The stories contained in this week's readings represent a very modern and contemporary take on American Literature. Each of them, in its own way, possesses many familiar elements--symbolic, linguistic, ironic, artistic--you will recognize from your earlier prose readings: a distinct narrative voice; an unusual or completely familiar setting, backdrop, or situation; multiple examples of irony, both verbal and situational; plot twists and thematic challenges--all culminating in individual masterpieces of short fiction.
In "Greasy Lake," T. Coraghessan Boyle, examines a summer evening in the life of a group of high school "hoodlum wannabes." The dreaded combination of vacation and boredom combine for epic level calamity. Of course, their planned evening becomes a series of unexpected catastrophic events which address the "dark, underside" of American culture. Certainly not a story for the faint of heart.
Robert Coover's story,"The Babysitter," is both a masterwork of multiple points of view, vividly capturing language and speech, in a convoluted tale involving the rather mundane occupation of babysitting. In a slice of life from the mid-20th century, Coover encapsulates social strata, teenage angst, childish behavior (often from the adults in the story), as well as many period-specific allustions. This one is truly remarkable.
While you may still be reeling from any of the other stories, "The Catbird Seat," (generally meaning a position of great importance or prominence) tells the tale of Mr. Martin, a long-time employee of his company, and Mrs. Barrows, a woman perched at the President of the company's ear, the power to hire and fire, and whose inevitable conflict showcases James Thurber's craft and "subtle brutality," which foreshadow her downfall.
And, last but definitely not least, we encounter Laurie, a precocious kindergarten-aged child, who also happens to be a pathological liar. He fills the house with epic stories of his schoolmate "Charles," whose mischievous adventures become a shocking reveal to his parents. Once again, Shirley Jackson shows us why she is a master of plot reversal.