Last night, in view of my Short Story Monday post, I picked up an collection called Twelve Very Short Stories by Modern Authors. I do not know where I got that book; I guess it used to belong to my mother as it is obviously a little book for students in English, which contains a separate booklet with introduction, notes and exercises, and was published in 1967 by The Rainbow Library in Paris. The stories are written by authors born from 1835 (R. Garnett) to 1890 (K. Mansfield). I chose to read “The Luncheon” by W. Somerset Maugham.
I have now discovered that he wrote this story as part of a series of sketches for Cosmopolitan magazine as its editors were looking for stories that would fit on two pages to avoid them to be interrupted by advertisements.
I found this story to be quite funny. The flashback that constitutes most of the story is prompted by the narrator seeing some old acquaintance at the theatre: “Do you remember the first time I saw you? You asked me to luncheon”.
At the time (twenty years earlier), the narrator is a young writer living in Paris, who, despite the publication of his first novel, has very little money to live on. Yet, because he is gratified by the compliments of a fan (and perhaps the hope to meet a beautiful young woman), he accepts to bring her to an expensive restaurant in Paris. However, the woman is far removed from his expectations and through the meal she appears as hypocritical and self-indulgent. As the meal goes along, we see the guest ordering the most expensive dishes on the menu, while the narrator realises his budget for the month is quickly reducing.
It is a simple, but pleasant story. Its success relies mainly on its irony as the guest keeps repeating “I never eat more than one thing”, while ordering the most succulent (and expensive) dishes from the menu, from starter to dessert. However, twenty years later, the wheel of fortune seems to have turned as the concluding sentence reveals.
You can read this story here.
Now, I need short story inspiration (and maybe links)! Here is the reason why:
I have decided to add my own little twist to the Canadian Book challenge. John explains that the reason why he chose a number of 13 books is because there are 13 provinces in Canada and it thus leaves the opportunity to review a book from each. I am quite aware I won’t manage to do the challenge that way (you can see my progress for the challenge on the page dedicated to it). However, I find the idea great and I have decided to follow this principle by reviewing short stories instead. Thus, in the next six months, I intend to review at least one story from each province.
Now, I need ideas! I already have some, but not for every province (I am giving myself a bit of flexibility by allowing the stories to be either set there or written by an author born or having lived there).
- Newfoundland and Labrador:
- Nova Scotia: Alistair MacLeod
- Prince Edward Island
- New Brunswick
- Quebec: Clark Blaise (one of the Montreal Stories) & Mavis Gallant
- Ontario: Morley Callaghan & Timothy Findley
- Manitoba: Margaret Laurence & Carol Shields
- Nunavut
- Saskatchewan: Rudy Wiebe & Sinclair Ross
- Alberta: Thomas King
- Northwest Territories
- British Columbia: Audrey Thomas
- Yukon Territory
Any suggestion will be appreciated!
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December 6, 2010 at 9:51 pm
JoAnn
Thank you for posting the link! I loved Maugham’s The Painted Veil, but haven’t read his stories – will start with this one. Sorry I can’t help fill in your list…
December 7, 2010 at 1:45 am
John Mutford
For the Northwest Territories, you should do Richard Van Camp– you’ll even be able to find some of his stories online. (I linked to and reviewed “Show Me Yours” here. For Newfoundland and Labrador, I know Kenneth J. Harvey and Lisa Moore both have collections of short stories (The Hole That Must Be Filled and Open, respectively) and if you’re looking for something online, I linked to and reviewed Jessica Grant’s “Humanesque” here. For PEI, you can’t go wrong with Lucy Maud Montgomery (here’s a review and link to a Christmas short story of hers.) David Adams Richards is probably the most recognized writer out of New Brunswick and while he’s got a couple of short story collections under his belt, I couldn’t find any available online. The Yukon and Nunavut prove to be more difficult. From Nunavut you could check out the books published by Inhabit Media, but I’m not sure if you’d classify them as short stories, or folklore. Likewise, Michael Kusugak has “Baseball Bats For Christmas” which reads like a short story, but it’s really a memoir presented as a children’s picture book. From the Yukon, Ivan Coyote’s really good. I reviewed and linked to “Vegas Wedding” here, but it’s a personal essay, not a short story (though certainly reads as one). I hope this helps!
December 8, 2010 at 1:14 am
Em
Brilliant! Thanks John! I knew someone would come to the rescue 🙂
You are confirming what I had about Nunavut and you actually mention to two possibilities I had sourced. I might just go for folklore, they can be considered to be at the origin of the genre, so I won’t be too far off and it’s something I wanted to read anyway (plus it will help supporting a good cause).
As for the personal essay, it fits as well. In these days and ages, the boundaries are not clearly defined anymore and that will enable me to put to practice Douglas Hesse’s theory in his essay “A Boundary Zone: First-Person Short Stories and Narrative Essays”.
December 7, 2010 at 7:49 am
Teddy
Sounds like a great story. I’m going to load it in my e-reader for later.
For PEI: L.M. Montgomery has written lots of shorts
This is what I read: http://teddyrose.blogspot.com/2010/12/xingu-by-edith-wharton.html
December 11, 2010 at 12:19 am
Inkslinger
Interesting! For New Brunswick, there’s always Charles G.D. Roberts. Mr. Inkslinger is engrossed in a collection of Roberts short stories at present.
December 15, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Em
I’ll try to remember. The good thing is that I know where to come back to find the recommendations 🙂
December 13, 2010 at 10:24 pm
“A Night at a Cottage”, by Richard Hughes « C’est la vie!
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