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Alan Bray
Dec 14, 20231 min read
Winter Break
Last week, we began taking a look at Lorrie Moore's Who Will Run The Frog Hospital? I had intended to continue with that fine story this...
Alan Bray
Dec 7, 20235 min read
Who Will Run The Frog Hospital?
This week, ladies and gentlemen, a new one…drumroll…Lorrie Moore’s 1994 novel, Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? What? ‘Kay, I’m not sure...
Alan Bray
Nov 30, 20235 min read
Dog - My Lord You
We have to talk about the dog. A central part of James Salter’s My Lord You concerns a large dog who appears in many scenes, shadowing...
Alan Bray
Nov 23, 20234 min read
Time For Rascals - My Lord You
One of the characteristics of James Salter’s writing style is the way time makes big leaps, a feature that is especially evident in his...
Alan Bray
Nov 16, 20235 min read
My Lord You
Today, a new one, James Salter’s 1994 short story My Lord You. The story was originally published in the September, 1994 issue of Esquire...
Alan Bray
Nov 9, 20234 min read
You Looking At Me?
Last time, we looked at the (long) opening scene of William Trevor’s A Bit On the Side. Let’s continue. Onward! A key element to the...
Alan Bray
Nov 2, 20236 min read
A Bit On The Side
This week, the adventure continues with William Trevor’s 2004 short story A Bit On the Side, published as part of the story collection of...
Alan Bray
Oct 17, 20234 min read
The Abyss - Anything Is Posiible
First, here's a no doubt surprising but at the same time evident deviation. My usual habit is to publish a new installment of this blog...
Alan Bray
Oct 12, 20235 min read
Is That A Polyphony I Hear? - Anything Is Possible
‘Kay, during our time discussing Elizabeth’s Strout’s Anything Is Possible, I know that you’ve been itching to suggest that the structure...
Alan Bray
Oct 5, 20234 min read
The Hit-Thumb Theory - Anything Is Possible
Let’s continue our exploration of Elizabeth Strout’s Anything Is Possible. Last time, we began looking at a prime structural feature of...
Alan Bray
Sep 28, 20235 min read
Transformative Hunt
Last time, we began discussing Elizabeth Strout’s Anything Is Possible, focusing on how the nine stories are linked by theme and...
Alan Bray
Sep 21, 20234 min read
Anything Is Possible
This week, a new one, Elizabeth Strout’s 2017 book Anything Is Possible. Dena recommended Elizabeth Strout to me; I’ve read Olive...
Alan Bray
Sep 15, 20234 min read
Has This Been Foreshadowed?
First, by way of apology, sorry that I didn’t publish a post yesterday as has been my habit for more than two years. Everything is all...
Alan Bray
Sep 7, 20235 min read
The Interpreter of Maladies
This week, a new one, Jhumpa Lahiri’s 1999 short story, The Interpreter of Maladies. It was originally published in Agni magazine and...
Alan Bray
Aug 31, 20233 min read
Aaron Burr Leaves The Building
This week, I’d like to begin with an admission of error—no, I’m not joking. As Baby’s father says to Johnny in Dirty Dancing, “When I’m...
Alan Bray
Aug 24, 20234 min read
Dream A Little Dream Of Me
In Eudora Welty’s First Love, a twelve-year-old boy, Joel Mayes, encounters Aaron Burr and Harman Blennerhassett, two figures, as we saw...
Alan Bray
Aug 17, 20231 min read
The Porous Texture Of Snow
My short story, The Porous Texture of Snow, is a finalist in Narrative Magazine's Spring Story Contest. Many thanks to Tom Jenks and...
Alan Bray
Aug 17, 20234 min read
First Love
This week, a new story, First Love, written by last week’s author, Eudora Welty, and first published in 1942. First Love is classic...
Alan Bray
Aug 10, 20235 min read
Saying It
What can be said about No Place For You, My Love? It is beautifully written, breathtaking. But the story remains enigmatic. Two strangers...
Alan Bray
Aug 3, 20235 min read
We're Not In Kansas Anymore
Last time in our discussion of Eudora Welty’s No Time For You, My Love, I threatened to get into the manner in which Ms. Welty presents...