The Simplest Equation by Nicky Drayden

Fractals of love.

Queer love, aliens and mathematical equations take center stage in this wonderfully poignant short-story. 

Levar Burton does an excellent reading here and even comments afterwards about this story being deeply personal for him because his daughter identifies as queer. The struggle for acceptance and feeling marginalized in this heteronormative society, especially as a black queer woman, hits close to home for him. He was even crying while speaking on the subject and I found this all to be quite moving.

The first-person narrator is a young black woman unsure of herself, trying to find their passion and sense of place in the world. She is a top-notch math student although remains uncertain if this field of study is the right career path for them. She also has a crush on the new classmate who happens to be of the non-human species variety. Paradoxically, the black "other" is normalized and the alien takes on this role. We are never provided any historical background information about this new race although they look similar to humans despite a few extra limbs and teeth. They are intelligent beings, with a proclivity for mathematics. The idea of mathematical equations--more specifically, fractals--as being another form of storytelling is brilliantly conceived. The story's crescendo with the protagonist's expression of love through fractals is beautiful, heartwarming and bittersweet.

The author effectively juxtaposes the familiar and unfamiliar, creating a sense of cognitive estrangement. Yet, irrespective of these science-fiction genre tropes of "otherness", this coming-of-age story remains deeply rooted in universal human experiences. 

It is always exciting for me to discover new authors working within the aesthetic movement of black speculative fiction. The term "Afrofuturism" is often thrown around haphazardly to describe any work by a black artist that depicts black people in a futuristic setting. Within a literary context, black representation is only one aspect of a much larger and complex aesthetic that is constantly being redefined, evolving and pushing the boundaries of genre fiction through a racialized lens. 

Gotcha! by Ray Bradbury

Honey, do you want to play a game?

I think it is time to take a break from Ray Bradbury and mix it up with some different authors. I have been binge reading his short-stories lately, revisiting old favorites and discovering many hidden gems along the way. Unfortunately, there are plenty of duds in between and others like this Gotcha! that fall somewhere in the middle. My hyper-fixation tends to get the better of me and I would like to avoid burning out. 

Gotcha! is all about metaphors over story. A couple is in the honeymoon phase of their romantic relationship. Check out this sexually implicit opening sentence:

"They were incredibly in love. They said it. They knew it. They lived it. When they weren't staring at each other they were hugging. When they weren't hugging they were kissing. When they weren't kissing they were a dozen scrambled eggs in bed. When they were finished with the amazing omelette they went back to staring and making noises."

Oh Mr. Bradbury, how scandalous! Essentially, this couple can't keep their hands off each other and during another erotic evening, the woman Beth asks the man if he would like to play a game. Of course, he thinks this will inevitably lead to more sexy times but she has a different type of game in mind--one that is a little more sinister in nature. Real or imagined, the story delves into horror and the fantastic. The woman takes the game too far, scaring the man out of his wits. For the first time in this relationship, the blood rushes back to his brain and he begins to wonder if he actually wants to be with this woman. The game itself becomes a poetic metaphor for an unhealthy relationship: breaking trust, disrespecting boundaries and not having open communication. A quick read but often feels contrived and lacks that Bradbury spark. 

Chivalry by Neil Gaiman

The Damsel of the Sanct Grael
by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1874)

I have started listening to the Levar Burton Reads podcast on my morning commute to work, making the travel time far more pleasant. As long as there are no transit delays, I am usually able to finish at least one story by the time I reach my destination. Today, it was Chivalry by Neil Gaiman, which I enjoyed quite a bit. My only exposure to his work is the novel American Gods back in the early 2000's, when it was all the rage. I recall struggling with the bloated narrative that seemed to meander without any purpose and something about the prose just irked me. I eventually abandoned the book and never read anything by Niel Gaiman again. After listening/reading this delightfully whimsical short-story about an old lady who discovers the Holy Grail at a thrift shop (not a spoiler and is revealed in the very first sentence), I am willing to give him a second chance. Similar to Haruki Murakami, I get the feeling that his short-stories will appeal to me more than the novels. 

Elements of the fantastic intertwine with ordinary life creating a captivating sense of magical realism. The Arthurian legend and Galahad's search for the holy grail in a small suburb of England during the 20th century is not only believable but surprisingly moving as well. 

Mrs. Whitaker is a widow, living a quiet and modest life. She enjoys afternoon tea with her friend and tending her small garden. Visiting the local thrift shop and browsing their eclectic wares is a weekly tradition where she usually leaves with one of those paperback harlequin romance novels that can always be found at these kind of stores. After discovering the beautiful chalice hidden amongst some odds and ends, she believes that it would look great on her mantlepiece. Later on, she is surprised to receive a gentleman caller claiming to be Sir Galahad and explains that he is a on noble quest in search of the Holy Grail, which has led him to her. Their budding relationship is tender and sweet, similar to the way a loving grandmother might dote on her grandson. The light-hearted humor is most effective during their interactions. This is an amusing and entertaining story with a well-drawn and empathetic protagonist.

