The Fall River Axe Murders, Angela Carter

Who isn’t fascinated by Lizzie Borden? This telling of what went on in the Borden house in the days leading up

to the murder is acutely visceral; some of the descriptions are so disgusting they make my toes curl. Carter is a master. It’s in her collection Saints and Strangers and is available here: http://amzn.com/014008973X

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Lately I’ve been working on the overwhelming task of thinning out my book collection; it’s something no book lover likes to do, but let’s face it, every once in a while it has to be done, either to clear clutter or make room for more.

It’s no surprise that a good portion of my collection is devoted to short story collections. I’ve read my share of great stories, and I’ve read my share of awful ones—but I’ve also read my share of a few that blew me away to the point at which I’ll never forget them. So instead of doing a typical “Top” list, I decided instead to focus on ones which fall into the last category (please note that in my “about” descriptions I tried to be spoiler-free). Do you have any that have made a lasting impression on you? Leave them in the comments.