1.
"Moonlight" - Guy de Maupassant
Why It's Awesome: Maupassant is recognized as one of the masters of the short story for good reason. This brief tale about an abbot who thinks he understands the reasons for all of God's works until he encounters one he can't explain is concise, gorgeously written, and emotionally intense.
2.
"The Tree of Knowledge" - Henry James
Why It's Awesome: It's everything great about Henry James compressed into a handful of pages: the intricate prose, the irony, and the clear and delicate analysis of people who are perhaps a little too civilized. The ingenious ending is incredibly simple yet changes everything that came before it.
3.
"Youth" - Joseph Conrad
Why It's Awesome: No story better describes the excitement and naive invincibility of youth than this one about a young man's first tour on a merchant vessel (as a bonus, the man in question is Conrad's perennial Marlow). It's an adventure yarn that will remind you how great it felt to be young and a little foolish.
4.
"A Good Man Is Hard To Find" - Flannery O'Connor
Why It's Awesome: Even if you've read this story about a family's chance encounter with a group of bandits before, odds are good you still haven't decided exactly what it means. Read it again: it's funny, horrifying, mystifying, and a masterpiece from start to finish.
5.
"Barn Burning" - William Faulkner
Why It's Awesome: Powerful, dramatic, moving, and written in beautifully undulating prose, it is Faulkner distilled into a few consequential events involving a boy and his father. It's also a terrific example of how Faulkner's method of storytelling could bring vague shapes into focus to reveal huge depths of emotion and meaning.
6.
"Misery" - Anton Chekhov
Why It's Awesome: Little happens in this story, and yet it's tremendously heart-breaking. Chekhov was a master of communicating volumes in short spaces, and this economical gem shows the depths of grief and the brute callousness people are capable of.
7.
"Sonny's Blues" - James Baldwin
Why It's Awesome: Though it's one of the longer stories on the list, there isn't a detail you'd want to remove from this chronicle of two brothers, one straight-laced and responsible and the other a heroin addict whose life only makes sense through music. The tension and love between two very different siblings is perfectly rendered here.
8.
"Araby" - James Joyce
Why It's Awesome: Everyone knows "The Dead," but the short narrative of a boy infatuated with a neighbor girl also deserves recognition. As always with Joyce, the pacing and plotting are exquisite, and it contains some of Joyce's most beautiful prose.
9.
"The Lottery" - Shirley Jackson
Why It's Awesome: A true American gothic and one of the best horror stories ever, it will shock you with every read because of how simultaneously ordinary and horrific the events are. The idea of community has never been so chilling.
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