Three People by William Trevor, 2000
The magic trick:
Gradually revealing the elephant in the room for our three main characters
This is perhaps my favorite Trevor story, which is saying quite a lot because quite a lot of his stories are so good.
It’s a classic Trevor situation. We observe three people – in this case, an elderly father, his adult daughter, and family friend/handyman – gather in various scenes. The third-person narration gradually reveals different clues and pieces of backstory that further explain some of the odd, awkward behavior between the trio.
It’s very insular in its concerns and stakes. But that insularity only ups the stakes within this small world the story has placed us in.
Crucially, there is a moment of disaster that the characters are dealing with. In fact, as we explore more Trevor stories the rest of this week, we’ll see that moment move around in his stories’ timelines.
Here, in “Three People,” that moment is long ago – more than a decade before the present tense of our story. The movement in the story is created by the gradual reveal of what exactly happened all those years ago. The reader is almost solving a mystery as we get each piece of backstory. The resonance of the story, though, is how we understand what these three people have lived with and will continue to live with once we’ve fully understood that moment of disaster.
And that’s quite a trick on Trevor’s part.
The selection:
“I should be getting on.”
“Oh, do stay with us.”
And Sidney does. He sits with Mr. Schele in the sitting-room and there’s an appetizer, salty little pretzels Vera has bought. No drink accompanies these. Mr. Schele talks about his childhood.
“The big rosebush has blown down,” Sidney interrupts, standing by the window now. “The wind has taken it.”
Mr. Schele comes to look and sorrowfully shakes his head. “Maybe the roots are holding,” he suggests. “Maybe a little can be done.”
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