31 Days of Stories 2023, Day 25: “Cheating at Canasta” by William Trevor
The true effects of grief cannot be diminished with platitudes, they must be respected and honoured.
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A Blog About Books and Reading
The true effects of grief cannot be diminished with platitudes, they must be respected and honoured.
Braithwaite's plot is tightly calibrated and it's not until the final third of the story that the crime even materializes.
One of the pervasive themes running through the story is the conflict between order and chaos.
Porter's story is as significant for what it leaves out as for what it includes.
Gordimer refuses to level judgment herself in the story.
Imagery involving implicit threat is threaded throughout the story.
How much of "The Harvest" is true to the facts of Hempel's experience is unclear, and also unimportant.
Gaiman is commenting on our various prejudices regarding where genre work falls in the realm of literary respectability.
"Doi Moi Beans" is a story about exploitation; not the obvious kind, but the subtle version.
Bennett's story, though relatively brief, is a subtle excavation of racial, class, and gendered power dynamics.