My Son The Murderer by Bernard Malamud, 1968 Continue reading
Tag: Vietnam War
‘The Stick Up’ by John Oliver Killens
The Stick Up by John Oliver Killens, 1967 Continue reading
‘The Honored Dead’ by Breece D’J Pancake
The Honored Dead by Breece D’J Pancake, 1981 Continue reading
‘Soldiers’ by Ellease Southerland
Soldiers by Ellease Southerland, 1972 Continue reading
‘Midnight And I’m Not Famous Yet’ by Barry Hannah
Midnight And I’m Not Famous Yet by Barry Hannah, 1975 Continue reading
‘Even Greenland’ by Barry Hannah
Even Greenland by Barry Hannah, 1985 Continue reading
‘Ambush’ by Donna Tartt
Ambush by Donna Tartt, 2005 Continue reading
‘Kid MacArthur’ by Stephanie Vaughn
Kid MacArthur by Stephanie Vaughn, 1984 Continue reading
‘Testimony Of Pilot’ by Barry Hannah
Testimony Of Pilot by Barry Hannah, 1978
The magic trick:
The hardness and distance in the narrator’s tone contrasted with moments of sweetness
Generally speaking, the narrator of this story comes off as a fairly tough customer. He often is egotistical about his success as a lover and his abilities as a drummer. He withholds regret, even as he reports the dastardly deed of hitting Quadberry in the eye with the battery early in the story. The whole tone is distanced.
All of that makes the few moments of sweetness the narrator does allow that much more powerful. Through this contrast, the reader is able to understand just how important Quadberry was to this man. The story’s last sentence – one such moment of sweetness – just floors me. And that’s quite a trick on Hannah’s part.
The selection:
Lillian asked me what she was supposed to do now. I told her she was supposed to come with me to my apartment in the old 1920 Clinton place where I was. I was supposed to take care of her. Quadberry had said so. His six-year-old directive was still working.