In her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2021, guest editor Jesmyn Ward says that the best fiction offers the reader a "sense of repair." The stories in this year's collection accomplish just that, immersing the reader in powerfully imagined worlds and allowing them to bring some of that power into their own lives. From a stirring portrait of Rodney King's final days to a surreal video game set in the Middle East,with real consequences, to an indigenous boy's gripping escape from his captors, this collection renders profoundly empathetic depictions of the variety of human experience. These stories are poignant reminders of the possibilities of fiction: as you sink into world after world, become character after character, as Ward writes, you "forget yourself, and then, upon surfacing, know yourself and others anew." --book jacket.

To Buffalo eastward /Gabriel Bump -- The miracle girl / Rita Chang-Eppig -- Our children / Vanessa Cuti -- The rest of us / Jenzo Duque -- Escape from the dysphesiac people / Brandon Hobson -- Playing Metal Gear Solid V: the phantom pain / Jamil Jan Kochai -- Switzherland / Nicole Krauss -- Clementine, Carmelita, dog / David Means -- Paradise / Yxta Maya Murrah -- Good boy / Eloghosa Osunde -- Portrait of two ladies in white and green robes (unidentified artist, circa sixteenth century) / Jane Pek -- The last days of Rodney / Tracey Rose Peyton -- In this sort of world, the asshole wins / Christa Romanosky -- Love letter / George Saunders -- A way with Bea / Shanteka Sigers -- Haguillory / Stephanie Soileau -- You are my dear friend / Madhuri Vijay -- Palaver / Bryan Washington -- Biology / Kevin Wilson -- Least beast / C Pam Zhang.