Verona: A Young Woman Speaks : Harold Brodkey

Harold Brodkey

1930-1996

Yet another piece presented that takes place in a country other than America.

This was a rather small selection. Filled with detail and the observations of a 7 or 8 year old girl.

I enjoyed this story, and I’m not really sure why. Perhaps it had to do with the authors ability to give me the chance to experience life as this little girl for a few minutes.

She is remarkably observant but those observations are realized by her at a late age.

Honestly, I am having trouble with this review.

I can’t seem to get much out. I also want to take the time to reassure myself, and you, whoever you are reading this that like any other piece of artwork, these writings about the stories I read are just my interpretations of the piece of art I am experiencing. I could be way off on what the author is attempting to relate. Sometimes I may not read correctly, and other times I may read too much into a story, paragraph or sentence. I think though that this is the beauty of the story. It can be read as something that is to be taken very lightly or one can look deeper into the story for meaning.

Score : 7 out of 10.

Intermission posting

 I really enjoy my work.  

Other books that I am reading which prevent me from making more regular postings.

War and Peace - Yup that one.

Infinite Jest - Think I've given up on that one.

Shroom - Just reading the chapters about Terence Mckenna.

A Good Loser : Elizabeth Cullinan

I found that I remembered more about this story than the previous two after my reread. I enjoyed it. I am also

picking up on a theme here by Solotaroff. This is the third story the collection and the third to take place in a country other than America. Not quite sure if it really has any underlying meaning but it is strange nonetheless.

I’ve been to Ireland once, and the “visit” could hardly be called that. I was there long enough to scramble off an Aeroflot flight and grab a quick Guinness at an airport bar. The bar seemed to be situated at the end of the concourse for the very purpose of dispensing beer to passengers in a manner that would allow the passengers to scramble back onto their flight in a few seconds. It was my first Guinness, and I wouldn’t know if it tasted any different in Ireland vs. the US. As a matter of fact, I think I was drunk at the time - or my sense of taste and smell had been obliterated by all the smokers on the flight.

I can’t nail down exactly what it was that appealed to me about this story, but I think that it was just “written well”. It flowed nicely, good tension in the spots that needed it, and the characters were appealing enough.

I related to the fronts put up by the characters and the acting that took place between the threesome. The courtesies and niceties exchanged all under the knowledge that each knew what was really being said. Happens too often in life and it’s too bad so many people fail to see this.

Best line in the story is the last.

–For, with all the resources it has to command, happiness remains a shaky fortress. Sorrow is the stronghold.

So true.

Score: 7 out of 10.

The Translation : Joyce Carol Oates

It’s great that the second story I read in this project came from Joyce Carol Oates. Oates and her writing are what solidified my love for the short story. Of course, Glimmer Train came first, started the fire, but JCO can be credited with dousing the fire with plenty of gasoline. I have been fortunate enough to read countless stories by Oates from various collections and in numerous magazines. It seems that no matter the literary magazine/journal I come across, I seem to look for a piece by her. I like the thought that there should always be an artistic anchor one hitches himself/herself to.

This story is another from the 1978 collection that I read several months ago and reread today. As I mentioned in the previous post, I first read this during a visit to my car dealership last year. I found today’s reread much more to my liking. I suppose that I am quite susceptible to environmental conditions while I read.

JCO does a fine job with “The Translation”, and it is of course worthy of this collection in BASS. Good selection by Solotaroff. Then again, I wonder what sort of pressures he felt to include her. She had made quite a name for herself by the time of this selection, and if she was left out...

This story hit me with another interesting draw. I was expecting the typical JCO plot, theme and rich details...but she was surprising in her “normalcy”. At least that is what I thought 7/8^ths of the way into the story. I think she does a nice job of causing the reader to question the relationships in the story; Oliver with himself, as well as his relationship with his translator and the object of Oliver’s desire, Alisa.

The setting of the story is also special to me. I too smelled the Linden (lime) trees on a spring day. I too saw the poured concrete buildings. I also felt some of the same pressures and awkward social situations Oliver found himself in. I cast curses on my native country, vowing never to return. I spoke ill of my country to shine a brighter light, or a more hopeful light on my host country.

There is a scene that Oates describes in the story that takes place in a crowded café. I can honestly say that I was in the same position as Oliver on more than one occasion. I felt the pains of not knowing a language that was being spoken around me.

People entering and exiting my life under suspicious circumstances while I lived in Romania. Constant feelings of being under surveillance. Money lent never to be repaid.

I also found myself in a conversation where this quote would have fit perfectly.

“the nature of freedom is not so simple. But it is always political.”

I’ll give this a 7 out of 10 a bump up from the 6 I had on my first read.