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock, (30 December 1869 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known for his light humour along with criticisms of people’s follies.The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour was named in his honour.
Born on November 30, 1835, in Florida, Missouri, Samuel L. Clemens wrote under the pen name Mark Twain and went on to author several novels, including two major classics of American literature: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He was also a riverboat pilot, journalist, lecturer, entrepreneur and inventor. Twain died on April 21, 1910, in Redding, Connecticut.
French writer Guy de Maupassant is famous for his short stories, which paint a fascinating picture of French life in the 19th century. He was prolific, publishing over 300 short stories and six novels, but died at a young age after ongoing struggles with both physical and mental health.
Matsuo Bash (1644 1694), born as Matsuo Chemon Munefusa, was the most famous poet and essayist of the Edo Period in Japan (1603 – 1867).