If you’d told me three years ago that I’d be writing a blog post entitled ‘Fifteen of the Best Short Story Collections’, I’d have laughed in your face. Yes, in the past I proclaimed to hate short story collections – hate. It makes me shudder to think about it now!
Then I challenged myself to read one short story from a collection a day. Face your fears and all that. Well, it worked. Six months later I came to appreciate short stories in all their glory, and now I want to share some of the best short story collections I’ve read over the last few years.
I’ve tried to maintain a nice mix of different genres so hopefully there’ll be something out of the fifteen that catches your eye. I also highly recommend you check out Tasnim @reads.and.reveries Instagram feed, as she is always reading the most interesting short stories!
Let’s dive into fifteen of the best short story collections (according to me)!
Disclosure: titles with an asterisk* were gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I’m an affiliate for Blackwell’s, so this post contains affiliate links to their site. If you buy a book via my links, I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you – thank you!
1. People From My Neighbourhood* by Hiromi Kawakami, tr. Ted Goossen
If short and sweet is your jam then you need this book in your life. It’s a slightly unsettling collection of micro-fiction, where a seemingly benign neighbourhood is stranger than it first appears. The first three pieces aren’t that exciting, but stick with it (they’re only 3 pages each for goodness’ sake) and you’ll be rewarded!
Standout Stories: Pigeonitis, Baby, Weightlessness.
Buy People From My Neighbourhood at Blackwell’s
2. Amora* by Natalia Borges Polesso, tr. Julia Sanches
Another collection which features micro-fiction, Amora is split in half with longer pieces at the start and flash fiction at the end. All of them explore private moments of women in love with women, sexual desire and identity. While some are a lot stronger than others, it’s a solid collection overall. Polesso depicts intimacy with a startling clarity.
Standout Stories: Grandma, Are You a Lesbian?, My Cousin’s in Town, Marília Wakes Up.
3. Things We Lost in the Fire by Mariana Enríquez, tr. Megan McDowell
Okay, this is objectively one of the best short story collections of ALL TIME. Obviously it’s not objective, but it’s really great, alright? Enríquez blends supernatural horror with cutting social commentary about Argentina brilliantly. Every one of these stories could have been a full-length novel I’d read gladly. But that said, they are all perfectly formed short stories, perfect for spooky season.
Standout Stories: Adela’s House, The Neighbour’s Courtyard, Black Water.
Buy Things We Lost in the Fire at Blackwell’s
4. Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood
Atwood writes short stories as well as she does novels, so you know you’re in for a treat. Her trademark acerbic wit flashes from every page, as she bares the dark side of humanity, tackling our insatiable desire for revenge. If you’re a fan of The Robber Bride, then you’ll delight at the return of those characters!
Standout Stories: The Freeze-Dried Groom, Zenia with the Bright Red Teeth, Stone Mattress.
Buy Stone Mattress at Blackwell’s
5. Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta
Okparanta tackles a myriad of heavy themes with a delicate hand in this collection, from infertility and domestic abuse to harmful beauty standards and LGBTQ+ relationships. Somehow she allows the reader to form close relationships with the characters in fewer than 30 pages. The fact that this was her debut in 2012 makes it even more impressive.
Standout Stories: Wahala!, Grace, Runs Girl.
6. Revenge by Yōko Ogawa, tr. Stephen Snyder
Anyone who follows me on Instagram knows how much I love an interconnected short story collection, and this is one of the best I’ve read! Ogawa weaves a web around you before you even know what’s happening, resulting in a jaw-dropping last story. I highly recommend this one for Halloween!
Standout Stories: Lab Coats, Old Mrs. J, Tomatoes and the Full Moon.
7. Wild Swims by Dorthe Nors, tr. Misha Hoekstra
This collection is for those of you who like their literature on the quieter, reflective side. But that’s not to say they don’t make an impact. Nors somehow makes her short stories feel as fully developed as a novel, it’s like magic. They’re not particularly dark, but there’s a definite vein of unease running through these stories.
