This is a list of all known shortstories, that Lafferty wrote. I allowed myself the liberty to give a short critique to each story I've read. is a story that I'd recommend to anyone. is a story a Lafferty fan would like. are short stories, that are either really boring or just lesser variations of a recurrent theme.
You can now add your own comments to each story if you like, or read what other readers wrote.
Tentatively rated this way. Gotta reread and rerate this sometime,
1 Comment
Kevin Cheek
| 27.04.04 3:14
"Days of Grass, Days of Straw"--the first Lafferty story I read that made me get up and search out every Lafferty story I could find. It resonates with me because of how well he portrays the sense of sudden disassociation with the world--the sense that you are walking down the same street you have every day for the past several years, and yet it feels like it's the first time you've ever seen it. In this story, he hooks into that little bit of paranoia that resides in almost all of us--the idea that there is more going on than meets the eye--that there is another layer to the world that we just can't quite see (a typical Lafferty theme). He also portrays the hope that an individual can make things different--all we have to do is wrestle with god "in fear shaking and in laughter shaking".
I also love the pastiche of Native-American-esque setting. The setting has nothing to do with any real Native American cultures, yet somehow feels more real than 90% of all other stories set in a Native American setting.
Upon re-reading it recently, I realized just how bloody the story is. Somehow, in the general jubilation of the story, the violence and gore didn't seem excessive the first couple of times through. The reason for this, I think, is that the gore is used more as a symbol for a life more richly lived than as any kind of realistic portrayal of violence.
I often fear that had I the opportunity, I would fail in my nerve to climb up onto the mountain and wrestle. It is my personal hope that inside I am strong enough to win a day all my own.
is a story that I'd recommend to anyone. 
is a story a Lafferty fan would like. 
Tentatively rated this way. Gotta reread and rerate this sometime,
"Days of Grass, Days of Straw"--the first Lafferty story I read that made me get up and search out every Lafferty story I could find. It resonates with me because of how well he portrays the sense of sudden disassociation with the world--the sense that you are walking down the same street you have every day for the past several years, and yet it feels like it's the first time you've ever seen it. In this story, he hooks into that little bit of paranoia that resides in almost all of us--the idea that there is more going on than meets the eye--that there is another layer to the world that we just can't quite see (a typical Lafferty theme). He also portrays the hope that an individual can make things different--all we have to do is wrestle with god "in fear shaking and in laughter shaking".
I also love the pastiche of Native-American-esque setting. The setting has nothing to do with any real Native American cultures, yet somehow feels more real than 90% of all other stories set in a Native American setting.
Upon re-reading it recently, I realized just how bloody the story is. Somehow, in the general jubilation of the story, the violence and gore didn't seem excessive the first couple of times through. The reason for this, I think, is that the gore is used more as a symbol for a life more richly lived than as any kind of realistic portrayal of violence.
I often fear that had I the opportunity, I would fail in my nerve to climb up onto the mountain and wrestle. It is my personal hope that inside I am strong enough to win a day all my own.
I rate "Days of Grass, Days of Straw" Excellent!!