8 h 34 minAudiobook3 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
How can a brief tale hold a whole world—and leave you with one lasting feeling?
A Collection of Short-Stories, gathered by Lemuel Arthur Pittenger, brings together brief tales with room for humour, reflection, and ordinary lives. Its sections on storytelling’s history and the qualities of short fiction also invite you behind the scenes: what separates a complete story from an anecdote, and what makes a small moment matter?
The discussion follows Boccaccio’s Decameron, Chaucer’s lively characters, and Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle as it traces changing approaches to storytelling. Poe and Maupassant become central to its account of concentrated effect. These pages ask you to notice how character, incident, and emotion work together—and how much a writer can suggest without spelling everything out.
What you’ll discover
- Small worlds worth entering Meet brief tales that offer a change of scene without demanding a long commitment.
- A clearer reading eye Explore why the discussion distinguishes an entertaining anecdote from a story with emotional force.
- Humour with a human centre Make room for laughter alongside reflection and an interest in the lives of ordinary people.
- Storytelling across changing forms Follow the discussion from medieval fables to essays, sketches, and Irving’s leisurely approach to narrative.
- The power of concentration Discover why Poe and Maupassant matter to this account of short fiction’s distinctive shape.
Who will love it
For readers who love picking up a story in a spare half hour and enjoying a varied taste of storytelling, with humour, quiet reflection and close looks at ordinary people.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A short story works in a small space
- Humour lightens the load
- Reflection asks you to slow down
- Ordinary people stand at the centre
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- 15-minute summary
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- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Read and hear Racconti in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Racconti
by Lemuel Arthur Pittenger (a cura di)
Ordinary people take centre stage in short stories that bring humour, reflection and a small world to each sitting.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A short story works in a small space
A short story has little room. It cannot follow a family across decades or fill a city with characters. Instead it picks one moment, one choice or one odd afternoon, and lets that moment carry the whole meaning.
The writer has trimmed away everything that does not serve the effect. A single remark, a small object or a pause can matter a great deal.
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What is A Collection of Short-Stories about?
It is an anthology of short stories gathered by an editor. The tales are described as moving between humour, reflection and a close look at ordinary people, so the volume offers variety rather than one plot.
Who is Lemuel Arthur Pittenger?
He is named as the editor of the collection. An editor selects and arranges the stories, so the tales may be by different authors rather than by him alone.
Is it a novel or separate stories?
It is a set of separate short stories. Each can be read on its own, in any order, in a single sitting, with no need to follow one plot from start to finish.
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