Graillis’s Legacy by William Trevor, 2004
The magic trick:
Protagonist and reader both at the same time what haunts lie in the protagonist’s past
Yesterday’s Trevor feature, “Three People,” kept the reader guessing until the very end as to the specific tragedy the three people in the story were reckoning with.
In “Graillis’s Legacy,” that template gets a twist. Similar to “Three People,” The reader spends most of the story learning more about the nature of what happened in the past that haunts our protagonist so. The difference? The protagonist is on the journey with the reader, as he also slowly comes to understand just how much this past will now sit with him.
And that’s quite a trick on Trevor’s part.
The selection:
He should have explained to the solicitor that he was a widower, that there was no marriage now to be damaged by a legacy that might seem to indicate a deception in the past. He should have explained that his doubts about accepting so much, and travelling to seek advice in another town, had only to do with avoiding curiosity and gossip in his own. He didn’t know why he hadn’t explained, why it hadn’t occurred to him that Clifferty had probably taken it upon himself to pity a wronged wife who was now being wronged again, that subterfuge and concealment were again being called upon.
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Hey there!
Just a small note, I think your “magic trick” title might be missing a verb (“set”? “guide”?) between “both the”.
Thank you for your continuous bits and bites on short stories! They’re entertaining, guiding without being patronising, and almost a collection of short stories on their own. (And open the doors to many a new place!)
Thanks for the catch and the kind words!