This story got me thinking more about our unhealthy attachment to material things. It's funny, we are born into this world with nothing, struggle to accumulate all these things and then leave this world with nothing. Mrs. Whitaker might be in possession of one of the most sought-after ancient relics in human history, but it's value does not hold the same weight as the picture of her deceased husband located next to it on the mantlepiece. This story provides a gentle reminder that life is short and ephemeral. We can attach meaning to objects to help fill the void but they to are subject to time. 

No Man's Guns by Elmore Leonard

Yee-haw.

Similar to Ray Bradbury, Elmore Leonard was an extremely prolific writer during his lifetime. He has over 30 novels to his name during a career spanning six decades! He is more well-known for his crime fiction, with many of his works being adapted into movies and television shows (Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Rum Punch and Justified to name a few). However, he started off writing Western short-stories for Pulp magazines during the 1950's, including this one, which first appeared in Western Story Roundup in 1955.

Elmore Leonard's concise and pared-down writing style is perfectly suited for short-stories. This is not Hemingway minimalism although he does subscribe to a certain level of brevity. Anything superfluous to the story which detracts from the narrative flow is discarded. He is very selective with his words, avoiding any extraneous details or descriptions. There is no fluff, no filler, no fancy prose. He uses simple and direct language, understanding that readers are likely going to skip over these nonessential details in search of the actual story. This is not to suggest that Leonard's writing is prosaic, reduced to simple entertainments--quite the opposite. The ability to construct a nuanced and compelling narrative within the constraints of the short-story form requires a great deal of creative skill.

No Man's Guns is not your typical action-packed Western adventure with cowboys and wild shootouts. In fact, not even a single gun is fired in the entire story. This is more of a psychological character study, examining the internal struggle of accepting death due to unfortunate circumstances. In a case of mistaken identity, an ex-soldier crosses paths with some bandits and rounded up by some hired guns for execution. Building intrigue through omission is quintessential Elmore Leonard. The brisk pacing creates a forward momentum, continually increasing the suspense with some unexpected twists and turns.

The Wonderful Ice-Cream Suit by Ray Bradbury

Cheesy 90's movie marketing at it's best.

It pains me to say it but this is by far my least favorite Ray Bradbury short-story. Five Mexican friends from the poor working-class decide to pitch in $10 each in order to buy a fancy white suit for them to all share over the course of an evening. Let the comedic hijinks begin. They believe this magical suit will raise their social status and attract beautiful women. The story is a screwball comedy filled with cornball humor that completely misses the mark. It relies on racial stereotypes and the gimmick becomes tiresome very quickly. 

I was even shocked to discover that this story was adapted into a feature-length movie in the 90's starring a young Edward James Olmos and Joe Mantegna! It is bound to be atrocious but a small part of me is somewhat curious to seek it out.

All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury

Kids can be so cruel.

In Bradbury's imagined vision of a newly colonized Venus, living on this planet is harsh and depressing. Surrounded by vast jungles, it is always raining and covered in perpetual fog. The sun only comes out briefly once every seven years. Many of the children born here have never experienced sunshine before and giddy with excitement for this auspicious day. The story takes place at an elementary school from the perspective of children and despite the otherworldly setting, Bradbury tackles themes of childhood growing pains associated with socialization and bullying. Margot is ostracized from her classmates for being 'different' since she is a new student from Earth and remembers the beautiful sun. Of course, the others are incredulous. They enjoy teasing and playing pranks on her, which escalates to locking Margot in a closet. 

A pervasive melancholy tone is established throughout the story, further accentuated by the dreary weather and unforgiving landscape. In only a few short pages, Bradbury's economical prose shines and the his depiction of children, especially when speaking, feels authentic. The juxtaposition between childhood innocence and loss is haunting. 

The Night by Ray Bradbury

These hedge-rows, hardly hedge-rows, little lines

Of sportive wood run wild: these pastoral farms,

Green to the very door; and wreaths of smoke

Sent up, in silence, from among the trees!

Ray Bradbury might be remembered more for his science-fiction/fantasy stories but he also wrote a great deal about childhood experiences and small town America. In this story, there are no rocket ships, colonized planets or any elements of the macabre to be found here. Sure, there are a few moments of suspense but this is a tender portrait of a child trying to understand the complexities of death and the natural world. Ultimately, this is a highly condensed bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story that successfully captures a specific time and place: a quiet warm summer evening in a small rural town surrounded by wilderness during the 1920s. 

