At the end of the Mechanical Age by Donald Barthelme
The protagonists of the story are Ralph and Ms Davis. The story portrays the contemporary age as being dull and boring. But the mechanical age has got its comfort zones. Ms Davis a widow gets married to Ralph. The marriage ceremony is witnessed by God who makes them take an oath: ‘you wedded husband and life promise to make whatever mutually satisfactory accommodations necessary to reduce tensions and arrive at previously agreed upon goals both parties have harmoniously set in the appropriate planning sessions’. The story is vague and lacks depth and form. It resembles an incongruous abstract painting.
Petition by John Barth
John Barth in the Petition writes an epistle to a renowned person from Thailand who is visiting America for a surgery. Barth is very much drawn to Eastern Mysticism and Eastern religions. He extols the virtues of the foreigner’s history. He also describes the contemporary culture of America in ironic terms. One can’t find the essence of a story in the petition by Barth.
Balthazar’s Marvelous Afternoon by Marquez
The Cage made by Balthazar is a fascinating and mysterious story about Balthazar who makes a cage and sells it for sixty pesos. As soon as he collects the money, he buys booze for his friends and gets inebriated. His wife waits patiently for him to come home. The story carries a moral about a person who doesn’t know to handle large sums of money.
The Shore by Grillet
The shore by Grillet describes the movement of three children on the beach. Grillet describes the motion of the waves, the flying sea gulls and the movement of the wind. The author has a lurking fascination for the three children, a strange eerie aura of attraction.
Like a Bad Dream by Heinrich Boll
In Like a Bad Dream, the protagonist invites the Zumpens for dinner. He was thinking of the prized contract that the Zumpen would make. But the Zumpens left without saying anything. Bertha the wife of the protagonist told her husband to visit the Zumpens. Mrs. Zumpen gives him an envelope and told him to raise the price as the price quoted by the next bidder was much higher. The story ends with a happy note with the protagonist being awarded the contract.
Axolotl by Cortazar
Axolotl describes a morbid fascination for them by the author. The author becomes ruminative about them. The story is Quixotic and has no meat of a plot.
In Dreams begin responsibilities by Schwartz
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities the author describes about the relationship of the father with the mother. The relationship is a long lasting and pleasing one.
Solipsist by Brown
In the story the Solipsist Walter Jehovah has an imaginary conversation with God. Solipsism is a philosophy that an individual alone exists. In the conversation Jehovah becomes seduced by the grandeur of thought-he alone exists as God.
Gogol’s Wife by Tomanso
In the story Nicolo’s wife is described as a balloon. As years pass by, Nicolo’s disgust for his wife increases.
The End by Beckett
In the End is a story that describes the solitary life of an unknown person. The description portrays his angst. The story has no proper beginning and end and the narrative is haphazard.
The Waiting by Borges
We find Vilari the protagonist settling down in his new lodgings. In the end of the story, a surprising one we find that Vilari is killed by a stranger.
Borges and I
The author differentiates the fictional Borges from the real Borges. The fictional Borges is acclaimed in the news and has a marvel for hourglasses, sixteenth century maps and labyrinths.
Everything and Nothing by Borges
Everything and Nothing by Borges is a fictional rendition of the biography of Shakespeare. He mentions Shakespeare having been initiated into the rite of sexuality by Ann Hathaway. In an imaginary conversation with God, Shakespeare is revealed by God that he is a theater, he is a mask, and he is everything and nothing.