Brian Evenson and Creepiness

A few months ago I read the Brian Evenson story Two Brothers. It's a story that leaves you feeling really creeped out, but in a good way. It's impossible to read that story without feeling unsettled. The story resembles reality but Evenson's language creates a vibe of discomfort and left me feeling like I needed to take a long hot shower.
I couple days ago I decided to revisit Evenson's stories by purchasing his book Windeye. After reading the first story in the collection, I was not disappointed. The first story radiates the same creepy feelings created by Two Brothers. As a horror nerd, I am sometimes let down by movies and literature that belong to the horror genre. For every amazing wet-your-pants scary story, there is a lackluster dud that should be erased from existence. Evenson's stories are not lackluster duds that should be erased from existence. I enjoy them so far and will post more updates on stories in the future.

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Semplica Girl Diaries Reaction

Saunders' The Semplica Girl Diaries deals with a father's struggle to make his family happy. He feels the pressure of "limitations" that result from his lack of money and privilege. Attending the birthday party of his daughter's friend makes him depressed because of the extreme wealth on display at the other family's home. It's all relative in this story. The father feels his own middle to lower-class lifestyle is lacking in relation to the lifestyle of a much wealthier family. Lily, the narrator's youngest daughter, feels this the most. Lily seems ingrained to think that not having a disposable income means your life is deficient and not worth living. Why does she feel this way? Saunders thinks that society is responsible for glamorizing wealth and making people always aware of how others perceive them. More than anything else, money reminds us of who we are.

I found this story more engaging than most of the other Saunders' stories. Coming in at sixty pages, The Semplica Girl Diaries is more novella than short fiction. The narrator's voice was immediately engaging for me. Some of Saunders' other stories feel like they're coming straight from the mind of a psychopath. This story did not feel like this. The voice is clear and deliberate. The story is told in the form of journal entries that the father has jotted down before going to bed. He hopes to preserve his experiences for future readers. From what I can tell, the father is down to earth family man whose main wish is to make his family happy. When he wins ten grand on a scratch ticket, he decides to invest this money into his yard, buying a pond, hot tub, flowers, and three girls from Asia and Africa tied together by a microline inserted into their heads. In this fictional world, buying live humans a yard ornaments is the latest trend. The semplica girl element elevates this story to sci-fi and adds some horror to the mix. It's unsettling how comfortable the narrator is with using other human beings as decorations on his lawn.

One note on craft. I enjoyed Saunders' prose style in this story. He omits the use of "to be" verbs and words like "the" and "a". The result is a more minimalist story that makes it feel more like reading someone's journal. It's a very personal story that divulges the narrator's emotional and intellectual activities often. Another thing I appreciate about the journal format is the use of dates to separate the story into consumable chunks.

This story made me think about how identity is formed by other's perceptions. Especially in American culture, one's life is judged in relation to the lives of others. This is a sad truth that can invade your mind consume your activity. It can turn your life into a struggle to create meaningless status. This is the message I extracted from this story.

Puppy

"Puppy" by George Saunders alternates between the perspectives of two women, Marie and Callie. It's a simple story structure. The story's divided into four equal sized portions. Marie and Callie both get two. I guess each of these portions can be called a vignette. Saunders provides one informative scene from each woman's life before allowing the women to interact.

Each scene is told in the third person and feels like its coming from the character's mind. The first scene focuses on Marie, a mother of two children who has some problems but still lives a pretty good life. Her son Josh is prone to violent outburst but has mellowed out since playing a video game called Italian Loaves. This game simulates the life of a baker who must prepare his bread while avoiding the onslaught of animals such as wolves with distended stomachs and birds that drop rocks. Josh plays this game nonstop and it has mellowed him out. Marie is in control of her life and appears to be happy. The context of her life is strange but things seem to be going okay for her family. Marie has a fascination with bringing home strange things which is what leads her to contact Callie to purchase her dog.

Like Marie, Callie is a mother of a strange child. Callie's son has a habit of darting between cars on the interstate. Callie fears for her son's safety so she makes his take medication, but it makes him grind his teeth and lose control of his body. Like Marie, Callie has a plethora of problems but she is tough and appears to be relatively happy.

Callie and Marie are similar but have different lifestyles. Marie loves bringing home new animals to surprise her husband while Callie has too many animals.

Consequently, Callie's husband feels a need to kill the various animals because he grew up on a farm and understands the reality that the best way to get rid of animals is to kill them. This is what motivates Callie to post an ad in the paper to sell her dog ergo her husband won't have to kill it. For Callie, a lot depends on whether or not Marie buys her dog. 

