Kevin, a long time ago.
"For a Long Time This Was Griselda's Story "
This is one strange story about a circus stunt I had never heard of. A man who can eat metal. And huge amounts of it. Esmerelda is a high school student who plays volleyball and one day goes to the circus with her sister and is mesmerized by an act where a very non-descript man is able to consume metal. She is so enamored that she runs away with him breaking her mother and sister's heart.
Over the years, she sends postcards from all of the places she has seen. Her sister does not show these cards to her mother and eventually the mother dies never knowing her daughter was okay all of those years. A lot of the story describes the act in great detail. Did you know their were circus acts like this one?
10 comments:
This sounds like a very sad short story. I have not heard of a circus act like that.
And I love the photo of Kevin. He is very intent.
Short stories tend to be sad, I think. Doerr is also a novelist: ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE was a big success for him. Yes, Kevin is intent.
A more common sideshow act is eating lightbulbs. I do not think you will catch me eating metal OR light bulbs any time soon -- there is not enough ketchup in the world.
What an odd-sounding story. No, I never heard of an actual like that.
While I'm still reading the collection of Fredric Brown's short stories, I am also reading ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S MYSTERY MAGAZINE PRESENTS FIFTY YEARS OF CRIME AND SUSPENSE, with stories (so far) by Henry Slesar, Jackie Ritchie, Evan Hunter, Avram Davidson, Ed Lacy (fun story, The "Method" Sheriff), Lorenzo D. Estleman, Donald Westlake and Edward C. Hockey, a non-series story I'd remembered from a previous reading, The Long Way Down.
Maybe it's not a real thing but the descriptions of him eating various things are credible.
My fault for not proofreading, but autocorrect made the mistakes, not me:
Jack Ritchie, not Jackie
Loren Estleman, not Lorenzo
Edward Hoch, not Hockey
Wow! I never of of an act like that, Patti! I'm trying to figure out how that would even work. Just on that score, the story sounds interesting.
Diane and I attended a Doerr presentation and he discussed ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Diane's Book Club read ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE and loved it.
There have been that kind of "novelty" act in various situations over the decades, and probably more that faked it. Echoed also in an earlyish episode of M*A*S*H in which Klinger tries to "prove" his insanity/eligibility for Section 8 discharge by eating a whole Jeep piece by piece. He doesn't get too far along but consumes bolts and such dipped in oil.
Remarkably helpful, that spell-"korrict"...
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