American Beauty by Ethan Canin, 1988
The magic trick:
A character who gives the narrator an assignment of sorts; an assignment that the reader can take on too as we read the story
This is a story about siblings. The teenage narrator is trying to figure out his older brother (by 11 years), who has left the family and disappeared. The key to enjoying this story, I think, is being interested in the brother and his mercurial character. I was not particularly interested him. But that’s just me. And even with that said, I did enjoy the story.
There is a very obvious interest driver early in the story. That mercurial older brother gives his younger brother a mercurial promise. Something to the effect of: I’m going to tell you something important about life, but I won’t tell you when I’m doing it; I’ll just drop it into conversation when you’re not paying attention; sometime this summer.
OK, so what a ridiculous thing for a human being to say. But, wow, what an enticing draw for the reader to rope us into the story, scanning every conversation for what might be that golden nugget of wisdom.
And that’s quite a trick on Canin’s part.
The selection:
“It’s difficult for her to be around all you men,” my mother said to me. “You and Lawrence are together somehow, and that’s a lot for your sister.” Then she told me never to call Darienne crazy. She said this was important, something I should never forget. I was thirteen or fourteen years old. “Whatever you do,” she said, tilting her head forward and looking into my eyes, “whatever happens, I want you to remember that.”
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