So Marie arrives at Callie's house and intends to purchase the dog. Everything is going smoothly until Marie looks out the window and sees Bo, Callie's son, chained to a tree. It's the funniest moment of the story. After seeing this boy chained to a tree, Marie assumes that this is child abuse. She flashbacks to her own painful upbringing and changes her mind about buying the dog. Little does she know that this boy is chained up for his own good. Its possible that this chain is keeping the boy alive but Marie sees it in a different light.

Both women love their children but experience love in a different way. Marie can manipulate her son's behavior by getting him a video game but Callie's situation is more difficult. Bo is a danger to himself when given free roam outdoors but hates being kept indoors. Callie's solution is to chain him to a tree. This is how love exists in Callie's world. Loving those around you for who they are and trying to make them realize their full potential. I believe this is the ultimate message of Saunders' "Puppy". 

Random boy chained to a tree.

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"The Barber"

"It is trying on liberals in Dilton".

So begins Flannery O'Connor's story "The Barber". O'Conner lived in the South during the first half of the twentieth century. A time when African Americans were denied many basic rights. This story focuses on why a college professor named Rayber decides to change barbers. Rayber, being an educated man, believes in racial equality and supports a progressive political candidate by the name of Darmon. Rayber's barber supports a candidate named Hawkson who never changes his speeches that appeal to the prejudices of lower class Whites.

In the beginning Rayber is caught off guard when his barber asks him the brutally honest question: "You a nigger-lover?". Racial equality is a black and white issue for the barber. In his mind you're either with him or against him. There's no room for in-betweens or any other perspectives. Rayber on the other hand sees a more complex issue. He identifies as neither a Negro- no a white-lover and assures the barber that he would readily accept both blacks and white in his classroom.


In this story the reader gets some interiority but not enough to make definitive conclusions about the characters. While the barber and his friend seem simple-minded, it's possible that they are more attuned to the political climate than they let on. It's easy for me to understand Rayber's dilemma. He's a teacher and he wants to enlighten people although he has no idea how to do this. Instead of speaking his mind directly and confidently, Rayber suppresses what he wants to say because he this that his audience won't understand. Rayber makes assumptions about how his audience will react when he really has no idea. So rayber writes a paper that he thinks will convert the barber once read aloud in the barber's shop.

Irony arises when Rayber enters the shop the next day and the barber wants to talk about hunting. To Rayber this situation is a symbolic of a larger societal problem. If he can convince one ignorant barber to vote for Darmon, maybe not all is lost for the South. When Rayber finishes reading his paper in the barbershop, his audience laughs and no one is inclined to change their mind. Not even the colored boy George who understands the social dynamic better than anyone in the shop. In the end Rayber punches the barber out of frustration and storms out of the shop with lather still on his face and an apron billowing behind him like a cape. A comical image of someone who has let things go way too far.

"The Barber" is my favorite O'Conner story so far. Its a simple story in terms of plot but O'Conner makes it rich and compelling with her use of language. It's a pleasure to read O'Conner's writing because it demonstrates a keen eye for detail and a deep understanding of human psychology. More posts about O'Conner's stories on the way.

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"Tell The Women We're Going"

Not the best place for a bike ride.

Another Carver story that left me speechless, "Tell The Women We're Going" deals with the relationship between two friends named Bill and Jerry. Bill and Jerry are inseparable growing up until college when Jerry drops out and gets married to a woman named Carol. Bill becomes a third wheel and whenever he goes to hang out with Jerry, he feels awkward because Jerry and Carol will start making out in front of him. Bill eventually gets married to a woman named Linda. The two couples then start hanging out regularly.

Carver reveals that Jerry and Carol have had two kids and Carol is pregnant with a third. Life has sped up quickly for Jerry who has found himself tied down in his early twenties. Meanwhile Bill seems to have his shit together compared to Jerry. Bill marries later and finishes college. One afternoon Bill and Jerry are relaxing drinking beer when they decide to go for a drive. Each has about five beers playing pool. At this point I realized that both Bill and Jerry are unlikable characters. They're on their way back home when they spot two women on bicycles and Jerry tells Bill to turn around the car so they can talk to them. Bill starts up some small talk but the girls don't really seem interested in what Bill has to offer. They follow the girls who ditch their bikes and start walking on trail. Bill and Jerry follow. Bill doesn't seem interested in following but Jerry urges him to keep up.

During this part of the story, there's a sense that something bad is about to happen. That moment happens when Jerry uses a rock to kill both of the women.    Bill says that he only wanted to have sex and would have been fine if that didn't happen but he's still an accessory to murder. The murder is a gut punch to the reader because nothing in the story suggests that Jerry is a murderer. Jerry's actions are irrational so one can assume that he's a psychopath. This story is appealing in its simplicity and bizarre turn of events. It sticks out more than Carver's other stories because of its violent ending.