Standout Stories: By Sydvest Station, On Narrow Paved Paths, In a Deer Stand.
8. The Thing Around Your Neck by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
If you’re a fan of Adichie’s novels but haven’t picked up her collection yet, then what are you waiting for? All these stories feel like compact versions of her novels, addressing similar themes such as immigration, identity, marriage, colonialism, and politics.
Standout Stories: Jumping Monkey Hill, On Monday of Last Week, The Arrangers of Marriage.
Buy The Thing Around Your Neck at Blackwell’s
9. Heads of the Colored People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires
This is definitely one of the best short story collections on the list, and the one I read most recently. It’s garnered rave reviews all across Instagram, for good reason! Thompson-Spires set out to write more stories about ‘nerdy Black people’ and she does so with an incredibly keen eye and a sharp wit. There’s not a dud story in the entire collection.
Standout Stories: Belles Lettres, Suicide, Watch, Whisper to a Scream
Buy Heads of the Colored People at Blackwell’s
10. Nudibranch* by Irenosen Okojie
I’ve included this collection for its sheer creativity, even though some of the stories went way over my head! But fans of magical realism will find so much to love in this collection, from women turning into liquorice, to time-travelling, gender-morphing, procoptodon-transforming monks…
Standout Stories: Cornutopia, Point and Trill, Kookaburra Sweet.
11. Lot* by Bryan Washington
This is another interconnected collection and so another one of my favourites! There’s just something so satisfying about a recurring character in a short story collection. Washington tackles a range of themes including masculinity, queerness, family, the meaning of home, race and class, all centred around Houston.
Standout Stories: Waugh, Elgin, Bayou.
12. Show Them a Good Time by Nicole Flattery
The main theme of this collection is women refusing to adhere to the roles assigned to them by society. And it makes for a bloody good collection, brimming with an unease that’s difficult to put your finger on. Although Flattery dissects women’s relationships with men, they’re never defined by those relationships.
Standout Stories: Show Them a Good Time, Abortion, a Love Story, Sweet Talk.
Buy Show Them a Good Time at Blackwell’s
13. Salt Slow* by Julia Armfield
This one is it. This is the best of the best short story collections, hands down. Whenever someone asks me what my favourite collection is, Salt Slow is always the answer with no hesitation. Armfield explores juicy topics like sexuality, societal pressures, gender roles and adolescence in a way that defies all expectations. It’s dark, magical, gritty, weird, and utterly brilliant.
Standout Stories: Formerly Feral, The Great Awake, Cassandra After.
14. Grand Union* by Zadie Smith
Ah, Zadie Smith. I’d devour a shopping list written by this woman. Although I do prefer her full-length novels, this collection offers up a slightly different side to Smith. There’s her usual keen eye for social commentary, but with an added surprise layer. I’ll be waiting for that full-size sci-fi novel from you, Zadie!
Standout Stories: The Lazy River, Kelso Deconstructed, The Canker.
Buy Grand Union at Blackwell’s
15. Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta
This is the collection I’d recommend to people who say they don’t like short story collections. They all follow the same character, Kara, as she grows up navigating her identity in ‘Little Jamaica’, Toronto. Instead of a straight-forward narrative, we see snapshots of some of the defining and formative moments of Kara’s life. This technique allows us a full picture of her adolescence by the end – without any unnecessary filler!
Standout Stories: Snow Day, Standoff, Frying Plantain.
Buy Frying Plantain at Blackwell’s
That’s it!
Let me know what you think of this list of the best short story collections! There are likely so many I missed off the list, and so many still to be read!
Attrib. By Eley Williams, it’s a phenomenal collection!
Ooh I liked the story by Eley Williams in the Outsiders collection I read recently! Will check that out, thank you! 🙂
I still haven’t read Grand Union. I’m pacing myself, so that I don’t come to the point that I’ve read all the Smith there is to read. She said in a podcast recently that she feels done with writing because she has said all she wants to say.
Omg did she actually say that??? This is very upsetting news, Zadie!