The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: Corin, Lucy. One Hundred Apocalypses and Other Apocalypses. McSweeney's Books, 2013. First American edition.

Corin's collection of short stories all consider some kind of apocalypse, whether it be an apocalypse that affects the entire world or the apocalypse of an individual..

The first story, "Eyes of Dogs," tells the story of a soldier coming home from war. The story takes place in a fairy-tale universe, for on the way home, the soldier meets a witch. The witch tells the soldier if he falls into the bottom of a well and confronts three dogs, he will become rich. The soldier obeys the witch's commands, faces the dogs, and resurfaces with money and a magical purse. He then kills the witch and spends his money in town. However, when he needs the money most, the soldier finds it has all disappeared.

"Madmen" is a surrealist story, telling how a young girl comes of age by adopting a madman. The story reveals her troublesome relationship with her parents, friends, and eventually, with her madman. By the story's end, the narrator's mother has committed suicide, leaving her to face the adult world on her own.

"Godzilla Versus the Smog Monster" tells the story of a young teenager named Patrick, who falls in love with an older girl named Sara. During the story, Los Angeles burns down, forcing Patrick to question issues of ownership, politics, and meaningful relationships. After spending a night with Sara, fighting with his best friend, and confronting his father, Patrick completes his rite of passage into adulthood.

"A Hundred Apocalypses" is Corin's final story, broken down into four chapters, each chapter considering a different aspect of the apocalypse. "A Quarter of a Hundred Apocalypses" is a series of vignettes considering how the apocalypse can give individuals (and the world) an opportunity to make a new future. "Up to Half the Apocalypses" considers how an apocalypse necessarily separates the individual from his / her past, which can be both liberating and tragic. "Through to Three Quarters of a Hundred Apocalypses" considers how the individual deals with the apocalypse and its aftermath, while "These Final Apocalypses" consider how individuals find meaning for themselves after the apocalypse has occurred. Each of these chapters is broken down into a series of vignettes, some as long as three pages, others as short as one sentence. Each vignette has a different narrator, different setting, and different theme, although all consider the apocalypse in some way.

Corin's collection of stories resists cohering into a single narrative: the first three stories all feature different plots and characters, and even the last story is broken down into chapters and vignettes, which differ radically. In this way, Corin demonstrates that apocalypses are not just world-ending events: the apocalypse can come in many different shapes and sizes, to many different people, at many different times. In short, the possibilities of the apocalypse are endless.