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"The Bath" By Raymond Carver

All of Raymond Carver's stories are difficult to figure out. Most of the time the information I get feels inconsequential and the real questions I have are never fully answered. The stories do tend to draw me in but as soon as I'm engaged, the story ends and I'm left wondering what the hell happened.

Carver's writing process

"The Bath" is one such story. The basic storyline is quite clear. A Boy gets hit by car on his birthday, falls into a coma, and gets taken to the hospital. Boy's father and mother wait at his bedside while doctors attempt to figure out the problem. The mother is very worried and refuses to leave until she realizes its pointless to stay in the hospital when there's nothing she can do. She goes home with the intention of feeding the dog and taking a bath. 

Taking a bath. It's a key element of the story. The title is "The Bath". I know that the title of the story was later revised to "A Small, Good Thing" which may or may not reveal more about Carver's intentions. Perhaps the bath is important because it is a small good thing and small good things tend to help people during tough times. Once the woman arrives home, she receives a phone call about her son Scotty. Of course this is where the story ends and the dialogue is intentionally vague so that one has no idea who's calling. It might be the baker, the school, or the hospital. 

Lack of communication is a theme throughout this story. There's enough communication between characters to peak my interest, but not enough to understand what's going on. That's just it. The characters and their actions are interesting but communication never succeeds in stirring the same interest. Communication is an integral part of everyday life. People don't realize how important communication is until it disappears. Communication doesn't completely disappear in "The Bath" but certain kinds of communication are conspicuously absent. For example the baker in the beginning only wants to know what is absolutely necessary. He talks like a robot. Such communication is easily forgotten by people because it is boring. People like to be pleasant and respond well to positive emotions and appreciate a smile here and there. None of this positive energy exists in "The Bath". 

Anyways, I'm going to sleep. Here's a link to today's story so all five of the people who read this post have easy access to it. 

http://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/fms/Colleges/College%20of%20Humanities%20and%20Social%20Sciences/EMS/Readings/139.105/Additional/The%20Bath%20-%20Raymond%20Carver.pdf

In the comment section post whatever you want. Your reaction to the story, my blog, helpful comments about my writing or whatever you want. The world is your oyster. Thanks for reading and please share and +1 my blog. It really helps me out. Goodnight

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Why Don't You Dance?

I recently checked out a collection of stories by Raymond Carver from the library. Carver is one of those writers who was required reading for me in high school but I has not re-entered my life until now. He has a distinct style using few words and creating characters that reflect his own life experiences. The characters i've encountered so far all seem peculiar.

In "Why Don't You Dance?" the story begins from a man's perspective as he sits drinking whiskey and staring at the furniture in his front yard. For whatever reason, the man has set up his furniture outdoors in a public setting and has even connected the tv to an electricity source indoors. We get very little information about who this man is or why he has decided to do this with his furniture. One can make assumptions about this man based on his actions but nothing definitive can be known about his life based on the story.

A boy and a girl stumble upon this man's furniture and are open-minded enough to interact with another person's belongings because they think it might be a yard sale. I was curious about the ages of the boy and girl because they are old enough to be furnishing an apartment but are still referred to as "the boy" and "the girl" for most of the story.

When the man shows up and finds the girl lying on his bed, no one seems surprised and the boy, girl, and man start haggling with each other. The story seems unrealistic due to a lack of emotion present in the characters. The strange  interactions between the characters made me even more curious about the setting and context of the story. Where do these characters live? Why do they seem so comfortable with each other? These are just a couple of my questions regarding this story.

After the boy and girl have purchased what they want, the man decides that its time for a drink. Once again, the boy and girl do not question what's happening and drink whiskey in this stranger's front yard. When everyone is adequately hammered, the boy and girl begin dancing in the driveway. Eventually the boy stumbles away and is replaced by the man, now dancing with the girl who is likely much younger than him. While this event doesn't seem inappropriate, the girl rests her head on the man's shoulder and the act of dancing itself is an intimate experience. The story ends on a strange note. Later on, the girl describes this experience to everyone she can. She wants to talk about it and feels like she her experience with the man was extraordinary in some way, yet she can't put her finger on what makes it that way. The ending makes me think that something must have happened between the man and the woman in the story that wasn't revealed by the narrator.

This is only one of several Carver stories I have read so far and will post another recap of my favorite story in the collection. Despite the weirdness of "Why Don't You Dance?" I recommend it mainly because of Carver's reputation as a master of short fiction. The story can be found here: http://typistspen.com/why-dont-you-dance-raymond-carver/

If you have time, read it and let me know what you think of it. I'd love to hear some other reactions to this story possibly as a comment to this post. See you tomorrow.

