In this thought-provoking story from Roberto Bolaño, a father and his twenty-two-year-old son go on an ill-fated vacation together. The two men are very different. The father is a sociable truck-driver who likes a good time, usually involving alcohol and women. Although no prude, his son is a broody intellectual who enjoys reading poetry. The holiday appears doomed from the start. Despite some tender moments, a tone of impending disaster builds throughout the story. It is fitting that, when danger finally strikes, father and son face it together. We aren’t told the outcome, because it’s not important to the story. More…
Letter From an Unknown Woman
In this moving story by Stefan Zweig, a playboy writer receives a letter from a lovesick, dying woman. She has worshipped him all her life, they have had two brief dalliances, and she has borne his son. Yet he has no idea who she is! Until their son was born, he was the sole focus of her life; for him, she didn’t exist. Readers are left with a question. If she loved him so much, why send a letter that may haunt him for the rest of his days? Themes: philandering, obsessive love, sacrifice, passion, suffering, confession, death. More…
Drying Out
Drying Out is from Cynthia Rylant’s book Every Living Thing, which contains several stories aimed at school-aged children about how animals can change people’s lives. In this story, the expression ‘Drying Out’ has nothing to do with water. Rather, it is an idiom which means for someone who is dependent on alcohol to stop drinking. The main character (protagonist) is a returned soldier whose life is ruined when he starts drinking too much after his wife leaves him. He is sent to a special hospital where some unlikely friends who visit every morning help him to overcome his problem. More…
The (Diamond) Necklace
This Guy de Maupassant story is about a beautiful woman who is unhappy with her situation in life. She has a loving husband with a secure government job, and they have enough money to hire a girl to do the harder housework. Sadly, she sees him as just a “little” clerk and dreams of being admired by richer and more important men. An invitation to a ball and loss of a borrowed necklace teach her how lucky she was, and what it means to be very poor. Themes include appearance vs. reality, class, discontent, vanity, pride, sacrifice, and suffering. More…
Rape Fantasies
This Margaret Atwood story makes extensive use of irony and dark humor to soften discussion of a serious topic. Set in a bar, the protagonist (Estelle) relates a lunchtime discussion she had with co-workers about rape fantasies. Two of them dream of erotic, romantic encounters, while another remains awkwardly silent. Estelle’s imagined attackers all have a physical or mental impediment requiring her help! Themes include gender stereotypes, vulnerability, complacency, and naivety (as exemplified by Estelle’s belief that having a conversation about rape with a man she meets in a bar will protect her against the real thing!) More…