The Final Problem by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1893 Continue reading
Tag: London
‘The Adventure Of The Solitary Cyclist’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventure Of The Solitary Cyclist by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903 Continue reading
‘The Five Orange Pips’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Five Orange Pips by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1891 Continue reading
‘The Adventure Of Abbey Grange’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Adventure Of Abbey Grange by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1904 Continue reading
‘The Red-Headed League’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Red-Headed League by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1891 Continue reading
‘A Scandal In Bohemia’ by Arthur Conan Doyle
A Scandal In Bohemia by Arthur Conan Doyle, 1891 Continue reading
‘The Embassy Of Cambodia’ by Zadie Smith
The Embassy Of Cambodia by Zadie Smith, 2013 Continue reading
‘One Off The Short List’ by Doris Lessing
One Off The Short List by Doris Lessing, 1960 Continue reading
‘The Camberwell Beauty’ by V.S. Pritchett
The Camberwell Beauty by V.S. Pritchett, 1974
The magic trick:
Combining setting with concept and metaphor
“The Camberwell Beauty” takes the reader into England’s high-end antique trade, but it soon becomes clear Pritchett did not pick this setting and scene simply because he likes antiques. The whole story begins to work as a metaphor as the narrator falls in love with Isabel. His desire to find and possess her is exactly the same as the desire felt by antique dealers for certain objects and collections. She exists as a quest, a prized accomplishment, more than she does as an actual human being. As a result, the story, previously a fairly drab character study amidst the unscrupulous antiquing industry, becomes an interesting consideration on possessive love. And that’s quite a trick on Pritchett’s part.
The selection:
The moral is this: if “The Burning of Cranmer” was August’s treasure, it was hopeless to try and get it before he had time to guess what mine was. It was clear to him that I was too new to the trade to have one.
‘Liars In Love’ by Richard Yates
Liars In Love by Richard Yates, 1981
The magic trick:
A great title
I love the title of this story. It’s catchy and memorable like a great pop song title. It’s also instructive as to what Yates is saying in the story.
Christine lies. We see that. Warren is very obviously concerned about her lies. We don’t any help in seeing that. With the title’s guidance, though, the reader is prompted to look further and find the lies in the other characters’ actions as well. Warren and Carol lie to their daughter, to Carol’s aunt Judith. Warren lies to Christine about his feelings and intentions. Much of the surface happiness in Grace and Alfred’s apartment is based on lies, half-truths, and hidden feelings. Everyone lies.
Tellingly, when the characters in the story communicate honestly, things play out far better than they anticipated. Yates grants them happy endings only when they stop lying. The theme permeates damn near every sentence of the story, and the title keeps the reader’s focus on this idea. And that’s quite a trick on Yates’s part.
The selection:
“Know what I like most about you, Warren?” she asked very late in their third or fourth night together. “Know what I really love about you? It’s that I feel I can trust you. All my life, that’s all I ever wanted: somebody to trust. And you see I keep making mistakes and making mistakes because I trust people who turn out to be – “
“Shh, shh,” he said, “it’s OK, baby. Let’s just sleep now.”