The second-person narrative voice reflects on an important childhood memory. As a treat, his mother allows him to stay up later than usual on a beautiful summer night to eat chocolate ice-cream. Bradbury effectively capture's childhood innocence and familial love during these opening scenes with the mother. Unfortunately, this tranquil and affectionate moment between mother and son is disrupted when she becomes increasingly worried about the older brother not coming home after playing in the woods with some friends. The young narrator is perceptive, noticing his mother's fears, and it is difficult for him to comprehend since adults are supposed to be tough and never show emotions. 

The mother has reason to believe that he might have gotten lost on the way back home, cutting through a forest trail near the ravine. She decides to bring the young narrator along with her and go out looking for the older brother. The darkness and silence of the rural countryside is terrifying for him. Bradbury's descriptive language of nature and the hostile landscape from the young narrator's perspective  is vividly rendered. Moreover, the retrospective philosophical musings provide insight and articulate the fears of his younger self during this stressful experience. 

The sense of childhood wonder evoked from the second-person narrative view forms the emotional crux of the story. However, despite Bradbury's impeccable writing and poeticism, the overall story felt slightly underwhelming. 

No Particular Night or Morning by Ray Bradbury

In space, no one can hear you scream...

The infinite vastness of space is terrifying. 

For all those brave astronauts exploring distant galaxies on long space voyages, one's conception of reality and time is completely different. What constitutes reality in space if you are a billion miles from Earth? Are you considered dead if you cease to exist only as a memory to those still left on Earth? Without empirical evidence, how do you know something actually exists? Is memory and imagination enough? These are some of the philosophical questions that haunt Hitchcock as he struggles to adjust to his new life aboard a spaceship drifting through the stars. 

He tries explaining to his friend Clemens about the inherent fallacy and paradox of only relying on empirical evidence:

"You see. You have no mental evidence. That's what I want, a mental evidence I can feel. I don't want physical evidence, proof you have to go out and drag in. I want evidence that you can carry in your mind and always touch and smell and feel. But there's no way to do that. In order to believe in a thing you've got to carry it with you. You can't carry the Earth, or a man, in your pocket. I want a way to do that, carry things with me always, so I can believe in them."

The metaphysical discourse between the two astronauts takes precedence over plot. Bradbury's empathetic depiction of Hitchcock's fractured state of mind and dreaded paranoia is convincingly portrayed. Even though it soon becomes clear there is no avoiding his inevitable fate, the ending is still haunting as he takes one final space-walk into the void.

Perchance to Dream by Ray Bradbury

To be or not to be...

Of course, any title with a direct reference to Shakespeare's Hamlet will automatically pique my interest. Ray Bradbury is fascinated with the myth of space travel, especially exploring distant planets such as Mars (The Martian Chronicles being the most famous collection on the subject). Astronauts in Bradbury's stories are pioneers of the future and their missions are often treacherous, filled with imminent danger as well as strange encounters of the unknown. 

In this story, Bradbury returns to the theme of the castaway, a lone astronaut stranded on an deserted planet after his spaceship crashes. Andy Weir's The Martian immediately comes to mind and owes a great deal of credit to Bradbury's influence. 

The protagonist manages to send a distress signal to the rescue party but they will not arrive for another six days, giving him plenty of leisure time to relax. He has no shortage of food, cigarettes and even Tolstoy's War and Peace to help pass the time. Unfortunately for him, it is not all fun and games on this planet. After falling asleep, his dreams become infiltrated by a series of strange and competing voices. Two warring factions are searching for a human body to host their intergalactic war and this unsuspecting astronaut has conveniently crossed their path...

The psychological horror is the most striking aspect here and Bradbury presents a very creative spin on the survival narrative as the protagonist must fight internally to stay awake or succumb to madness as the voices begin to take over his mind. The nightmarish ending is full of dramatic irony, bringing the story full circle to a satisfying conclusion. Perhaps not as memorable as some of Bradbury's other planet exploration stories, this is still an entertaining, suspenseful and quick read by Bradbury that accomplishes so much in only a few pages.

The Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury

Out of all the abandoned reading challenges on this blog, the Ray Bradbury Reading Project is the one that I am most excited to start up again. Several years ago, I managed to make a significant dent in this massive anthology containing 100 of his short-stories (written between 1943-1980) and there are plenty of classics in here, including The Sound of Thunder. This is one of his most famous stories and rightfully so. For those encountering it for the first time, you are in for a treat and will immediately recognize its influence on other 'speculative' works of fiction. Think Jurassic Park meets H.G. Wells' The Machine. The Simpsons even created an excellent parody during the Tree House of Horror episode. Homer inadvertently creates a time machine from a broken toaster that sends him back to the prehistoric age of dinosaurs. No matter how small, any disruption to the natural order will have major implications for the future of mankind. Of course, Homer being prone to buffoonery, he sneezes on a T-rex killing it instantly and setting off a chain reaction that wipes out a host of other species. When he travels back to present day in various iterations, his family and entire world is completely different. The episode takes the basic premise of Bradbury's story and spoofs it for comedic effect but the original story is much more sinister.

