"The Late Mistaken"
This is one of the stories in The Bewitched Bourgeois by Dino Buzzati, which will be published next month by New York Review Books. Translated by Lawrence Venuti.
In this story, the noted painter Lucio Predonzani, who had retired to his country house in Vimercate, opened the newspaper to discover an announcement of his death. The headline said: "Italian Art World in Mourning; Painter Predonzani is dead."
He tells his wife, then rushes to the city to confront the editor of the paper. The editor is surprised but protests that this could be a good thing for Predonzani. If he pretends to be dead, his paintings will go up in value after his death and he could make money on that. He decides to do exactly that, with the cooperation of the newspaper editor, who would provide publicity for gallery showings of his works.
The rest of the story is about what happens after that.
This is a very short story about an extremely absurd situation. It is humorous at times. I was intrigued, and would like to try more stories by Buzzati.
Per Wikipedia, Buzzati was an Italian novelist, short story writer, painter and poet who was born in 1906 and died in 1972.
I read this story in the December 2024 issue of Harper's Magazine. It can be read online here; Harper's Magazine allows two free articles a month.
What an interesting premise for a story, Tracy! It sounds as though there's some great wit in there with the actual plot, too, which is always welcome. I need to try some of his work.
ReplyDeleteGood to know that Harper's grants 2 free articles a month. I'm sure the stories in it are quite good. This story seems a bit crazy ... but I like the humor of it.
ReplyDeleteSusan, I have a subscription and access to the archives, I forget to go in and check what short stories are available.
DeleteI am curious to know if all of Buzzati's stories are kind of crazy or not. I did find a short story collection with a lot of stories in it at a good price on Kindle so I will be trying more of them.
That premise is so familiar to me. I wonder if I read the story before or if someone else used that idea.
ReplyDeletePatti, I have read two novels that start out kind of like that, but they are mysteries and the announcement is interpreted as a threat, if I remember correctly. This short story is more psychological.
DeleteThat sounds mad enough for me to love it!
ReplyDeleteCath, I do think you would like the story. I bought Catastrophe: And Other Stories by Buzzati, the only short story book by him that I could easily find, and will be trying more of his stories.
DeleteI will try and find this story and check it out. It sounds humorous but also It sounds scary for the painter to be pretending he is dead when he isn't. It's like tempting the fates.
ReplyDeleteKathy, the story explains some of the details of that but leaves much to the imagination. And I do see what you mean by tempting the fates.
DeleteMargot, I agree, a very interesting premise. It is such a short story that it is hard to summarize it adequately.
ReplyDeleteI can think of so many things that could go wrong with this! I might have to go read the story to see if I'm right.
ReplyDeleteKelly, the story is very short (comparatively). The ending surprised me. It was very strange.
DeleteGlad you reminded me to check in with HARPER'S...I've been meaning to resubscribe once the big house-fix expenses were taken care of. a subscription gets one the whole online archives, which is a good wallow, too.
ReplyDeleteTodd Mason here. using housemate's computer/login, which is grumpy.
DeleteTodd, I should have guessed it was you. I love having subscriptions to Harper's, the Atlantic, and The New Yorker. Harper's is the only one I also get in print. I don't use them as often as I should, though.
DeleteYes, I have enjoyed diving backwards before, into the deep archives.
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ReplyDeleteThere have been real-life anecdotes and a range of resulting fiction about folks pronounced dead while still alive..one of the better early episodes of the TV version of M*A*S*H takes this tack.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine a M*A*S*H episode with that premise. Makes me want to watch some episodes.
DeleteEpisode 404, "The Late Captain Pierce" (renumbered as episode 5 of the fourth season for syndication, as the season premiere was an hour-long episode).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Todd. I should be able to find that to stream. I think it is available on Hulu and there are other options.
DeleteThe enormity and the Always There-ness of the archives for some magazines makes it too easy to put off!
ReplyDeleteSo true, and there is always too much to look at on the internet.
DeleteI didn't know Harper's included fiction! And this sounds intriguing, plus extra credit for reading a magazine so soon after it arrived! I guess I tend to read them right away or find them years later . . . my aunt is very organized and recycles each magazine when the next one arrives (unlike me, she has no clutter).
ReplyDeleteConstance, I will admit that this is the first time I have read the new Harper's magazine so quickly, I need to go through some back issues. When I first subscribed, I had not had my cataract surgery and it was not easy to read the small print. Now I can read articles, etc in Harper's and The New York Review of Books so much more easily. I could have read them online, although even that was somewhat problematic online before surgery.
DeleteI think at least half of the Harper's issues have short stories, but they sometimes have extracts from novels, which I am less interested in.
Wow, your aunt is very organized, to read a magazine, and recycle it so soon. I could never do that.