Short Story Collections That Belong On Every Novel-Reader's Shelf

In The Awkward Black Man, Mosley overturns the stereotypes that corral black male characters and paints subtle, powerful portraits of unique individuals. This collection includes 17 short stories to showcase the full range of his remarkable talent. Touching, contemplative, and always surprising, these stories introduce an array of imperfect characters—awkward, self-defeating, self-involved, or just plain odd.

Related: 27 Must-Read Books By Iconic Black Authors 

"The Lady With the Dog" is perhaps the most famous short story from Anton Chekhov, the prolific writer of short fiction and plays. Chekhov is revered for his sharp observations of human nature—if you haven't read any of his work, this collection of nine short stories is an excellent place to start.

Related: Anton Chekhov: The Master of the Short Story 

Similar to Chabon’s acclaimed debut, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, much of A Model World is dedicated to a young man's coming-of-age. In this case, it's centered on Nathan Shapiro, whose life is upended by the announcement of his parents' divorce. Six other tales round out the collection, and as Chabon describes the reunion of ex-lovers or the pains of dashed dreams, he uses the stylistic flair that makes him one of literature's most distinctive contemporary voices.

After publishing his breakout novel, The Young Lions, Irwin Shaw became the voice of post-war America. Packed with Shaw’s signature wit and insight, this collection features 63 of the author's short stories—including the iconic “The Eighty-Year Run” and “Main Currents in American Thought.” The result is a rich portrait of American life that spans from Prohibition in the 1930s to the political unrest of the Vietnam War era.

Related: How Long Is a Short Story vs a Novella? 

Few authors have captured the nuances of the South better than Pulitzer Prize winner Eudora Welty. Hailed as “a work of art” by the New York Times, The Golden Apples takes readers to a Mississippi town whose past reverberates throughout the present. In one story, a love-starved piano teacher turns to arson, while her beloved student comes-of-age in another. An absent father rejects his family in the first half of the collection, before his son finds an unlikely lover in the second. These interconnected tales create a tapestry of Southern life that reads more like a novel than separate stories.

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If anyone could strike a nerve, it was Erskine Caldwell—who penned some of the most censored works of the 20th century. He’s up to his usual tricks in this collection of short stories, using satirical humor to address controversial subjects like the racial and social injustices of the South.

The twenty stories of Italo Calvino’s beloved collection unfold with the changing seasons. At the center of each is the titular Marcovaldo, whose wild imagination, love of nature, and good intentions clash with his cosmopolitan lifestyle. Whether he’s trying to domesticate a wild rabbit or wanting to cure arthritis with wasp stings, his schemes take disastrous but hilarious turns. These recurring failures and this relentless search for happiness have endeared readers to Calvino's collection (and his other works) for over 50 years. After all, hasn't everyone been Marcovaldo at some point in their lives?

Related: 8 Short Story Books to Celebrate Jorge Luis Borges 

A teenager experiences unrequited love for the first time. A daughter lies for the sake of her dying mother. Two boys yearn to come out as lovers. These separate threads—and eleven others—come together to form an award-winning volume that has echoes of J.D. Salinger and Melissa Banks’ Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing.

You Can’t Keep A Good Woman Down contains exactly what its title suggests: inspiring stories about women who, despite reaching their lowest lows, manage to rise again. As in her most famous novel, The Color Purple, Walker never balks at taboo subjects like sexual assault or racial relations, but deftly weaves them into the narratives to create a stunning work of female empowerment. 

Given the ongoing tug-of-war over the Dakota Pipeline, perhaps The Toughest Indian in the World is needed more than ever. Here, the National Book Award-winning author introduces readers to a cast of Native Americans, all of whom search for meaning within their strained marriages, parent-child relationships, confusing romances, and more. Only the author behind The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven can both uplift and disturb over the course of just 253 pages—but that ability is on full display in this bestselling collection.

Related: 10 Essential Sherman Alexie Books 

Following a series of tragedies in his own life, Andre Dubus began channeling his personal strife into his fiction. His characters are flawed but made more vivid by their imperfections: a housewife recalls the days of her failing marriage; an obese woman justifies her binge-eating disorder; a young man reconciles his sexuality with his faith. But even within these tales of struggle, Dubus offers moments of levity—a combination that captures humanity in all its ugliness and beauty. 

Billy and Francis’ affair has been doomed from the start. Not only are they both happily married, but they’re also entirely incompatible. Where Billy is a young and messy introvert, Francis is an older and neat sophisticate. Laurie Colwin’s charming stories chart their relationship from start to finish, alternating perspectives to better demonstrate just how unpredictable love—and our lovers—can be.

Conductors, painters, musicians, and singers populate the pages of John Gardner’s collection. Through each character’s separate journeys—a young boy who finds solace in classical music; a chef who mourns his son’s death—Gardner explores the human experience through the appreciation of art, and how art itself can enrich our lives and heal our souls.