The "Butterfly effect" is not a new concept, even during Bradbury's day. However, he takes this chaos theory and manages to weave such a riveting story from it that never skips a beat until the shocking finale. His prose is often lyrical containing a 'poetic' richness of imagery and metaphor that enhances the narrative. If you want to understand why Bradbury is a master of the short-story and deserves to be recognized as one of the great Science-Fiction writers of the 20th century, look no further than The Sound of Thunder. 

The Second Bakery Attack by Haruki Murakami

Nothing quite like freshly baked bread.

Card Drawn: Jack of Spades

I have struggled to finish any of Haruki Murakami's novels and much prefer his short-stories. His unique brand of magical realism is so refreshing and just works for me. I admire his succinct and smooth prose that flows beautifully. The Second Bakery Attack might not be as weird as some of the other stories that I have encountered by this author although there is plenty of surrealism found here too. As to be expected from Murakami, the premise is absurd and darkly humorous--yet, never weird for weirds sake. A newly married couple wake up in the middle of the night suffering from intense pangs of hunger, only to find the refrigerator empty and no food in the apartment other than condiments and warm beer. Having experienced this overwhelming hunger once before when he was poor, the narrator recounts his shameful past when he robbed a bakery with his friend that unfolded in a very strange way, to say the least. The wife believes that his life has been cursed since that fateful day and proposes an outlandish plan to break the curse once and for all. 

What follows is a dizzying adventure through late-night Tokyo filled with bright lights, fast-food joints, ski-masks and shot-guns. Murakami is interested in exploring inner spaces; the destabilization of a character's subjectivity. While this story is lighthearted, fun and even suspenseful, a quiet sadness permeates throughout the story. There is a metaphysical emptiness as the narrator attempts to reconcile his past and make sense of an irrational world. Amongst all the wackiness, the metaphors and imagery conjured here is beautiful and quite moving.

You can read this story HERE.

Marching Through Boston by John Updike

"I have a dream..."

It seems fitting to review "Marching Through Boston" by John Updike on Martin Luther King Day (January 16) although this story is far from a celebration of the historic moment in American history when the great reverend Dr. King delivered his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963. Instead, Updike presents an unsympathetic and cold indifference towards the civil rights movement that is embarrassingly distasteful.

As to be expected, Updike's writing style is excellent but this feat is not enough to overlook his blatant racism. Joan Maple is a civil rights activist much to the chagrin of her racist husband who couldn't care less about the black liberation movement. Robert is upset with her for spending time at all these protests, shirking her obligated wifely duties of maintaining the household and looking after the children. You see, with Updike, misogyny and upholding the patriarchal order is of the utmost importance. He is afraid that she is becoming one of "them" and barely recognizes her anymore. He also thinks that she is destined to end up just like Viola Liuzzo, a white woman murdered by KKK members for joining the cause. Eventually, he is dragged to the protests by his wife, complaining the whole time and becomes far more interested in hitting on an underage girl like a creep than participating in the march. The ending is laughably racist as Robert comes home exhausted and resorts to speaking in the "Negro" vernacular to express his frustration with his wife over the whole ordeal.

There is no space for black representation in John Updike's white middle-class America. Although I can appreciate his talents as a short-story writer, the overt racism is cringe-worthy and I am beginning to understand why he no longer holds the same prestige as one of the great 20th century American writers.

Something to Hitch Meat to by Nalo Hopkinson

The Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the water spout...

Card Drawn: 6 of Hearts 

Nalo Hopkinson is a refreshing and unique voice in the "speculative" fiction genre. She often incorporates a rich blend of Afro-Caribbean folklore, fantasy and sci-fi while tackling complex issues of race, gender, sexual identity and culture. Unlike some of her other more polished works, Something to Hitch Meat to is an oddity that left me feeling more perplexed than anything else.

The Anansi spider is one of the most popular trickster deities in African mythology and Hopkinson cleverly deploys it here with mixed results. As a metaphor, the Anansi represents the power of  transformation and breaking free from societal pressures to establish a more authentic self. The weaving of metaphor and Afro-Caribbean folklore is not so much a re-telling but an effective literary technique to carve out a new perspective and literary tradition dominated by Eurocentric genre conventions. 

