The story is enough.

The story is enough.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

"The Apartment" by Jensen Beach


Jensen Beach

This story can be found in the August 31, 2015 issue of The New Yorker.

First Line: "Louise knew by the new name on the call box that someone had moved in."

Last Line: "She leaned forward, devoted, filling her mouth with the bread as if she were kneeling at the altar of a darkened church."

I am still working on another project - I will be done soon.  I am looking forward to diving deeper into fiction.

I listened to this story on SoundCloud and I was irritated by all of the identifiers (she, she, SHE), yet despite the jarring sound, I enjoyed Louise's company.  I fell into a sad, hopeless kind of love with her.  A blind compassion settled over me, and while I could appreciate that other characters in the piece found this woman pathetic, I could not judge her so.

The setting - the apartment - became a confidante for the alcoholic woman.  It held her secrets.  It held her attention.  It coddled her with memories that may not be true.

A solid story. 

Photo Credit: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1876032290/peacock_and_me_400x400.jpg

No comments:

Post a Comment