Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Short Story Wednesday: "Birdie" by Lauren Groff

 


Some serendipitous wandering around on the internet on the weekend led me to discover a new (to me) author that I want to read, and a short story by that author. 


"Birdie" by Lauren Groff

Four women who were friends in their youth come together again – after 20 years – because one of them, Birdie, is in the hospital, dying from cancer. The history of their relationship is revealed gradually and very effectively.

The four women have had very different lives. Sammie still lives in the small town they grew up in, and has a husband and five kids. Birdie was a freelancer, never married, her boyfriend left when she was diagnosed with cancer. Melodie is a real-estate agent in San Luis Obispo, still looking for love, who has had a lot of work done on her face. Most of the story is from Nic's point of view; she is a law professor, divorced, with a young daughter. None of them seem happy or comfortable in their lives. 

I don't know that their age at the time of this meeting is ever stated definitively, but it seems that they must be in their early 40s. They are telling stories about the worst thing they ever did. 

An excerpt:

Then the women were all looking at Nic, so she took a swig of schnapps and steeled herself and said, The worst thing I ever did was, I guess, what happened that summer just after we graduated, right before we all left home. I was babysitting for a couple who lived out on the lake, about six miles north of town. They worked at the opera. He was a set designer and she did costumes.

She was about to go into the whole story—the delicious old winterized camp that was painted a green-black, and its crisp white modern interior, the husband and wife like sleek seals, the toddler she loved like her own child, who slept with his hands curled near his ears—when she saw the other three exchanging looks and repressing their smiles, and that old whip of their judgment snapped out of the darkness of time and stung her. Nic cried out, What? What?


This story definitely benefited from a second read. I was very impressed with it on the first read, the characters seemed so real to me, especially Nic and Birdie. But the second time more I felt it more emotionally. The only tiny quibble I have with the writer's style was that she doesn't use quote marks, which seemed awkward to me, but did not detract from my enjoyment of the story.

A sample of dialog in the story:

There was more air in the hallway, or they could breathe now, and they relaxed a little as they walked. I took a cab here, said Melodie. Me too, said Sammie. Nic sighed internally and said, I rented a car. I’ll drive us to the hotel. In the hospital’s lobby, they stopped to look out the enormous windows into the wildness of wind and snow, and it seemed so astonishingly huge and fearsome, some dark beast roaring at them, that nobody moved until Nic reluctantly said, I’ll go out and get the car and pull it up here for you. Both of the other women said, Great, thanks!


Laurie Groff is the author of four novels and two books of short stories. Her most recent novel is Matrix, which tells Groff's version of the life of Marie de France, a female poet who wrote in the late 1100s through the early 1200s. I don't know if I want to read that book or not, but if anyone has any recommendations related to this author, I would welcome them.

I read the story at The Atlantic online. 



17 comments:

Margot Kinberg said...

It does sound like a thoughtful and interesting character study, Tracy. And I do like stories that explore relationships over time. It seems as though the short story format is just right for this story, too. Glad you enjoyed it.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Fate and Furies is considered her masterwork. My husband loved it.
I have read some of the stories in Florida and admired them

Todd Mason said...

Gives a certain flavor to the prose, typographical deviations such as that, the slight jarring at first being intended...

Kathy's Corner said...

Thanks Tracy for alerting us to this story and your review has me very interested. I love stories like this where you follow a group of women who have been friends for years and reunite at a later date and we see the different ways their lives have turned out. The Atlantic is allowing me one free article so I will read it! Lauren Groff is a popular and critically acclaimed writer and I've been meaning to read her
and now I can with Birdie.

TracyK said...

Margot, I was surprised that this story caught my eye and I decided to stop and read it. The characters were so well done and it wasn't a very long story.

TracyK said...

Patti, thanks for the book suggestion. Of the book summaries I read, that one sounded the most interesting to me. I will probably put her on my book sale list to look for, both her novels and short stories.

After I posted about this short story, I checked your blog and found that you had reviewed one of the stories from Florida in 2020.

TracyK said...

Todd, the way she handles quote certainly does force the reader to slow down and pay more attention. The interesting thing is, I don't think I noticed that at all in the first read through, but did in the second one... and it irritated me. And I think I did miss a lot in the first read.

Regardless, the story was very good.

TracyK said...

Kathy, I was wondering how the link would work for readers who did not have a subscription. We only recently got subscriptions to The Atlantic online and The New Yorker Magazine online.

I was very impressed with this story and want to find more of her short stories.

Steve Oerkfitz said...

I remember reading The Monsters of Templeton by her about ten years ago and liking it. Don't know why I've never read anything else by her. I guess it's a case of too many books and not enough time.

Cath said...

For me, the hook here is, 'The worst thing I ever did'. I'm like, 'What? What? Tell me!' So now of course I want to read the story. LOL!

TracyK said...

Steve, I know what you mean about "too many books and not enough time." I have more unread books in my house right now than I will ever be able to read, and then I like to reread some books, and I always find new (to me) authors to try. It is neverending.

The Monsters of Templeton sound quite different, which could be good. Maybe I will wait until the book sale and see what copies are her books may be there, at nice, reasonable prices.

TracyK said...

Cath, it is a good subject to create a story around, and it is striking how each person's worst thing reflected the type of person they were or something very important in their life. The focus is on Birdie and Nic but the other two were interesting too.

Vintage Reading said...

I must start repeating short stories again. Used to love Helen Simpson and Lorrie Moore. Enjoyed your review.

Vintage Reading said...

*reading not repeating!

TracyK said...

Nicola, I do enjoy short stories and trying stories from different genres, but I have to push myself because I am more comfortable reading novels.

I will look into Helen Simpson and Lorrie Moore. They both sound interesting and are new to me.

CLM said...

This author has really been in the news lately but I will admit I am completely unfamiliar with her work. You make me want to change that!

TracyK said...

Constance, I have looked into several of Groff's novels and I am undecided about those. I will probably wait and see if I can find any of them at the book sale later in the year. I am definitely interested in reading more of her short stories.