Furniture by Laura Valeri

Furniture

By Laura Valeri

Glimmer Train Summer 2008

This was an interesting piece to read. Throughout the story the general perspective changes. The story is divided into three different sections, and each section focuses of the perspective of a different character. The story centers on an Italian family moving to New Your City. The father is very conservative and the story is about the distance that the move creates between the parents and the children, as the children become more engrained in the culture and the parents have a hard time with it. The uses of the different perspectives highlights this growing change. The perspective centers on character when they are most faced with the struggles of adapting to American life. The story goes into the children’s perspective early showing that they are the first one to be confronted by these challenges. The ultimately become Americanized. The story ends in both of the parent’s perspective but they have not fully made the transition

                This is another story that ends masterfully with a symbolic ending. I have found that these are the types of ending that I enjoy the most. Late in the story we are introduced to a character called Dorothy. Dorothy is an 80 year old women who figure skates in the park in elaborate clothing. She is old and her body has become shaky, but when she is in costume, through a thick fog, you could not tell that she was so old. The last line of the story illustrates how she is an allegory for the struggle of the two parents. The line reads, “A glimpse of their own courage, maybe; a shaky thing dressed up in showy clothes. The parents have to dress up their fear and discomfort to make it seem as though they aren’t scared and lost.

Some People don’t like Celebrities by Michael Ian Black

This one interested me because the author is from one of my favorite movies, Wet Hot American Summer and the comedy central show Stella, which is also very enjoyable. I’ve heard he’s a tool in real life. But, he’s also very funny. Anyway he starts off with, “Some people just don’t like me. I know this is hard to believe, especially when you consider the following: 1) I am a celebrity (very famous). 2) I have sixty percent of my income to ‘Jerry’s kids.’ 3) I hardly ever kick my dog.. Two of these things are true, and shouldn’t that be enough to ensure me a large measure of goodwill from my fellow man?”  He said that he first discovered that people dislike for him after he appeared on I Love the 70’s. After his appearance on the show he checked out their Internet message board and saw that the majority of the posts expressed hatred towards him. The post that had the most devastating impact on him was the one that read, “Michael Ian Black is not that cute.” This was funny that it had the most affect on him because it was the most positive post of the bunch. He went through these posts and gave his own commentary on each. For his closing he states an apology to the people that wrote them. His apology consist of many “really”’s.

            Honestly, it wasn’t that funny. I was more interested in it because I like his humor. It made me think about technology and how the internet allows people to publicize their hatred for one another. It may or may not be true that Michael Ian Black is an arrogant person, but he has made a name for himself. So, if these hateful opinions ring true, in some sense, he’s almost warranted to act this way. Also, I found it funny that people have so much time to write these posts and think that their personal opinions hold value. It also made me reflect on my earlier assumption, when I wrote, “I’ve heard he’s a tool in real life.” Where did I hear this? And why did I associate the word “tool” with Michael Ian Black? Reflecting back, I guess I’m as guilty as the people writing the posts because I give into the superficial info provided by celeb gossipers.

“Making Love in 2003” (The Paris Review) Fall, 2003

I seem to have a tendency to pick out the most bizarre stories. This one caught my interest only because it was the second short story in the whole of the Paris Review for this issue, and the first one didn’t grab my attention at all.

This story basically reviews 40 years of a woman’s life, starting with college and a failed career at writing (she almost met with Madeleine l’Engle’s husband who was late because he was getting head from one of the girl’s classmates) so she goes on to become a Special Needs Assistant where she teaches special needs children to read and write. She has a small flashback where she tells the reader that for seven years of her life, a dark blob used to come into her room at night and rape her, but in a loving way. When she finally decided she wanted a real boyfriend, the blob went away but promised it would be back in human form.

When the woman is in her forties, she magically knows she meets the blob again…in the form of one of her fourteen-year-old students. So they begin a sexual relationship and the story ends with her finding out the boy actually has a girlfriend his own age, and she is devasted.

