Korea by John McGahern, 1969
The magic trick:
Huge revelations but confined in a story that still feels small and subtle
McGahern was just cutting diamond after diamond back in the late 60s, early 70s. This one – arguably his best? – finds him again staking out a father-son relationship to mine deep-rooted emotions.
On one hand, the plot here hinges on some shockingly large actions. In short, the son learns something fairly dastardly that the father is doing. But the beauty of the story is how it refuses to match its plot’s bigness. The story locks in on the nuanced feelings on the edges of this plot. It’s a remarkable combination.
And that’s quite a trick on McGahern’s part.
The selection:
‘Why America?’
‘Well, it’s the land of opportunity, isn’t it, a big, expanding country? There’s no room for ambition in this poky place. All there’s room for is to make holes in pints of porter.’
I was wary of the big words. They were not in his own voice.
‘Who’d pay the fare?’
‘We’d manage that. We’d scrape it together somehow.’
‘Why should you scrape for me to go to America if I can get a job here?’
‘I feel I’d be giving you a chance I never got. I fought for this country. And now they want to take away even the licence to fish. Will you think about it anyhow?’
‘I’ll think about it,’ I answered.
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