Watching Mysteries With My Mother by Ben Marcus, 2012
The magic trick:
Never letting the story escape the narrator’s head
Nothing happens in this story. Literally nothing. There is no narrative. The entire story exists in the narrator’s head. It’s all thoughts, flashbacks, and hypotheticals. There is never one single bit of narrative present tense. And that’s quite a trick on Marcus’s part.
The selection:
I am helpless to wonder if there is someone in the world who would deserve it if I died. If, for instance, a person’s death occurs as a punitive measure to some other person, as my mother’s death, should it occur today, would certainly seem to me, then whose comeuppance is it when I die? Is there, for each of us, a culprit who will have had it coming when we go?
As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.
Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.
Short Story Magic Tricks 