‘The Blessing Tobacco’ by Morgan Talty

The Blessing Tobacco by Morgan Talty, 2020

The magic trick:

Taking an idea to the next level

It’s our second consecutive day featuring Morgan Talty’s outstanding debut collection Night Of The Living Rez.

These are stories of generational trauma, to be sure, focused on a family in the Penobscot Reservation in Maine. “The Blessing Tobacco” is an excellent example.

Instead of talking about generational trauma, the story shows us. But it’s the way it shows us, wow. This is not a story showing us a grandson repeat the mistakes of his grandfather. This is next level showing – an Alzheimer’s-addled grandmother mistakes her grandson for her brother, and she reenacts a tragic memory from her own childhood.

It’s a brilliant idea, and I believe it’s representative of the entire collection. That aforementioned hypothetical of showing generational trauma by having a character repeat the mistakes of his grandfather … that would’ve been fine. But this author seems to not settle on “fine.” He pushes past “fine” and goes to something more original and affecting.

And that’s quite a trick on Talty’s part.

The selection:

Grammy lit her own cigarette, took a drag, and set it down on the table, the lit end dangling off. She picked up her coffee, blew on it sharply, and sipped.

I could have smoked more of the cigarette, but I didn’t even sip my coffee twice before Grammy lit another Misty.

“Go on,” she said. “Help yourself.”

“I’m okay,” I said. My throat hurt.

“No, no,” she said. “Please. Have another.”

“That’s okay, Frances. Really.”

Grammy sipped her coffee and then set the mug down. “Have another,” she said.

By the seventh cigarette, I realized Grammy was setting me up. Or setting Robbie up. I was sitting in that chair, watching Grammy grow angrier and angrier, forcing cigarette after cigarette.

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