Short Story Month is peaking right now and none are more emphatic about its peakingness other than Dan Wickett over at EWN. Still keeping his promise almost to the point of absurdity. According to Dan (new this Wednesday on ABC!), lots of other sites are getting in on the action. Good ol’ VigLaze has yet to pop up on EWN’s radar, though. Ahem. UPDATE: Booyah!
Anyhoozle, here’s a story from Sam Lipsyte over at Failbetter.com. It’s called Flashback or Why Nobody Won the Fight Between Our Fathers in Walt Wilmer’s Toolshed. I could be totally wrong but I think this is from his novel-in-stories collection Venus Drive. If you’ve never read Lipsyte before you’re missing out on one of the most brilliant living writers. Not only is dude funny beyond description, he has this beautiful way of showing the savage intensity of his characters. Heres a little snippet from the story that I like:
“So,” we heard my father say, “I guess the rocks really needed some trimming, huh? Figured the yard’s all done, might as well mow the rocks while I still have the guy’s machine.”
“Look, I didn’t mow no rocks, Charlie,” said Mr. Cudahy. “I’m sorry.”
“What are you sorry for? You said you didn’t mow any rocks. Or no rocks, rather.”
This last was so shameless, so shameful, the fop’s swipe, the nerd’s gnaw, so laced with the venom of soft men, that I looked to my friend there beneath the sill, beseeched forgiveness, but I don’t think Boy Cudahy even caught the slight to his father’s speech, or maybe he had, of course he had, it just wasn’t the terrible rent in his world I thought it to be, or that maybe my father intended. I saw it a dirk sunk to hilt in the meat of decency, equality, common cause. But to a Cudahy it probably had the same power “four-eyes” would to my bi-focaled father. Big whoop. Specs. What else you got?
Click on through and read the story. He’s never written a boring sentence in his life.
