THE WORLD’S SHORTEST STORIES Murder, Love, Horror, Suspense

Listeners will have to judge for themselves whether these shortest of short stories qualify as worthy literary contributions or something more akin to jokes. None is longer than 55 words, about the length of an L.L. Bean catalog description. Each story, which is likely to end with a surprise twist, lasts only about 30 seconds. You might think such brevity means these stories are written for people with a short attention span, but, really, the opposite is true. A momentary lapse of concentration, and you'll miss the thrust of the whole story. Small matter. Just rewind a few seconds and have another go. The three readers are all pros, but then, what narrator couldn't you stick with for half a minute? M.O. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 99]