The protagonist is a lonely digital content creator for a pornographic website, responsible for editing images to create an exotic fantasy for users. He is uncomfortable in his black skin, suffering from self-alienation. Even other people perceive him as a different race. Forced compliance to accept societal norms of superficiality creates a sense of cognitive dissonance. Going a little deeper, the story is also quite philosophical, presenting an ontological argument towards the possibilities of 'being' that can be achieved if we allow ourselves to be vulnerable with others. This can be a real challenge, especially for black and marginalized folks living under the yoke of white supremacy. Survival in a hostile environment often causes people to be suspicious of others, paranoid and unwilling to open up as a defense mechanism. The protagonist is gifted an opportunity by the Anansi god to shed the fake persona and embrace his true self rooted in Afro-Caribbean culture and history although the story does come across as heavy-handed. While I appreciated the author's re-interpretation of Marvel's Spider-Man as Anansi, the story's fantastical elements are bogged down in metaphors rather than being emotionally impactful.

Wife-Wooing by John Updike

 
As an extension of the DMI challenge, I plan on reading at least one short story a day for the entire year. Perhaps this undertaking is way too ambitious and I am setting myself up for failure although it does sound more reasonable than my initial goal to read 1000 short-stories for 2023 (yes, sometimes my obsessive tendencies do get the better of me).

Lately, in between all the other short stories from the DMI challenge, I have been making my way through two collections by John Updike: The Maples Stories and The Early Stories. Some stories appear in both collections while others do not, Wife-Wooing falling into the latter category. Some readers might find his self-indulgent writing style and misogyny off-putting, which is totally valid. This is my least favorite Updike story so far and contains a very different poetic style and mean-spirited tone that failed to resonate with me. 

Even though the first-person narrator and his wife remain unnamed, we know that they are Richard and Joan Maple. Strip away all the purple prose and this story is about a selfish and chauvinistic husband who is super horny and can't wait for his children to go to bed so that he can engage in sexual intercourse with his wife. I am sure many literary aficionados will get a kick out of the reference to a passage from Joyce's Ulysses when the narrator is sexualizing his wife with the same love language spoken by Leopold Bloom.

The title is ironic because the husband is not trying to woo his wife at all. Not once does he make any romantic gestures towards her. He feels that he ought to be rewarded sexually for completing the basic task of bringing home hamburgers for dinner. The narrator even compares himself to a hunter sent out into the harsh wilderness to gather food for his family. The gender dynamics of portraying the man as the provider/breadwinner and the woman who is responsible for raising the children and taking care of the household is made quite explicit. Furthermore, his fragile and bruised male ego cannot accept the fact that his wife has no time for him because she is always so busy with the children. He is the typical concupiscent male, only interested in satisfying his own sexual desires. There is a funny scene when the children are finally asleep and the couple is alone in bed. The narrator prepares to make his sexual advances only to find that his wife is more interested in reading a book about Richard Nixon and then falls asleep. Ouch, talk about rejection. He takes this personally and does not hold back from spewing vitriolic contempt towards his wife the next morning at breakfast:

"In the morning, to my relief, you are ugly. Monday's wan breakfast light bleaches you blotchily, drains the goodness from your thickness, makes the bathrobe a limp stained tube flapping disconsolately, exposing sallow décolletage. The skin between your breasts a sad yellow. I feast with coffee on your drabness, every wrinkle and sickly tint a relief and a revenge. The children yammer. The toaster sticks. Seven years have worn this woman."

Butthurt much? Upike attempts to justify the rampant misogyny and make it tolerable through this kind of elegant poetic prose. Although this approach did not work for me, I can see how others might praise Updike for his creative ingenuity. He does have an uncanny ability to write about despicable characters, especially men, and somehow make it compelling. I much prefer when Updike tones down the stylistic flourishes and eschews with all the misogyny although this is probably unavoidable.

Snowing in Greenwich Village by John Updike

Winter scene near Washington Square.

The Maples make another appearance and this time we are offered a glimpse into the early years of their marriage. They have recently moved into their first home on West 13th street, close to Washington Square and invite a friend over named Rebecca to celebrate this momentous occasion. We are told by the third-person narrator in the opening sentence that they just had to invite her over "because now they were so close." Whatever the reason for this close friendship is never revealed. Moreover, there is also a slight hint of irony here since it seems the Maples hardly know Rebecca at all. In familiar Updike fashion, the characters spend most of their time drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and talking. They ask Rebecca a lot of questions and she shares a lot of interesting experiences living in New York City, her family life and various romantic escapades. At one point, the narrator describes the Maples reaction to Rebecca's stories as "odd", since their domesticated life seems quite boring in comparison. There is a wonderful scene when they are all looking out the window admiring the tranquil snowfall only for the picturesque scene to be disrupted by a brigade of police on horseback trudging through the snowy street.

Rebecca is a young attractive woman and Richard is clearly infatuated with her but manages tremendous restraint, especially near the end of the story when he walks her home. When she invites him up to her apartment, Updike deftly conveys the awkwardness and underlying sexual tension between them. Whether or not Richard engages in an affair with Rebecca at this moment or later on is not so important. I admire Updike's subtlety, which often creates more depth and complexity to the characters. 

