“Daddy Wolf” by James Purdy is a disturbing key-hole glimpse into the life of a pressured New York citizen in a struggle for survival. Benny, the main character, explains the reason for his prolonged use of the telephone booth by going on a rant about his problems: his wife and child leaving him, his desolate status, the disgusting state of his apartment and the rat infestation problem that he has but cannot convince his landlord to care about. Is his desperate tone a reflection on his life or a metaphorical comment on society from the author?
The narration style of the main character is reminiscent of “Aftermath” by Mary Yukari Waters, a short story about a widow in post-war Japan trying to come to terms with loss of her husband as she fights the enculturation of America while raising their son alone. Both stories revolve around the struggle of endurance, and acceptance. Both Benny and Makiko have lost their spouses and are now feeling entirely alone with an important task upon their shoulders.
The speaking style of Benny is that of an uneducated individual with bad grammar and form which is in contrast to Maiko’s language, which is fluid and graceful, but both characters express their sorrow efficiently. Benny’s speech, while meant to be noticed, doesn’t get in the way of the dialogue. “Daddy Wolf” evoked feelings of repulsion, intrigue and sympathy, much like the movie Citizen Kane, the groundbreaking movie directed by Orson Welles. “Daddy Wolf”, Citizen Kane, and “Aftermath” all weave their stories through memories or glimpses into the past.
The most unsettling part of “Daddy Wolf” was Daddy Wolf, a mysterious man who listens to women’s problems on the phone and attempts to give advice: “…when things got so rough, my wife did call Daddy Wolf…the number is CRack 8-7869…and only ladies can call”. The image that came to mind is of a Little Red Riding Hood type character, a stereotypical fairytale wolf, sitting behind a big mahogany desk, with snarling yellow teeth just waiting for helpless women to call so he can find his next victim. And even though Benny admitted to the fact that Daddy Wolf helped his wife by convincing her to stay faithful to her husband and not use her body to earn money, something still feels instinctually wrong about the situation. This I believe, was the intent of the author, to make the reader feel grimy and concerned simultaneously, both elements which were captured perfectly in this story.
-NS
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
GOD SEES THE TRUTH BUT WAITS
by Leo Tolstoy
In "God See The Truth But Waits", a man is imprisoned after he is wrongfully accused of murder. This is a emotional story of acceptance and forgiveness -- acceptance of the failings of yourself and others and the strength to forgive even when understanding is beyond your grasp. All I could think about when I finished this story was something my late Aunt Cathy used to often say. "God always answers your prayers. It's just that sometimes the answer is 'no'."
Read "God Sees The Truth But Waits" here.
This review is also posted at Books 'n Border Collies
In "God See The Truth But Waits", a man is imprisoned after he is wrongfully accused of murder. This is a emotional story of acceptance and forgiveness -- acceptance of the failings of yourself and others and the strength to forgive even when understanding is beyond your grasp. All I could think about when I finished this story was something my late Aunt Cathy used to often say. "God always answers your prayers. It's just that sometimes the answer is 'no'."
Read "God Sees The Truth But Waits" here.
This review is also posted at Books 'n Border Collies
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Dates from Hell - Various
A collection of 4 short stories (novella's really as they are all just over 100 pages long) by some of today's most popular paranormal romance and urban fasntasy authors.
Undead in the Garden of Good and Evil - Kim Harrison
This story started off quite confusing as it mixed alive and undead vampires with a confusing mythology that wasn't very well explained. It became a sexy murder mystery tale centred around alive vampire Ivy Tamnwood. To get ahead it looks like she will have to whore herself to her undead vampire boss Art by lettinghim suck her blood. The murder comes in as they are working in the police force and theirpower games get all mixed in. Pretty average, I hope her series is better...
The Claire Switch Project - Lynsay Sands
A fun and sexy tale about scientist Claire who gets hit with a destabiliser ray giving her the power to shapeshift. She uses photos to emulate the shape, clothes and looks of other men and women. It gets more complicated when she finally gets a first date to their high school reunion with long standing crush Karl, but promises his twin sister she will shift into a famous movie star and be her date too! A quick and fun read.
