The Diver by V.S. Pritchett, 1970
The magic trick:
Odd elements along what seemed like a simple narrative
“The Diver” seems simple enough. A man remembers his first job – at a leather shop in France. He then proceeds to recall how it led to his first sexual experience.
But along the way to manhood, we find many strange detours. There’s a shipwreck, there’s a murder, memories of a dead body, and of course there is that titular diver. And even those things follow a certain not-entirely-unpredictable rhythm.
It’s only after you finish the story and find yourself with an oddly unresolved feeling about the resolution that you realize how odd and how funny this story really is.
And that’s quite a trick on Pritchett’s part.
The selection:
The two customers admired me. The barman brought me the rum. I could not get my hand into my pocket, because it was wet.
“You pay me tomorrow,” said Claudel, putting a coin on the counter.
“Drink it quickly,” said the barman.
I was laughing and explaining now, but Claudel kept interrupting. “One moment he was on dry land, the next he was flying in the air, then plonk in the water. Three elements,” he said.
“Only fire is missing,” said the barman.
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