# books in which a chapter could be a complete short story **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 29, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694 "2020-02-29T05:52:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/1 "2020-02-29T05:52:46Z")
A friend of mine recently brought up The Grapes of Wrath which I read a couple of times but years ago, anyway I thought of the chapter about used cars. Could stand alone. The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving. “Holy cow, you kilt State-O’ Maine.” ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/2 "2020-02-29T06:14:56Z")
Isn’t there an actual short story in The Tommyknockers? Something about the TV talking to a woman? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/3 "2020-02-29T11:50:27Z")
It’s somewhat common for a novel to be put together from short stories: > **[Fix-up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fix-up)** > > A fix-up (or fixup) is a novel created from several short fiction stories that may or may not have been initially related or previously published. The stories may be edited for consistency, and sometimes new connecting material, such as a frame story or other interstitial narration, is written for the new work. The term was coined by the science fiction writer A. E. van Vogt, who published several fix-ups of his own, including The Voyage of the Space Beagle, but the practice (if not the ter Some ... ---
**Author:** ![Biggus\_Richard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ab992/32.png) [@Biggus\_Richard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggus_Richard)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/4 "2020-02-29T12:03:43Z")
Michener’s style is like that. The chapter “The Watermen” from the novel “Chesapeake” or “The Cowboys” from the novel “Centennial.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/5 "2020-02-29T12:31:13Z")
The first chapter of Andreas Eschbach’s _The Carpet Makers_ was actually published as a short story. I’m pretty sure it was not designed to be one, but it stands completely on its own outside the novel, while still being a key part of the novel. There are probably other chapters that can stand alone, too. It wasn’t uncommon in SF for authors to turn short works into novels. Anne McCaffry’s “Weyr Search” became a part of her _Dragonflight_, for instance. John Barry’s _The Sot-Weed Factor_ is filled with people telling stories to each other, many of which can stand alone. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/6 "2020-02-29T12:56:11Z")
Two Ray Bradbury books–_The Martian Chronicles_ and _The Illustrated Man_–always seemed like hey were in some weird niche between an anthology and a novel. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/7 "2020-02-29T13:36:46Z")
The OP mentioned John Irving. It’s been years since I read “The World According To Garp” but I seem to recall a couple of chapters that were supposed to be short stories written by Garp. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/8 "2020-02-29T15:18:15Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Two Ray Bradbury books–_The Martian Chronicles_ and _The Illustrated Man_–always seemed like hey were in some weird niche between an anthology and a novel. Also his Dandelion Wine. The first chapters of the following books would be good short stories: _Snow Crash_ by Neal Stephenson. _This Body’s Not Big Enough for Both of Us_ by Edgar Cantero. _John Dies at the End_ by David Wong. A chapter in _Born to Trot_ by Marguerite Henry about a runaway horse in a trotting race. Actually, a number of children’s books have chapters that would work in this way, and I read them in classroom readers before finding the actual books. “The Back of the Bus” by Elizabeth Enright is from _The Four-Story Mistake_ and “Little Vic” by Doris Gates is the chapter “Thunder on His Neck” from _Little Vic_, for example. A number of chapters in Serge Storms books by Tim Dorsey. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/9 "2020-02-29T17:04:41Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > It’s somewhat common for a novel to be put together from short stories: > > [Fix-up - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fix-up) 334 by Thomas M Disch sprang immediately to mind. It’s on the list. Impressive. j ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/10 "2020-02-29T17:10:53Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > Two Ray Bradbury books–_The Martian Chronicles_ and _The Illustrated Man_–always seemed like hey were in some weird niche between an anthology and a novel. _Dandelion Wine,_ also. I’ve seen the brilliant final chapter of Evelyn Waugh’s _A Handful of Dust_ printed, with minor tweaks, as “The Man Who Loved Dickens.” In horror fiction anthologies. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/11 "2020-02-29T17:19:31Z")
As a matter of fact, I have definitely seen the early chapter of _Dandelion Wine_ — in which a little old lady runs home from the movies because she’s afraid the local serial killer has targeted her — as a short story in one of the Alfred Hitchcock suspense anthologies. No idea which one (there are dozens) or what it got retitled. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/12 "2020-02-29T17:29:12Z")
The chapter from The Stand that explains the fates of several people unaffiliated with the plot. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/13 "2020-02-29T17:58:13Z")
Ukulele Ike, you’re thinking of “The Whole Town’s Sleeping”: [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?64922](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?64922) ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/14 "2020-02-29T18:13:39Z")
Orphanogenesis is the first chapter of Greg Egan’s Disaspora; it’s also been published as a short story [http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?59085](http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?59085) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/15 "2020-02-29T18:36:44Z")
_The Secret Pilgrim_ by John le Carré is called an “episodic novel.” Its 11 chapters are 11 different stories. Recommended! If torn between novel and short story, why not read novellas? 🙂 There are several great authors — Dostoevsky, Hemingway, Steinbeck, London, Melville — whose novella(s) I love, but whose long novels I can barely finish. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/16 "2020-02-29T18:47:11Z")
“Cranford” by Elizabeth Gaskell is a loosely-connected series of episodes, which makes it a natural for adapting to TV (as it has been multiple times). The chapter “The Panic” where the town is hit by mass hysteria over mysterious prowlers would make a good short story. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/17 "2020-02-29T18:55:15Z")
Heinlein’s Time Enough For Love. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/18 "2020-02-29T19:01:31Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > John Barry’s _The Sot-Weed Factor_ is filled with people telling stories to each other, many of which can stand alone. Barth? ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/19 "2020-02-29T19:22:45Z")
“The Starfolk: A Fable” in Carl Sagan’s _The Cosmic Connection._ L. Sprague deCamp and Lin Carter adapted the _Conan the Barbarian_ screenplay into a novel. (Yes, the Schwarzenegger flick.) The scene where Conan’s father teaches him the Riddle of Steel could stand on its own. _Moby-Dick_ has a number of chapters which could stand alone, maybe not as short stories, but as essays on various topics. Likewise _War and Peace._ _The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later_, Alexandre Dumas’ second sequel to _The Three Musketeers_, contains a lot of chapters that have no real connection to the main story. It is a sprawling, meandering book. It takes a long time for Dumas to make up his mind which storyline to follow. (You have probably heard of the finale: It’s usually published as a separate volume, under the title _The Man in the Iron Mask._) ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694/20 "2020-02-29T19:33:45Z")
As is commonly known, Franz Kafka published very little during his lifetime, and all his three novels were published posthumously. But one chapter of the the novel “[Amerika](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerika_(novel))” (also known as “Der Verschollene”) had been already published during his lifetime as a short story under the title “Der Heizer” (“The Stoker”). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/books-in-which-a-chapter-could-be-a-complete-short-story/848694.md?page=2)