Forty stories cover

Forty stories

by Donald Barthelme

Chablis -- On the deck -- The genius -- Opening -- Sindbad -- The explanation -- Concerning the bodyguard -- Rif -- The palace at four A.M. -- Jaws -- Conversations with Goethe -- Affection -- The new owner -- Paul Klee -- Terminus -- The educational experience -- Bluebeard -- Departures -- Visitors -- The wound -- At the Tolstoy Museum -- The flight of pigeons from the palace -- A few moments of sleeping and waking -- The temptation of St. Anthony -- Sentence -- Pepperoni -- Some of us had been threatening our friend Colby -- Lightning -- The catechist -- Porcupines at the university -- Sakrete -- Captain Blood -- 110 West Sixty-first Street -- The film -- Overnight to many distant cities -- Construction -- Letters to the editore -- Great days -- The baby -- January.

More by Donald Barthelme

Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?