These three short stories were recommendations from my new boss during a car ride for lunch. We’ve been working together for only two months and it didn’t occur to me even once that he likes reading. He also recommended Demian but that’s for another post.
The Last Leaf by O. Henry is an absolutely beautiful story. There’s love, friendship, death, sacrifice and the significance of hope. Sue and Johnsy are young aspiring artists but Johnsy fell prey to pneumonia. Johnsy already lost hope to live while Sue was desperate in finding ways to keep her hopes up and survive. Mr. Behrman is an old painter but pretty much failed all his life. But he never lost hope. And then one day, he was able to paint his masterpiece.
The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant is a story that teaches a lesson about greed, contentment and being grateful for what is given to us. It’s about an ungrateful lady, Mathilde, who desired wealth, fame and to be envied by people. Her mindset never changed until the end of the story, still chasing the same things when she was younger and even after the incident that happened so I think the ending serves her right.
The Gift of the Magi, again by O. Henry, is another well-written story about true love and gift giving. Della wanted to buy a wonderful gift for her husband but she didn’t have enough money to do so. She decided to do the unthinkable. It was adorable and sad but all in all lovely. The wonderful message is worth some reflection.
Have you read these short stories? Which one is your favorite? Or any recommendations for another short story? Feel free to share on the comments section.
Happy reading and keep safe, homo sapiens!
HappymessHappiness 
I’m pretty sure I’ve read The Gift of the Magi, but it’s been a long time. I have a collection of O. Henry’s stories. I need to revisit them. Nice mini reviews!
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Thanks, Ali. 🙂
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