by Juan Jose Millas
translated by Tobias Hecht
New Sudden Fiction (2007)
* * * * * (Excellent) Realistic
While recuperating at home after a car accident, the narrator comes to realize he is no longer the person he was before the accident; he is another person hiding in a life no longer his own. As this other person he comes to recognize something new and beautiful about the woman who was once – and still is – his wife.
Sometimes the best stories are the shortest stories. This story, translated from the original Spanish by Tobias Hecht, is the first in a collection of “sudden fiction” stories. These are stories of only a few pages in length. There is some nice imagery and word work done in this tale.
"We sat together on the tombstone and watched our shadows, projected on the wall by candlelight, commingle and fuse and form beautiful silhouettes of love."The message of the story is swiftly examined, and the ending doesn’t feel rushed, but natural. That’s a lot to accomplish in three pages.
No comments:
Post a Comment