Short Story Wednesday: "The Summer People" by Kelly Link

 

Today I read the first story in Kelly Link's Get in Trouble. My husband had bought this book for himself but then decided to pass it on to me to read. I know very little about Kelly Link or anything she has written, but this is what I gleaned from my recent reading about this book and her short stories.

Her short story collection Get in Trouble was a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Per Wikipedia, this collection "contains nine short stories, five of which were previously published. The stories contain elements of fantasy, magical realism, and light horror." Usually I avoid horror, but light horror seemed doable. 

I liked this article about Kelly Link's fiction at Longbox of Darkness: The Weird Fiction of Kelly Link.

"The Summer People"

The story slowly pulls the reader in. Fran is a teenage girl, in high school; she lives with her father, and she cleans and tends houses for summer people when they stay in their summer homes.

Fran has been very sick with the flu, but one morning her father wakes her up and tells her he is leaving for one to three weeks. He is going to a prayer meeting in Miami, to "get right with God." He gives her instructions on what to do for some summer people coming in soon, and to keep up with the schedule for any more summer people who will show up later. She tells him he should be staying there to take care of her instead of running off. He leaves anyway.

Fran gets some help from an old friend Ophelia Merck, in her high school calculus class, whose family has recently moved to the small town full time. She helps her out when she is still too sick to handle taking care of setting up the house for the summer people. Ophelia is from a rich family and has her own car, a Lexus. She is spoiled and pampered, but generous enough to help a friend in need. Another thing she has going for her is that she loves the beauty of the area she is now living in throughout the year. She marvels at the beauties of nature.

"It's freaking gorgeous here. Everything is so pretty it almost hurts. I love morning, the way everything is all misty. And the trees! And every time the road snakes around the corner, there's another waterfall. Or a little pasture and it's all full of flowers."

My Thoughts:

I guess that this is magical realism. It definitely fits the description: the current reality blending with some kind of magical or supernatural events.

Did I like the story? Yes, it was very good. It kept me spellbound as I read. First it fools you into thinking it is just a typical story about a father and a daughter with issues, and then gradually reveals what goes on behind the scenes. Which is much stranger than you can imagine.

The story is open-ended. There is an ending of sorts, but not all the strings are tied up neatly. That worked well here.