[Download] "By the Numbers: A Tale Without Words." by Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: By the Numbers: A Tale Without Words.
- Author : Aethlon: The Journal of Sport Literature
- Release Date : January 22, 2005
- Genre: Reference,Books,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 336 KB
Description
The Guinness Book of World Records has no category for Shortest Short Story, but there are several candidates for the record. The science-fiction novelist Frederic Brown wrote what he considers to be a story of two sentences and seventeen words: "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door." Guatemalan writer Augusto Monterroso cut the number of sentences in half and broke the ten-word barrier. His short story, "The Dinosaur," is only nine words long: "When it woke up, the dinosaur was still there." Another sci-fi writer, Forrest I. Ackerman wrote what he titled "The Shortest SF Story Ever Told" by avoiding sentence structure altogether. His short stow consists of a mere four words and a letter: "Cosmic Report Card--Earth--F" (Thompson). With the possible exception of Ackerman's, I'm not sure any of these qualifies as a story. They read like teasers for stories. Brown's and Monterroso's sound like good openings. Ackerman's sounds like a closing. But even if these count as short stories, I think my contender for the title has them beat. It is a story with plot, character development, tension building to a climax, theme, symbolism, humor, and pathos. It contributes to a long, well established literary tradition in a way that enriches its meaning. It is made up of some abbreviations (AB, HR, AVG, RBI, MVP), of four words ("Club," "Triple Crown," and "Mudvilles"--though "Mudvilles" is repeated seven times), but no sentences. It is mainly made up of numbers, and the numbers, rather than the letters or words, tell the story. It is, in essence, a story without words, making it as short as a short story can get. It is also the world's smallest short story, measuring 3 1/2 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide. Its title is "The Mighty Casey: Complete Baseball Batting Record," and it is a baseball card.