Thursday, February 9, 2012

Short Story Club Selection for February



Alrighty. Time to unveil our February selection for the John R. Lyman Memorial Short Story Club. It’s a short one, but it’s an instant classic for anyone that’s ever worked out of a cubical. (I’m typing this post in the bath of fluorescent light that pervades my own little 8’x8’ slice of cube heaven, and some of you might just be reading this in similar surroundings.)

The story for this month is “Orientation” by Daniel Orozco, from his collection by the same name. Access the four-page story for free here, or purchase the entire collection below. Then come back here on Saturday the 25th of February, and we’ll heap praise/pick it apart/do whatever it is we do at Short Story Club.

Here's the opening:
“Those are the offices and these are the cubicles. That’s my cubicle there, and this is your cubicle. This is your phone. Never answer your phone. Let the Voicemail System answer it. This is your Voicemail System Manual. There are no personal phone calls allowed. We do, however, allow for emergencies. If you must make an emergency phone call, ask your supervisor first. If you can’t find your supervisor, ask Phillip Spiers, who sits over there. He’ll check with Clarissa Nicks, who sits over there. If you make an emergency phone call without asking, you may be let go.” 
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1 comment:

  1. OK, I didn't like it.

    Let me be more specific: I liked the "idea" but I didn't like the "execution." Once I read the first page, I realized that the story was essentially THAT (except for a little blurb about a serial killer).

    In short, to me, the story has nothing that makes it interesting. In fact, it's terribly uninteresting.

    I didn't like it.

    ReplyDelete