Definitely an interesting read that kept my attention, but messed with my head. I was intrigued at the beginning when the author (Margaret July I believe) mentioned Madeleine l’Engle, because I really used to love her, but it quickly became weird and confusing. I recommend it insofar as it’s different and explores a weird avenue, almost something postmodern, but perhaps not the best for a quick bedtime story 🙂

Courtship by Rand Richard Cooper

Courtship

By Rand Richard Cooper

Glimmer Train Fall 2000

In a nut shell this is a very short story about man and his tennis court. The Tennis court behind his house symbolizes his passions that he gets really into and then fade after a time. The court itself also is connected to a memory of his first wife. He is now since divorced and remarried, and she has passed away. The court is a constant eyesore and even a landmark in the community. I was not drawn to this story by the action of it but the language and prose used to tell the story.

                This story is told from the viewpoint of an omniscient narrator, but at certain moments we are brought into the mind of the main character, the owner of the court. This functions to give us an overall look at the physical presence of the court and how other people might see it but we are also allowed to understand what the court means the main character. The interiority of this character is constructed very well, and reminds me slightly of James Joyce’s “Araby.”

                Although the narration of this story is wonderful, some of the language and phrasing was very pleasing to me. This main function of pleasing langue is to give you a reason to like the main character whose actions are not necessarily likeable.  In thinking about why he built the court to being with, he thinks, ‘He marveled to think that paving his entire backyard once presented a thrilling liberation.’ There is a line that stands as in its own paragraph that reads, ‘He was laughably, bizarrely, inescapably seventy.’ To me this is a marvelous way to describe someone’s age. We all have deep and somewhat arbitrary feeling about our age. We cannot change our age but yet we often feel negatively about it. The last line that presents information that also offers an insight to the psychology of the character is talking about his second wife. “[She] was younger than he by eighteen years. He relished the two year intervals that their ages lay in contiguous decades.” This moment shows that although probably not terribly uncomfortable with the age difference, it is an issue for him. Although he will never be closer in age to his wife, it looks more normal to have ages in contiguous decades.

The Bet by Arthur Bradford

            This was really funny story. Arthur makes a bet with a guy named Fred about how many times he could punch Fred in the stomach before Fred throws up. Fred agrees to the bet and says that he will never throw up. Fred and Arthur make rules for the bet, Fred says he will allow Arthur seven punches. Another rule is Fred needs to eat something a few minutes before the punching starts. Whoever wins gets a turkey from the supermarket. The day before the event takes place, Arthur practices on a cat. Practicing on the cat makes his hand to swell up. The day comes and Fred orders an oyster sandwich and eats in front of the crowd. He takes 30 minutes to finish eating the sandwich. Arthur believes that Fred takes so long to finish the sandwich because the longer someone takes to eat the less likely they are to get sick. Because of the swelling in the Arthur’s good hand, he decides to use his other hand, which is an ineffective strategy, when he does this it’s more like a gentle tap at Fred’s stomach. Still using his weak hand, Arthur winds up for his second punch and ends up socking Fred in the crotch. Fred immediately doubles over. Suddenly, the crowd becomes wild and decided to get Fred while he’s down. Members of the crowd start wailing on Fred. The next thing you know, Fred is throwing up his sandwich everywhere. At the end of the story, we find out that this event takes place in a bar, which probably explains the crowd’s interaction.

            This story reminded me of a bet I made with my high school friend, Paul. I bet him that he couldn’t drink a gallon of milk under an hour without throwing up. Yes, this was a mean bet, but really, really funny. Paul, thinking he could even though it’s known that this is impossible, decided to take me up on it. We were all sitting around my basement with our eyes glued to Paul. People kept egging him on saying things like, “You’re going to be the most popular kid in school, Paul!” I have to hand it to Paul; he only had about 1/4^th of the gallon to go when he started throwing up everywhere. I guess this story just shows that making bets are so stupid, but they excite everyone and cause an adrenaline rush even for the people watching.