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Afterworld by Anthony Doerr

Anthony Doerr's collection of stories, Memory Wall, is incredible writing. Although some stories are obvious stand-outs, each one is an example of fiction at its strongest. The true test of any short story is how long it lingers in readers' minds after being consumed. Stories such as "Memory Wall", "Afterworld" and "Village 113" will stay with me for a long time.

"Afterworld" deals with the life of an epileptic woman named Esther Gramm who grows up in Germany during the rise of the Nazis and lives out her days in a rural Ohio town. The story cycles rhythmically between Esther's childhood and old age in a way that feels natural. As with all of Doerr's stories, the pace is graceful and structured while never feeling forced. It's hard to describe the tempo of Doerr's stories so I recommend you find these stories for yourself either online or in a hard copy. I wish I could provide a link to an online version.

Esther experiences seizures that speak to her and allow her to experience her own past and what seems to be the memories of other people such as her parents. Even after her memory has deteriorated, Esther's epileptic fits allow her to go back in time to the orphanage in Germany where she grew up. The world wants to classify Esther's epilepsy as a medical problem but she thinks of it as a gift. Esther is truly one in a million. Her epilepsy connects her to the doctor who eventually saves her by taking her away from Germany. The seizures let her see images that fuel her imagination and influence her career as a children's book illustrator. Esther's grandson Robert interviews her to get material for his thesis on World War Two. The seizures may interfere with her moods and make her do strange things, but the story makes a compelling case that they are more good than bad. Without them, Esther is just another girl. In many ways Esther's epilepsy is a crucial aspect of the story.

"Afterworld" is the kind of story that affects you mentally and emotionally. Esther and the girls living in their orphanage are innocent and really have no idea that death is right around the corner. Thankfully, the story omits any portion of the girls' lives post-orphanage. Memories live in our minds until our minds grow old. It's important that some memories become immortalized in some way or another because humanity can lose important lessons. Doerr's Memory Wall is a compelling examination of how memory works.

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"Sticks"

My second post is about the story "Sticks" the second story in Saunders' Tenth of December. This story is less than two pages long making it the shortest story in the collection by far. The story centers on the narrator's father who erects a metal cross in his family's front yard and decorates the cross in strange ways. At first, the father decorates the cross to fit different holidays. By the end, he strings sticks to the cross and hangs all kinds of weird things from the six strings. These sticks give the story its title and represent six offspring, leading me to conclude that the each stick represents a child and the large metal cross represents the father.

It's a weird premise for a story but Saunders makes it interesting. With no explanation for why the father builds the crucifix, I was left to assume that the father is an eccentric, the kind of person who does weird things because it makes him happy. The story reveals that the father is somewhat of a helicopter parent who limits how much ketchup his children eat and shrieks at one of his children for wasting an apple slice. What a freak.

I can't help but wonder where Saunders got his inspiration for this story. Why did he choose to write a story about this weird father who obsesses over a crucifix in his yard? It reminds me a little of my own father who gets a kick out of wearing weird clothes and being eccentric because it shocks other people. I got the impression that my own father is similar to the father in "Sticks". While the father does weird stuff, it seems like its always in the interest of his children. In only two pages, Saunders gave me a character who reminds me of my own father. I feel like I know this character on a personal level even though I don't know much about him. This story was enjoyable in spite of its short length which made it easy to re-read. I probably read it at least eight times. 

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Victory Lap by George Saunders

I recently picked up George Saunders' new short story collection, "Tenth of December". I was so impressed by his story "Sea Oak" that I decided to check his most recent collection of stories. If you've never read "Sea Oak" you should. It's awesome.

The first story in Saunders' new book is "Victory Lap", a story told from three different perspectives. "Victory Lap" is obviously a story written by the Saunders. The language, sense of humor, and general style is unmistakably Saunders. I was immediately drawn in by Saunders' vocabulary and fascinating characters. While both "Victory Lap" and "Sea Oak" feature third person narration, "Victory Lap" has much more interiority with its characters. The voice of the story feels like it comes directly from the mind of its characters. Saunders does this convincingly making each character's segment feel unique with all kinds of different details bubbling beneath the surface alluding to each character's past. Ok, that's enough about fancy stylistic stuff.

"Victory Lap" is a crazy story. The characters are hilarious and fascinating but it doesn't feel like anythings really happening until wham! One of the characters Allison is kidnapped by some guy named Melvin and taken into his van to be raped and killed.  Its a weird gut punch in the middle of a story that doesn't feel like it should involve rape, murder, or kidnapping. The story does end on a happy note though (happy for me at least).

As much as this story weirded me out and made me feel like I barely understood its three characters, I still enjoyed reading it. Saunders keeps things interesting and proves that he knows how to make readers unsure whether they should be laughing or crying.

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