Mavis Gallant’s “August”

2020-08-17T17:41:02-04:00

“August” picks up the thread from 1959’s “Travellers Must Be Content” (a story which was also collected in The Cost of Living/Going Ashore). Just as time has passed between publications, time has passed for Bonnie and her daughter, Flor, too. The stories read like bookends, all-of-a-piece, but occupying

Mavis Gallant’s “August”2020-08-17T17:41:02-04:00

Here and Elsewhere: Paris

2020-06-02T08:13:47-04:00

Although it was a challenge to find Kyoto within these four walls (without access to the public library, still in lockdown), it was easy to find Paris for May’s Here and Elsewhere. And if my calendar image looks familiar, it’s because a photograph of the same scene has frequently

Here and Elsewhere: Paris2020-06-02T08:13:47-04:00

How I Met Colette #1920Club

2020-04-13T15:58:30-04:00

Shortly after I was old enough to peruse the magazines and newspapers that came to the houses of older family members, I discovered the wonders of the Columbia House Record Company and the Quality Paperback Bookclub via their advertisements. Both of these catalogue businesses offered tantalizing deals to new

How I Met Colette #1920Club2020-04-13T15:58:30-04:00

Mavis Gallant’s “The Captive Niece” (1968)

2020-02-05T15:24:29-05:00

As this collection nears its end (the next story is its last), I find myself thinking more about the concept of being “in transit”. About how we often meet the characters in this story when they are at their most rooted. But how the title of the collection allows

Mavis Gallant’s “The Captive Niece” (1968)2020-02-05T15:24:29-05:00

Mavis Gallant’s “The Hunter’s Waking Thoughts”

2019-12-10T16:00:23-05:00

At first glance, I think that Digby, from the previous story “A Question of Disposal”, is a world apart from Colin Graves in this story. Consider how Digby’s mother, Mrs. Glover, imagines him, carrying on after her death. She isn’t particularly complimentary: “He would continue driving about in hairy

Mavis Gallant’s “The Hunter’s Waking Thoughts”2019-12-10T16:00:23-05:00
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