The experimental style of this Joyce Carol Oates story takes a little getting used to. In the form of a disorganized set of notes for an English writing assignment, a sixteen-year-old girl reviews the events that landed her in government care. Starved of affection by her wealthy parents, her acts of rebellion escalate from shoplifting to running away from home and falling under the spell of a prostitute and her Svengali-like, drug-addicted pimp. Sadly, the House of Correction isn’t the sanctuary she thought it would be. Themes parental neglect, rebellion, human trafficking, drug use, class and racial conflict. More…
Spring in Fialta
Acclaimed as one of Vladimir Nabokov’s best stories, Spring in Fialta’s is a haunting reminiscence of what was and might have been. A businessman travels widely across Europe. On many occasions, and in different cities, he coincidentally comes across and enjoys brief dalliances with the same enigmatic woman. Both are married and know each other’s partners. He has strong romantic feelings for her, but is unsure if they are reciprocated. A meeting in Fialta, in which he tentatively admits his love, is their last before her tragic death. Themes include memories and the past, fate, love and desire, death, loss. More…
Great Day
David Malouf’s Great Day takes place over the seventy-second birthday celebration for the patriarch of a large, close-knit Australian family. The story explores some of the differences and tensions between family members, as well as the state of mind of the patriarch. A powerful retired senior public servant with a commanding personality, he is consumed by thoughts of death. Two linked events, the destruction of a family museum and the subsequent moving words of a usually shy, tongue-tied family member bring a sense of peace to the old man and unification to the family. Themes: power, loss, dreams, connection, unification. More…
Residents and Transients
The protagonist in this Bobbie Ann Mason story is at a crossroads. Having returned to temporarily live on her parent’s Kentucky farm after they moved to Florida, she hates the idea of going back to suburban living. Her salesman husband has a new post and is away looking at houses in a nearby city, and in his absence she has been having an affair with a local man. She is caught between two places and two men. Her cats may prove the deciding factor. Themes: change (past vs. present), city vs. country living, rootedness vs mobilty, uncertainty, choices and consequences. More…
Waters of Gold
This Chinese folktale retold by Laurence Yep is in two parts. First, readers encounter the kind-hearted Auntie Lily who has spent so much of her money helping others that she now lives in poverty. Her fortunes change for the better when she helps a filthy, foul-smelling beggar who everyone else ignores. Later, her greedy neighbour experiences a different result when, hoping for a similar reward, she helps the same man. The two parts show different sides of the “be kind to others” moral: kindness for kindness’s sake brings its own rewards; kindness in expectation of reward usually leads to disappointment. More…