 | A WRITER'S WIT |  B. Malamud |
MY BOOK WORLD
Dufresne, John. Johnny Too Bad: Stories. New York: Norton, 2005.
Of the nineteen stories, I particularly enjoyed reading “Based on a True Story,” “Epithalamion,” “Talk Talk Talk,” the title story, and “Squeeze the Feeling.” The latter may be the “best.” In a way, it “links” together a number of other stories in the same collection (such a popular editorial choice) by reprising several characters featured earlier. In “Squeeze” a writer lives with his female friend and Spot, his dog. Girlfriend gets pregnant and loses baby, but Spot, a supersensitive creature, comforts her (he possesses other powers). Dufresne displays his superb talents when in the space of just more than a page he takes readers on an emotional roller coaster climax. The man and woman are drinking in their car, and an officer detains them. When he learns of the miscarriage, he drops the citation. The officer then returns and shares a similar event which has occurred in his own life and has not been able to speak with anyone about it (including his wife). Dufresne creates an emotional turn of events in such a short distance, yet readers may weep because the exchange is so honest, so real—as are all the stories in this collection.
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Annie Dillard
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Bobbie Ann Mason
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Jon Galt
FRI: My Book World | Barbara McQuade, Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
Of the nineteen stories, I particularly enjoyed reading “Based on a True Story,” “Epithalamion,” “Talk Talk Talk,” the title story, and “Squeeze the Feeling.” The latter may be the “best.” In a way, it “links” together a number of other stories in the same collection (such a popular editorial choice) by reprising several characters featured earlier. In “Squeeze” a writer lives with his female friend and Spot, his dog. Girlfriend gets pregnant and loses baby, but Spot, a supersensitive creature, comforts her (he possesses other powers). Dufresne displays his superb talents when in the space of just more than a page he takes readers on an emotional roller coaster climax. The man and woman are drinking in their car, and an officer detains them. When he learns of the miscarriage, he drops the citation. The officer then returns and shares a similar event which has occurred in his own life and has not been able to speak with anyone about it (including his wife). Dufresne creates an emotional turn of events in such a short distance, yet readers may weep because the exchange is so honest, so real—as are all the stories in this collection.
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Annie Dillard
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Bobbie Ann Mason
THURS: A Writer's Wit | Jon Galt
FRI: My Book World | Barbara McQuade, Attack from Within: How Disinformation Is Sabotaging America
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