Chaotic - Kelley Armstrong
Half-demon Hope has inherited her father's love of chaos. She works as a journalist covering paranormal stories as well as working as an Agent for the Interracial Council on the side. At least that is what Tristin Robard has told her. Everything falls apart when she meets sexy werewolf Karl Marsten who brings together chaos, desire and the truth in an explosive adventure at a museum gala dinner.
Dead Man Dating - Lori Handeland
Kit goes on a date with a guy she has met over the internet. Things go very wekk until they stop to have sex in an alley, which is very unlike her as she is a virgin waiting until she is married or meets her true love. A strange man calling himself Chavez turns up and shoots her date who leaves no blood or body behind. He claimes to be a rogue demon hunter and here Kit's adventures really begin...
I really liked the Kelley Armstrong story and I am looking forward to reading Personal Demon which has more on Hope. The tales by Lori Handeland and Lynsay Sands were also a lot of fun. The only disappointment was Kim Harrison, but I am planning on reading more by her and not judging her only on this short tale.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Stories by O. Henry
Image via Wikipedia Friday, October 10, 2008
Snow - Tove Jansson
Tove Jansson is well known as an extraordinary woman, and writer of children’s stories. Most famous for her stories of the Moomins, Jansson reached more recent acclaim after her death, with the publication of two collections of short stories, The Summer Book and The Winter Book. I remember loving the Moomin stories as a child, and wanted to select one of Jansson’s short stories for this challenge. I selected Snow as I was drawn to the simple title, I knew nothing of the content of any of these stories.Snow appears to be a simple story. A child and her mother have moved to a strange old house, which is permeated with the memory of the previous family. The mother is relaxed and settled there, finding peace from the outside world. The child however, finds no comfort, becoming obsessed with the falling snow outside, and the prospect of being buried forever in a terrifying snow drift. I said appears to be a simple story. Snow is really about the unfamiliar, about resisting change and the unknown, but about finding hope in family, in companionship. Ali Smith, who selected this collection, described A Winter Book as "Beautifully crafted and deceptively simple-seeming, these stories are pieces of scattered light."
Jansson's writing itself is beautiful. Much of her work is semi-autobiographical, and this is understandable when reading her descriptions of the empty rooms, of the sounds and light, and about a child's reaction to the unknown, the silence, the resignation. You can feel the child's loneliness and confusion, being removed from her own life and deposited in a large, empty, old house.
"If you stood in the furthest room, you could see through all the other rooms and it made you feel sad; it was like a train ready to leave with its lights shining over the platform. The last room was dark like the inside of a tunnel except for a faint glow in the gold frames and the mirror which was hung too high on the wall. All the lamps were soft and misty and made a very tiny circle of light. And when you ran you made no noise."
Since reading Snow, I have read more about Tove Jansson, a fascinating woman of nature, who lived her life in the towns and islands of Finland, living well into old age, and her work is permeated with her life experiences and love of the natural world around her. Reviews of other stories in A Winter Book are heaped with praise, and thus I will certainly be reading the rest of this and other collections. I will however be waiting for the appropriate season for the rest of this wintry collection, as I think the glorious sun beaming down on me while reading about Snow did hamper my enjoyment just a little! Definitely one for being curled up in front of the fire, with snow falling outside.
A Perfect Day for Bananafish - J.D. Salinger
The first title read for my Short Story Reading Challenge and I may have placed the bar a little high! A Perfect Day for Bananafish was first published in the New Yorker, in 1948, in the aftermath of a World War and at the dawn of American consumerism. It was later published as the first in Salinger's Nine Stories. Bananafish follows a young couple, Seymour Glass and his wife Muriel, on a holiday in Florida.
The first half of the story introduces us to Muriel in her hotel room, making a telephone call to her mother, a conversation that intermittently switches between the topics of Seymour’s emotional instability and fashion. Their discussion alludes to a car accident caused by Seymour’s fragility and distraction, and Muriel’s mother’s fears for her daughter’s safety. The story then takes us to a young girl, Sybil, left to play alone on the beach by her mother. Sybil finds a perfectly cheerful Seymour, who takes her for a swim, telling her the story of the bananafish.
On publication, this short story was highly acclaimed, as an important topic for discussion in the years after the war, dealing with the shell-shocked young men, very like Seymour, who survived, but were forever changed by their experiences.
