Someone mentioned this story somewhere recently and luckily I have the collection. Dubus, along with Alice Munro, and a few others is a favorite. Although I have to admit since reading his son's memoir, TOWNIE, he does not come off as well as he does in this story. Or perhaps he is writing the father he wished he had been.
A couple divorce and the father has the children on Wednesdays and on the weekend. As you might expect it is very hard for him to entertain the kids every weekend. He doesn't exactly explain why these weekends have to be so elaborate with sledding, movies, restaurants, music. But he doesn't like having them at his apartment. Nothing they do ever feels quite right to him until summer comes and they can go to the beach where finally all three find peace much more simply.
This is a leisurely story, where you really get inside his head as he tried to create this new family and how it will operate. There is a new woman in his life, but she isn't all that interested in his kids or any permanent relationship.
Andre Dubus III is a very fine writer but his father was a master short story writer.
The last story in this collection, "A Father's Story" is thought to be one of the finest short stories every written by an American.
7 comments:
I'm with you on Dubus, along with Alice Munro, Great short story writers!
I have read the son but not the father. I will check out his works.
I have a post for this week: https://casualdebris.blogspot.com/2023/10/casual-shorts-isfdb-top-short-fiction_29.html
Thanks,
Frank
Mine is up now, Patti. "A Haunted House" by John Greenleaf Whittier.
Totally agree. I liked the son's memoir a lot, but overall, when it comes to short stories, the father was a master. He had a horrible last few years but his writing lives on.
I finished the Jhumpa Lahiri collection, ROMAN STORIES. Very interesting, though I certainly like her earlier books more. She started writing in Italian in 2015, and translates the stories into English herself (with another guy). These are set mostly in Italy, particularly in Rome as the title suggests. Some are more interesting than others.
Currently reading the latest Ed Hoch collection, THE KILLER EVERYONE KNEW, about Captain Leopold.
I looked for books (novels and short stories) by both Andre Dubus II and Andre Dubus III at the book sale, with no luck. I will have to look online. This story sounds very good.
I recently bought Hoch's THE KILLER EVERYONE KNEW, because Jeff had mentioned it and I already had the earlier book of Captain Leopold stories, LEOPOLD'S WAY, on the Kindle.
I like the premise for this one, Patti. I wonder how often writers do create characters they wish they'd known or been. That's an interesting question to ponder...
Dubus was seriously injured in a car accident on the night of July 23, 1986. He was driving from Boston to his home in Haverhill, Massachusetts, and he stopped to assist two disabled motorists—brother and sister Luis and Luz Santiago. As Dubus assisted the injured Luz to the side of the highway, an oncoming car swerved and hit them. Luis was killed instantly; Luz survived because Dubus had pushed her out of the way. Dubus was critically injured and both his legs were crushed. After a series of unsuccessful operations, his right leg was amputated above the knee, and he eventually lost the use of his left leg. Dubus spent three years undergoing a series of painful operations and extensive physical therapy
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