Concussion by Kurt Rheinheimer

Concussion

By Kurt Rheinheimer

Glimmer Train Summer 2008

                This story was of particular interest to me because one of the greatest strengths of the story is the ending which brings us back to the beginning of the semester when he started by talking about the beginning. To look at the ending you first would need a brief understanding of the story. It is about two families, that Armstrongs and the Hardins that live in a factory town. Both families, the dads are two of the only people who do not work in the factory.  The Armstrongs are all large strong athletic looking people while the Hardins are weak nerdy and frail looking. The main character is the Hardins youngest son who plays with the Armstrong’s youngest son. The two boys follow around an older Arm strong who only let them play with him sometimes, although he does not usually play with kids his own age. He often plays sports by himself while the other boys watch. The main turning point of the story is when the three characters find a set of golf clubs in the garage and go to play with it. To get a closer look, the young Hardin boy leans in as the older boy begins his back swing. The club hits him in the temple. We find out that the blow almost killed the young boy by shattering his skull. He needs intense rehab to even be able to see straight.

                Here is where the beautiful ending takes place. The narrator explains how when he was in the hospital or when he just got home from the hospital, there was a trail of neighbors going and coming from his house, doing all they could to help. They would bring casseroles for dinner; clean his house, or anything else to help. The narrator then subtly explains that this injury and medical situation put a great deal of stress on his family and the stress of his parents’ marriage became too much to handle and they separated. As this happens there is little to no interaction with any of the neighbors and they almost shun the family as the mom moves out.

                I like this ending because it gets at the human nature of response to tragedy. People are willing to help in the immediate wake of a terrible event and truly want to do good. However people interest in helping fades and the long term issues get left behind. Similarly, People respond and feel comfortable helping when there is physical damage, in this case a head injury. People don’t feel comfortable responding to emotional or family matters. We are left to fend for ourselves when it comes to personal problems. My only issue with this ending is it does not seem fully earned. If this is to be the point of the piece, there is not enough established about the nature of the town in the beginning of the story. Also the eventual breakup of the parents is not developed after the stress of the injury. It is simply presented to the reader. This event is key to the ending of the story but it is also not fully earned. We accept that marital stress is probable in this situation, but we are not shown it at all. I like the ending but I don’t know who well the beginning of the story functions toward that end.

Arkansas by John Brandon

            This is from the book Arkansas by John Brandon and was published under McSweeney’s fiction category. I haven’t read the entire book, but I plan to in the future.  The first chapter caught my attention because it opens with a character named Swin Ruiz, born in Tampa and spent the majority of his life observing the people around him, especially adults in his neighborhood; which is what we have been encouraged to do throughout this semester.

As the story progresses Swin’s background unfolds. He excelled in academics and event received a scholarship to Vanderbilt. At Vanderbilt, he submitted a paper from one of his classes that he wrote in high school. His high school teacher sent it to Vanderbilt, so the department had it on file and because of this Swin received a D in the class and lost his scholarship. The reader also finds out that when Swin was 12, his father drowned, very shortly after his father’s death his mother remarried. Swin believes his mom was having an affair with the guy while his father was still alive. During college, Swin turned into a kleptomaniac. During this time, Swin started an abroad organization for students and would collect fees from them. This organization ended up being a scam. When Lindsay, a girl who helped him start the organization, caught onto the scam and confronted him about it, he fled. He bought a truck with the fees he collected from the organization. He left Nashville and moved to Little Rock, where he created a new identity for himself. In Little Rock, Swin became a regular at a dive bar and started a friendship with the owner, Hondo. One day at the bar Hondo said to Swin, “I’ve concluded something. You’re cut out for breaking the laws of the land. You know, professionally.” After this, Hondo proposes that Swin take a job which entails making runs to Memphis. The reader doesn’t know the purpose for making these runs to Memphis, but the reader does know it’s for something illegal. So, Swin accepts Hondo’s job offer and becomes a criminal. It ends with, “He found that a person with cash in Little Rock lived worse than a poor person in Vanderbilt.”

            I thought this was a good way to capture the reader’s attention by focusing on one character, but not revealing too much. It reminded me of what we talked about in the beginning of this semester; how an author needs to decide what to leave in and leave out. John Brandon is very detailed in his description, but the trips to Memphis are very vague. I also liked the ending; it suggests that people when become so desperate for money, they risk losing their intellect in the process. I’m excited to keep reading.

