January 20 - "Small Country"

“Small Country”
by Nick Hornby
Noisy Outlaws, Unfriendly Blobs, and Some Other Things That Aren’t as Scary, Maybe, Depending on How You Feel About Lost Lands, Stray Cellphones, Creatures from the Sky, Parents Who Disappear in Peru, A Man Named Lars Farf, and One Other Story We Couldn’t Quite Finish, So Maybe You Could Help Us Out (2005)

* * * (Good) Children's

Stefan wasn’t entirely sure why his country, Champina, couldn’t be found on a map. It was not until – in a moment of embarrassment – his teacher had to explain that Champina was no larger than a field that Stefan began to really understand where he lived. And it wasn’t until his father hurt his foot that sedentary (by choice) Stefan was able to help his tiny country through his participation in a game of football.

This collection will, no doubt, have the longest title in this year of reading. This is a children’s short story collection put together by the talented – and hilarious – folks at McSweeney’s. Hornby is an author I enjoy very much, and this short story is another great example of his interesting character writing. Stefan has a dry sense of humor that is unique – and interesting – to see in a younger child. This humor is often apparent in Hornby’s adult work, and refreshing to see in a story about a child who doesn’t understand his entire (small) country’s obsession with football. This collection will be full of these interesting little literate – but absurd – short stories, and I can’t wait to continue reading.

(Thank god for the ability to copy and paste the title, though. Even the abbreviation – which they do provide on the page preceding the title – is unwieldy.)