Norman Waksler - July 19, 1941 – Still alive!!!
Waksler following Updike. What company. And a nice follow.
It was good to see that Waksler is still alive. And, very reachable. He has a page on Goodreads as well as a Facebook page.
He is a librarian (yea!) and is still writing.
The story.
I was happy to encounter this story. I do hope that its placement at the end of the volume did not result in readers not reading it. I’ll state it once again, and will state it yet again in another post, I think Elkin has done a really poor job with some of his selections and organization of the stories in this volume.
This was a very readable story. It would have done the BASS a service to be included more towards the front of the collection where it could have received more eyes and kept readers more engaged in the whole book.
What did Markowitz teach me?
Well, it brought back to my attention, that in life, we are all “Marks”. And, we have no problem playing the role of a gypsy from time to time.
The “humanness” of Markowitz was clearly developed and I feel that this was a strong part of what kept me engaged in the story.
It’s part of what makes us human I suppose. The push and pull of everyday life.
There is a fine balance that runs along with that push/pull.
Personally, I feel that I have not been the victim of, or played gypsy, too often in my life.
In that case, I think I’m lucky.
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ReplyDeleteI'm throughly pleased that "Markowitz" still lives and breathes in people's thoughts. I was always grateful to Staley Elkin for choosing it. It seemed to be his kind of story. And I thank you for noting it.
ReplyDeleteI've recently retired from the library (observe my gray beard) but yes I still write, and in fact I have two volumes of shorts stories available (if anyone is interested.) I also have a website, Normanwakslerfiction.com, where I can be reached (or said volumes can be read about).
Thank's again, and best wishes to NOKAJ.
Norman Waksler