Jump by Cadwell Turnbull

Card Drawn:

There's no place like home...there's no place like home.

This has been my most anticipated category for the Deal Me in Challenge and I finally pulled a spades card!

LeVar Burton is a national treasure. Indeed, he was great as a young Kunta Kinte in Roots and as Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, like many kids growing up in the 90's, Reading Rainbow is the show that I associate him with the most. It was a staple of my childhood and played an influential role in developing my love for books at a very young age. For those who might not already know, Mr. Burton now has a podcast called LeVar Burton Reads where he selects a piece of short-fiction and well, reads it. He has a knack for being an excellent speaker with a smooth and comforting voice that lends itself fully to so many great stories. This podcast is also been a great resource for discovering new authors and stories, one of them being Jump by Cadwell Turnbull.

I am always excited to come across a black author writing science-fiction/speculative fiction, mainly because there is severe lack of racialized representation. Over the last few decades or so, there has certainly been a steady increase in emerging contemporary black authors making an impact on the genre (Nalo Hopkinson, N.K. Jemisin and Nnedi Okorafor come to mind) but so many others have yet to be recognized for their contributions or even acknowledged for their talents. Let's face it, black writers have always struggled to have their voices heard due to systematic racism. This injustice becomes even more apparent with those trying to break through racial barriers imposed by gatekeepers of a genre that promotes whiteness. I applaud many young black writers like Cadwell Turnbull who have turned to online magazines or independent publishers to get their name out there. 

This story presents a refreshing approach to a popular genre plot device: teleportation. Mike and Jessie have been dating for a few years and decide to take an evening stroll together in the park. Since it is getting late and they are far from home, Mike makes a humorous suggestion that they should try teleporting to save time and Jessie reluctantly decides to play along. Shockingly, in a miraculous and incomprehensible turn of events, the couple successfully teleports back home. This is not a spoiler since it happens right at the beginning and the focus shifts towards examining the negative impact of this fateful night on the couple's relationship. Mike becomes obsessed with trying to teleport again while Jessie wants to put this all behind them and move on with their lives. It becomes this immovable wedge in the relationship and the more obsessed Mike gets with recreating the moment, the further it drives Jessie away. By centering the story around the psychological and emotional facets of both characters instead of taking on a more scientific approach is an interesting creative choice although it does leave the story feeling a bit lackluster and slightly underwhelming by the end. 

Cadwell Turnbull showcases tremendous potential as a writer of speculative fiction and I am curious to see what else he can do.

You can read this story HERE.

Berry by Kimmisha Thomas

 Card Drawn:

I say, oh little, oh little, darling, don't shed no tears, No woman, no cry.

LGBTQ+ occupies a very limited space in a postmodern Caribbean literary context. Kimmisha Thomas, a Jamaican-born writer, offers a counter discourse to Western/Eurocentric constructions of gender and sexuality through queerness in her short story Berry, which centers on the relationship between two Afro-Caribbean women. Although she aims to reposition queer sexual identity within a hyper-masculine Caribbean space (literally and figuratively), it is important to note that Thomas is making an unapologetic political statement when she explicitly writes about lesbianism. Jackie’s complex relationship with Berry underlines the ideological position that cultural representations of gender and meanings of sexuality should not be fixed within a male hegemonic framework; rather, sexual identities are much more fluid and do not coincide with patriarchal structured identity formations. Kimmisha Thomas belongs to a new generation of progressive Caribbean female writers that critique heteronormative and male-centered narratives, giving voice to an otherwise marginalized group.

The general effacement of queer Caribbean narratives is taken up by authors like Kimmisha Thomas who aim to dismantle the structural discourses surrounding gender and sexuality. Moreover, female queerness not only becomes a subversive force in ‘decolonizing’ male hegemony but also asserts a more inclusive Caribbean vision of cultural identity. Yet, this story is keen to emphasize the arising difficulties and anxiety often experienced by queer Caribbean woman when navigating through these male heteronormative spaces. The opening paragraph is quite telling of the protagonist’s anxious psychological state of mind regarding her sexual identity and romantic relationships: 

“I got a way with me where I always fall for the wrong person, for the wrong reason. Sometimes it’s both. Now it’s a different brand of fuck-up altogether. This time it’s a musician. Sweet Jesus and all the saints, Mam would just go into a state if she found out--after she broke my head” (185). 

Early on, the reader is uninformed about the protagonist’s queerness. However, in retrospect, it makes sense that she would be overwhelmed with anxiety and guilt regarding her sexual orientation. She refers to her new relationship as a “different brand of fuck-up” but again, it only becomes apparent later when it is revealed that she is in love with this musician who also happens to be female that such a harsh criticism towards herself makes sense.

