Fabulous Fiction First #90 (Small Gems #1)

Thu, 11/15/2007 - 6:43pm by muffy

As in years past, as the days get shorter and the to-do lists get longer, we look for books that are smaller, slimmer, and best if they fit into our coat pockets. This year - I am bringing you some marvelous imports.

Now I challenge you to find anything shorter than Novels in Three Lines !

Félix Fénéon - the mysterious dandy/anarchist/critic, and the man who discovered George Seurat, penned thousands of these nouvelles (literally novellas or news) in 1906 for Le Matin, a Paris newspaper.

These 3-line news items speak volumes about murder, mayhem, and everyday life. They are varied - "often straightforward, at times cheekily irreverent", and the subject matter ranges from the mundane to the horrific. Here is a sample...

"Scheid, of Dunkirk, fired three times at his wife. Since he missed every shot, he decided to aim at his mother-in-law, and connected."