The reader is not invited too close. Seymour and Muriel are referred to as the young man, or the girl, their names only being spoken by other characters, the telephone operator and Muriel’s mother. This combined with it being a short story allows the reader to keep a distance, although this certainly did not dampen my feelings at the dramatic ending. Muriel’s character appears somewhat cold, and it would be easy for the reader to lay some blame on her for Seymour’s current state.
But what Salinger shows here is that depression cannot always be readily visible, one can be cheerful and go about your day regardless of inner turmoil. That is not to say there are no signs, Muriel’s mother alludes to some of the events where Seymour has lost control. But Muriel seems oblivious to her husband’s struggle, and it is difficult to say whether this is intentional or genuine ignorance. Sybil’s mother too is somewhat detached, leaving her daughter to play alone on the beach, while she returns to the hotel bar for a cocktail. Seymour's encounter with Sybil is endearing and playful, as if he were searching for a way to return to to the ease and simplicity of childhood himself, lost in a moment where there are no responsibilities, no consequences. It is entertaining Sybil and the tale of the bananafish that lead to this “Perfect Day” for Seymour.
I found this story beautifully meaningful, most especially because so many soldiers have returned from war as changed men, haunted by what they have seen and experienced. In telling a simple tale of one poignant day in the life of a married couple, Salinger has conveyed all the sadness and post-war confusion apparent in Seymour’s life. The bananafish is a welcome respite, a moment of amusment and childish fantasy, about which I could have read a entire story! Highly recommended, this short story will stay with you.
The first half of the story introduces us to Muriel in her hotel room, making a telephone call to her mother, a conversation that intermittently switches between the topics of Seymour’s emotional instability and fashion. Their discussion alludes to a car accident caused by Seymour’s fragility and distraction, and Muriel’s mother’s fears for her daughter’s safety. The story then takes us to a young girl, Sybil, left to play alone on the beach by her mother. Sybil finds a perfectly cheerful Seymour, who takes her for a swim, telling her the story of the bananafish.
On publication, this short story was highly acclaimed, as an important topic for discussion in the years after the war, dealing with the shell-shocked young men, very like Seymour, who survived, but were forever changed by their experiences.
The reader is not invited too close. Seymour and Muriel are referred to as the young man, or the girl, their names only being spoken by other characters, the telephone operator and Muriel’s mother. This combined with it being a short story allows the reader to keep a distance, although this certainly did not dampen my feelings at the dramatic ending. Muriel’s character appears somewhat cold, and it would be easy for the reader to lay some blame on her for Seymour’s current state.
But what Salinger shows here is that depression cannot always be readily visible, one can be cheerful and go about your day regardless of inner turmoil. That is not to say there are no signs, Muriel’s mother alludes to some of the events where Seymour has lost control. But Muriel seems oblivious to her husband’s struggle, and it is difficult to say whether this is intentional or genuine ignorance. Sybil’s mother too is somewhat detached, leaving her daughter to play alone on the beach, while she returns to the hotel bar for a cocktail. Seymour's encounter with Sybil is endearing and playful, as if he were searching for a way to return to to the ease and simplicity of childhood himself, lost in a moment where there are no responsibilities, no consequences. It is entertaining Sybil and the tale of the bananafish that lead to this “Perfect Day” for Seymour.
I found this story beautifully meaningful, most especially because so many soldiers have returned from war as changed men, haunted by what they have seen and experienced. In telling a simple tale of one poignant day in the life of a married couple, Salinger has conveyed all the sadness and post-war confusion apparent in Seymour’s life. The bananafish is a welcome respite, a moment of amusment and childish fantasy, about which I could have read a entire story! Highly recommended, this short story will stay with you.
Stories by Ernest Hemingway
Image via Wikipedia Hemingway's stories are poetry: that is my first and lasting impression of Ernest Hemingway's short stories. In his short stories, Hemingway treats words as sparsely as do poets.
I don't usually understand or enjoy poetry because it feels so much must be inferred or interpreted. While reading Ernest Hemingway's stories, I likewise felt the need to infer and interpret beyond my comfort zone: I didn't "get" them and I certainly didn't enjoy reading the few stories I read. While I've only read a dozen of Ernest Hemingway's short stories, I'm finished.
That, however, doesn't mean you should avoid Hemingway's stories: they may resonate with you, and you may love his writing style. He does a magnificent job of capturing a scene through dialog. Hemingway is worth reading.
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