Deep rooted feelings of shame and alienation are often associated with those struggling with their queer identity and Jackie is no exception here. She also fears the physical wrath of her mother if it is ever discovered that she is dating a woman. This kind of reactionary violence towards those who identify as queer speaks towards the rampant discrimination often imposed by the patriarchal and male hegemonic order. Jackie and Berry experience violent discrimination for being in a homosexual relationship when they are accosted by a group of young men who are offended by the lesbian couple kissing in public. One of the youths even throws a glass bottle at them in total disgust.

Therefore, while Jackie comes across as a strong, educated, and liberated woman, she hide her queerness from others (especially the mother) for her own survival. Even at the end of the story when Jackie explicitly comes out as having a “girlfriend” (203), the mother remains perpetually confounded and there is a clear sense that she is not entirely accepting of her daughter’s queerness. The story provides an insightful examination of Jackie’s struggle to embrace her queerness alongside the societal pressures associated with conforming to patriarchal norms. She remains strategically ambivalent towards her own sexuality, which puts a strain on the relationship with Berry, a woman who is totally comfortable in her queerness. Jackie experiences a kind of transcendent sexual awakening after kissing Marque and realizing that she made a mistake breaking-up with Berry. If Marque exemplifies black male Caribbean masculinity, then it stands to reason that Jackie and Berry’s queerness is antithetical to the heteronormative power structure. 

This story celebrates queer culture within a Caribbean space, directly challenging these structural discourses of gender and sexuality.

This story is from Pepperpot: Best New Stories from the Caribbean, edited by Olive Senior, Leeds: Peekash Press, 2014, pp. 185-204.

The Hyannis Port Story by Kurt Vonnegut

The Kennedy estate in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts. 

I read this short story the other night and it has almost completely faded from memory. I am usually a huge fan of Kurt Vonnegut's work but The Hyannis Port Story is a complete dud. It failed to leave any lasting impression and generated nary a single laugh. From what I can recall, the story revolves around a storm window salesman who is hired by some rich politician (only referred to as the Commodore) and happens to be neighbors with the famous Kennedy family's vacation home. There were a few amusing moments such as the narrator thinking that he is receiving a snack bowl at some social event only to find it filled with political campaign buttons instead. Any underlying political commentary went over my head and I still have no idea what Vonnegut is trying to achieve here. 

Skip it.

Your Lover is Calling by John Updike

Bringing it back old school.

John Updike's depiction of middle-class white suburbia during the mid 20th century is not a subject matter that interests me very much and yet, stories such as Your Lover is Calling are so well-written, sharp, darkly humorous and totally engaging from start to finish. The prose flows seamlessly and there is a rich underlying subtext if you care to peel back the layers. The examination of a disintegrating marriage and gender roles with particular emphasis on toxic masculinity is familiar Updike territory.

This story is like watching a train wreck but you can't look away. It begins with a heated argument, the husband accusing the wife of having an affair because someone keeps calling the house and hanging up. 

Joan and Richard Maple are unhappily married and use alcohol as a coping mechanism in a failed attempt to mask their sorrow and avoid engaging in difficult conversations around trust, fidelity, shame, guilt and personal needs. They would feel right at home in a Raymond Carver story. Moreover, alcohol is a common motif in Updike's stories as well, a reflection of the cultural milieu and gender dynamics at play. The Maple's drink of choice is the martini, often associated with sophistication and affluence. Of course, this is merely a façade and not an accurate representation of the Maple's social status and dysfunctional relationship. Richard feels jealous and threatened by their friend Mack who is invited over for drinks, convinced that he is the one having an affair with his wife. He feels even more emasculated when asked by Joan to pick up lemons from the store for their martinis and catches his wife kissing Mack through the kitchen window. However, when confronting them, Joan and Mack merely shrug it off as nothing and claim Richard is overreacting. Later, she justifies kissing Mack out of the kindness of her heart because he is "lonely and drunk." Much of the story's humor arises from this odd scenario, leading to my favorite line uttered by Richard in response to the ridiculous situation: "Have you poisoned my drink and I'm too vigorous to die, like Rasputin?" Updike is keen to explore the couple's volatile relationship and their mutual affinity for alcohol to numb their depressing reality. 

These characters are self-absorbed, crude and very unlikeable but Updike does not resort to ridicule for the sake of pity; rather he creates flawed and complex characters, allowing the reader to sympathize with them instead. Is Joan committing adultery and making a cuckold out of her husband? Probably. Updike leaves it up to the reader to form their own conclusion and while the ironic ending seems inevitable, it is perfectly executed.

The School by Donald Barthelme

Teacher, what happens when you die?

Consider this my first attempt to catch up on some neglected reviews from years past. I could not have picked a better short-story to kick off 2023. Revisiting The School by Donald Barthelme filled me with such immense joy, awe and excitement that I somehow forgot could be evoked from great literature. I am hoping to ride this wave for as long as possible and slowly get back into the groove of reading again.

