The Very Short Story.

I just finished reading two very short stories by a man by the name of José Leandro Urbina.

Wow.

Not only are these stories very short (they take their form, but not their content, from jokes) they are also very visceral. The plots lead you backwards before the moment in time you read about, as well as forward, beyond where he pens his last period.

He writes, "Outrageous as it may seem, my notion of brevity in the short story has to do with my understanding and experience of the joke, as a narrative structure and in its social and cultural function." Urbina modifies the joke in that the punch line doesn't make you laugh, it makes you wince at what is happening to the character or what will happen after.

Brilliant.