Oh Eudora Welty, why can’t I quit you? It’s because I bought her complete novels a few years ago, and well, I feel stuck reading them all. This one was not bad though for a few reasons. It was goofy and had a clear voice to it. The character of Daniel Ponder is a really truly vexing character. He’s terrible with money, obsessed with women, has no moral core, and just seems bent of accidentally destroying his niece’s life. Edna Earle tells early on how […]
And Other Stories is right
This is an ok collection. The star appeal I felt when I read A Curtain of Green was just not here. It’s strange because this collection came out only about a year after that one, and it strikes me as so obvious to only publish most of both collections or just combine them together, because a lot of these stories were pretty unforgettable. Eudora Welty (I have typed that as Wlety about 1000 times in my lifetime from back in my college days when I […]
Powerhouse is playing!
Here’s Eudora Welty reading her story “The Worn Path,” from this collection: I first read Welty in college in an intro to American Lit class, specifically “A Petrified Man” from this collection, which remains one of my very favorite stories of all time. It’s funny, it’s weird, and it’s crass. It’s irreverent in just the right way. Other stories from this collection hit the same kinds of spots. The stars of this one included “A Petrified Man,”Why I live at the P.O.,” “Old Mr. Marblehall,” […]
Fractured Fairy Tales: The Robber Bridegroom
This short novel is a delightful mix of fairy tale and tall tale, with a healthy sprinkling of both humor and the macabre in it. The cast of characters includes a doting father, a wicked stepmother, a lovely daughter, a dashing but deceitful suitor, Mike Fink, a band of thieves and a hick named Goat. If you enjoyed Helen Oyeyemi’s Boy, Snow, Bird or Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber, The Robber Bridegroom should be on your reading list. The tale begins in antebellum Louisiana with […]