Despite only being a few 1000 words, this short-story is more thought-provoking, clever, darkly humorous and emotionally resonant than plenty of novels that I have read. If brevity is truly the soul of wit, then Mr. Barthelme accomplishes this feat with stylistic aplomb. 

On the surface, this is a very simple story narrated by a teacher in a classroom of young children who are fascinated with the subject of death. The playful and self-reflexive narrative voice is also childlike, demotic, colloquial. In essence, the story itself resembles a fast-paced dramatic monologue in the form of everyday speech, emphasized by short-sentences, pauses, ellipses. The use of irony and comedic satire does not allow for the absurdity to feel jarring or out of place. Instead, the author manages to pull off an astonishing balancing act between realism and absurdism that somehow meshes perfectly together, which is just another testament to Barthelme's deft writing skills. 

Children are generally inquisitive and ask questions that adults have difficulty answering or simply do not have the answers to. School is supposed to be an institution of learning and knowledge, yet cannot explain the great mysteries of the universe or provide the answers to some of life's BIG questions: What is the meaning of life and what happens when we die? The underlying philosophical discourse of this story centers around life and death and interestingly enough, religion is never explicitly brought into the fold. Instead, the story attempts to understand the complexity of death from the innocent perspective of children, with darkly humorous results...and that ending, wow! Totally preposterous and funny but also sad, beautiful and surprisingly poignant. 

Deal Me in Challenge 2023!

What is the goal of this challenge?

To read 52 short stories in 2023 (that’s only one per week – versions with a lesser story requirement are noted below)

What do I need?
1) Access to at least fifty-two short stories (don’t own any short story collections or anthologies? See links to online resources below).
2) A deck of cards.
3) An average of perhaps just thirty minutes of reading time each week.
It's fun and not time consuming so what are you waiting for? Join up! 

It's time to start off 2023 right with the Deal Me In Challenge! My reading habits have steadily declined over the last few years and the pandemic did not help matters either. I am hoping these short stories can help reignite my passion for literature once again! The four categories will be as follows: 

Spades: LeVar Burton Reads

A - Cuisine des Memoires by N.K. Jemisin

2 - Chivalry by Neil Gaiman

3 - Mister Hadj's Sunset by Saladin Ahmed

4 - Free Jim's Mine by Tananarive Due

5 - Four stations in his Circle by Austin Clarke

6 - The Simplest Equation by Nicky Drayden

7 - Childfinder by Octavia Butler

8 - No Man's Guns by Elmore Leonard

9 - Jump by Cadwell Turnbull

10 - Graham Greene by Percival Everett

J - The Second Bakery Attack by Haruki Murakami

Q - The Truth About Owls by Amal El-Mohtar

K - Goat by James McBride

Clubs: Black American Writers Anthology

A - On Being Crazy by W.E.B. Dubois

2 - Mama's Missionary Money by Chester Himes

3 - Steady Going Up by Maya Angelou

4 - Truant by Claude McKay

5 - Exodus by James Baldwin

6 - Organizer's Wife by Toni Cade Bambara

7 -  Solo on the Drums by Ann Petry

8 - On Friday Morning by Langston Huges

9 -  Boy Who Painted Christ Black by John Henrik Clarke

10 - Bright and Morning Star by Richard Wright 

J -  And/Or by Sterling Brown

Q - Gilded Six-Bits by Zora Neale Hurston

K - Cry for Me by William Melvin Kelley

Diamonds: Random

A - Jaunt by Stephen King

2 - A Hyannis Port Story by Kurt Vonnegut

3 - The Egg by Andy Weir

4 - The Simulacrum by Ken Liu

5 -  Omphalos by Ted Chiang 

6 - I'd Love You to Want me by Viet Thanh Nguyen

7 - Your Lover is calling by John Updike

8 - That in Aleepo Once... by Vladimir Nabokov

9 - How to make love to a Physicist by Deeshaw Philyaw

10 - Ritual by Crystal Wilkinson

J -  Jerry and Molly and Sam by Raymond Carver

Q - Amnesty by Octavia Butler

K - The Book of Martha by Octavia Butler

Hearts: African and Caribbean writers

A - Song of Sixpence by Sam Selvon

2 - Girls at War by Chinua Achebe

3 - Berry by Kimmisha Thomas

4 - Minutes of Glory by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong ’o

5 - Cooked Meat by Arees Mohamed

6 - Something to Hitch Meat to by Nalo Hopkinson

7 - Miss Lora by Junot Diaz

8 - A Private Experience by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche

9 - Frying Plantain by Zlaika Reid-Benta

10 - Heading South by Dany Laferrière

J - The Baker's Story by V.S. Naipul

Q - How to Escape from a Leper Colony by Tiphanie Yanique

K - Collected Short Stories by Jean Rhys