Deep Shrimp
Date of Award
Winter 2024
Project Type
Thesis
Program or Major
Writing
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts
First Advisor
Ann J Williams
Second Advisor
Thomas Payne
Third Advisor
Krista L Jackman
Abstract
Deep Shrimp is a collection of stories about insecure people seeking validation; they wonder, are they worthy of being loved? How does a best man give away the groom, his best friend, on the day of his wedding? How can a mother navigate her immigrant husband’s cultural quirkiness for her third culture children? How does a young man, too afraid to say “I love you” stop asking his female friends to make babies? The 11 short stories and 5 flash fictions poignantly traverse the borderlines of family and friendship, romance and the platonic, and the love we have inside of ourselves. The title story, Deep Shrimp, dives deep, as the narrator needs to break things off with a long-term girlfriend to avoid a marriage and a life he doesn’t want. His journey for confidence, which includes an upbeat but underappreciated lab technician and her troupe of snapping shrimp, is one of many that reflect the author’s struggles and hopes to live life with joy.
Recommended Citation
Malkoc, Parker Jenk, "Deep Shrimp" (2024). Master's Theses and Capstones. 1923.
https://scholars.unh.edu/thesis/1923