Two Seaons on the Continent

Two Seasons on the Continent

By: George Clark

Glimmer Train Fall 1996

            The story in general is about two African men, one who owns a bar and the other who is a bar fly. They were better friends at one point but now their friendship has faded in their later years. Simultaneously There is Scottish man on vacation in the Same African country. The actual action of the story is a little confusing to try to recount here, but basically the two African men talk for a while in the bar about several things, including story telling, while the Scottish man begins running across the country.

            What I really like about this story, is that it toys with story telling and fold back on itself well. The two men are talking about myths and the value of story telling, and what can be taken as truth. Part of the story telling involves a story of man who runs across the country. The Scottish man reflects this story, as he experience literally many of the myths being told by the two men. In the end the two incidence come close to interacting, but miss by a small margin and then symbolically, one of the two African men begins to run the opposite direction across country.

            This story does a good job of breaking out of the normal arch of narrative stories. The way that this story reflects on the value of story telling in the story itself reminded me of Menendez’s “In Cuba I was a German Shepard,” in the way that that’s story used joke telling in the greater structure of the story. But more so than just story telling in a story, this story uses myth and ‘story truth’ well. It reflects on what the real truth of any story is and how that compared with the reality of events relate to the truth of the story.

Slineced Voices: Dolma Kyab

Silenced Voices: Dolma Kyab

By Sara Whyatt

Glimmer Train Summer 2008

                I did not quite know what to make of this entry in Glimmer Train. It is in fact a story but it falls into the genre of creative non-fiction. I was drawn to this story because we did not work much creative non-fiction this semester (obviously) but it is an interesting form of storytelling. This entry tells the brief story of a man from Tibet who is currently being held in a Chinese prison. We is a well-educated man who teaches and writes. One of his main pieces is a comprehensive history of Tibet and Tibetan culture.  He is essentially pro Tibetan freedom. He also has written extensively on some of the huge pollution issues in modern China, which he reports to be cause higher mortality rates for people and cattle. The Chinese government has tried to silence these types of reports, as well as keeping pro Tibetan voices quiet.

                Kyab was arrested by the Chinese government and sentenced to ten years in prison. His trial occurred behind closed doors and the details were never released. We do know that Kyab was arrested because there has been unrest in China over both Tibetan freedom and issues of pollution, and he was deemed a danger to public safety. The idea here is that his writing might stir up more unrest leading to possible protests and riots, which would be dangerous. The ten year sentence by law could not have come from these charges alone. We know form a prisoner who was released after having spent time with Kyab that in order to sentence him to ten years, he was char4ged with espionage.

                This seems like a clear issue of injustice. A man is doing quality scholarly work and due to the findings, he is sent to jail to silence his voice. I thought it was interesting to use a venue like Glimmer Train to tell this story and try to draw attention to an issue like this.

“Group Mobilization as a Desperate Cry for Help”

             This was pretty humorous. It’s about a guy who’s trying desperately to win back his ex-girlfriend; however, it hints that he has tried this many a times in the past and every time his plan fails. He’s trying to recruit a group of both males and females to march over to her house and wait outside with posters until she comes out and collectively the group will try to win her back. The reader can tell he’s been stalking her for a long time because he knows exact time she’ll walk out of her house. He has strict rules for the gentlemen who are better looking than him. These men need to stand in the back row and wear ugly clown masks. After he tells them this rule, he follows it with, “This may seem a little paranoid, but you don’t know Deborah like I know Deborah.” He tells the good-looking ladies that they need to basically fawn over him and pretend like he’s their new girlfriend. My favorite part was the selection of songs he has them sing to her. He says, “Everyone else will be singing the Peter Gabriel song ‘In Your Eyes.’ Be sure to really sell the tune. No mumbling.” And when she rejects him they are instructed to sing, “Love Bites” by Def Leppard. I didn’t really like the end, it got a little crazy when he predicted that the police were going to show up. But overall, I thought it was clever. The character kind of reminded me of Michael Scott.