This short story collection is divided into 5 sections. First is the story "The Tiger in the Grass," which I enjoyed very much. The starting point was that the protagonist's son was dying and he had requested that she write a short account of her long life. I could not tell if it was autobiographical or not. I suspect it was a mix. Either way, I enjoyed it. It was a poignant story, but not too sad.
The next section was titled "First Work." The stories were shorter, and beautifully written, but not memorable.
The third section was titled "Mexico." Harriet Doerr spent many years in Mexico, and these stories seem to be based on her experiences there and her view of the country and its people.
In that section, I read "Sun, Pure Air, and a View." A woman has moved to Mexico after a legal separation from her husband. She is in her early forties and has two children who don't keep in touch with her. She doesn't know where they are and she worries. She has a home in a small town in Mexico because her husband died shortly after they separated and left it to her. I also liked that story; the story was clever and realistic, for the most part.
Overall I appreciated the stories here mostly for the beautiful writing, and the sense of place. I have not read either of Doerr's two novels and I would like to do that. She published her first novel, Stones for Ibarra, in 1984 at the age of 74, after she had completed her B.A. degree.
What is left for me to read in this collection? There are four stories left in the Mexico section. I look forward to those. Next are four stories in a section called "Memory." Some are very short, some medium length. There is one last story, "Evie: A Life." Readers have praised that story. So I will return to those stories, and I expect them to be good reads.
10 comments:
I must admit this author is new to me but the stories sound rather intriguing. What I was impressed with is that she published her first novel at the tender age of 74! Well done her! Amazing. I like hearing about other oldies still studying in their 70s.
I haven't read her work before, Tracy, but just based on your description, I think I would enjoy it. I do like stories with a strong sense of place. I like the fact that the stories are organized into sections, too; I think that helps give the reader an overall sense of the collection.
Her Mexico stories sound good. I'm glad you highlighted her work ... now I'm interested in the two novels she wrote. I will see if my library has them. She seemed to have quite the life .... and how she got a degree and into writing fiction later in life is very cool.
This is one that isn't really calling my name. I had to pause a moment at the thought of writing a short account of a long life. It made me wonder how I would encapsulate my life into a short story. It would be difficult!
I agree, Cath, I was very impressed with her accomplishments later in life. Maybe it is because I worked full time until I was 71, but I can't picture doing all of the things she did at that age.
Margot, I enjoyed all the stories I read, but I especially liked reading about settings I have not been to and experienced.
Susan, I would like to read her first book, Stones of Ibarra. I will probably wait a while to look for a copy since I just bought a lot of books. Or maybe I can check ABEbooks.com.
Kelly, I cannot imagine even recounting my life in a longer format, much less trying to condense it down to short story length. So much would have to be left out.
Having read that story, which is less than 30 pages long, it leaves wanting to know more about her life, especially her relationship with her family. The first novel she wrote sounds autobiographical to me, about a couple who went to Mexico to reopen a copper mine. So I will seek that out someday.
Some writers are better at writing novels, other writers are better at writing short stories.
I have found that to be true also, George. I have been disappointed by the short stories of some authors whose novels I read; and sometimes authors seem to use short stories as a way to experiment.
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