Live Wires by Thomas Beller, 1993
The magic trick:
Using the before, during, and after of a Hanukkah party as the skeleton structure of the plot
We’re doing another round of holiday stories. To be perfectly honest, they’re almost always Christmas stories. But today’s “Live Wires,” by Thomas Beller, is set during a Hanukkah party.
The party setting works very nicely for a story. We start at the outset, our protagonist savoring the silence in his mother’s New York apartment just before the first guests arrive. We attend the party with everyone, staying mainly in his point of view. Then the plot dissipates into a kind of conclusion as the protagonist arrives at his girlfriend’s apartment after the party has ended.
It’s a tidy, little skeleton for a plot.
And that’s quite a trick on Beller’s part.
The selection:
“She’ll enjoy it,” says his mother, finishing with the last tomato. “She’s open-minded.”
Alex feels a stab of irritation at his mother for presuming things about his girlfriend, though what she says about Christine is probably right. The two have met several times, and although their styles could not be more different, they have seemed to connect. Alex has been intensely sensitive to the progress of these encounters. Christine is eight years older than he and occupies a strange place in the age spectrum, somewhere between himself and his mother. This worries him, for some reason.
As always, join the conversation in the comments section below, on SSMT Facebook or on Twitter @ShortStoryMT.
Subscribe to the Short Story Magic Tricks Monthly Newsletter to get the latest short story news, contests and fun.
Short Story Magic Tricks 