Tuesday, February 21, 2012
You Are a NYT Short Story Reviewer
In your initial short story review for the New York Times, you write in the style of the following review. We will discuss the format and style of Alex Berenson's review of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo before you all write your reviews. These should be 1-1.5 pages, double-spaced. Please copy and paste your entries to the blog before class on Friday, 2/24. Leave your initials at the end of your post. Thank you.
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Most of the time Americans always find reasons to hate the government and anyone that is associated with them. FBI agents would also be associated with the government, and therefore are discriminated just as much as the government officials when all they do is try and help. These FBI agents do not have an easy job; they cannot simply put on a black uniform and expect to not be seen. Rather, they have to work hard to be incognito and do everything they can to complete their mission without getting caught. In movies and stories like this though they are seen as the people with big egos and lots of nerve to walk around acting like they can get away with anything.
ReplyDeleteHaley Manley’s story will not make the reputation of the FBI agents any better. The story portrays FBI agents as jokes basically; after all the main character decides she can be an FBI agent for a day strutting her stuff in all black attire. However, the job is definitely not as easy as it sounds in the story. Also, she creates the husband, who is in fact an FBI agent, as an egoistical man who ran away from his wife for no apparent reason. FBI agents do not generally have the characteristics though, and they serve their country with honor and integrity as well as their families.
The family, although it is supposed to be the centerpiece of the story, is almost nonexistent. We only hear about the rest of her family in the beginning and in the end. Jessica, the main character, is not described thoroughly as well. We never know what she looks like, where she’s from, we just never really get the answers to all the questions we may have about her. Haley Manley could have tried to make this a little bit more developed rather than just having a bunch of words spilled out on the paper.
The last sentence might have been a bit harsh. It was not exactly a story with words just spilled out onto the paper, but she could have made it a little bit more detailed and outlined. It sounds like there was no outline to begin with, which is what might have led to this story not being so good. However, I will give her some credit for being creative because this story definitely is weird, and has some creative qualities to it. Hopefully next time she will outline it.
I would have to say this story was not Haley Manley’s best, but look out for the next one. One can only hope that next time she will not be so detrimental to the reputations of government officials.
HM
It seems popular, especially in shorter fiction, to have nameless characters. Writers would probably have us believe it accomplishes the purpose of mystery and deeper meaning, concentrating significance into about six hundred words of prose. However, pronouns get old quickly. They are vague and repetitive, and we already use enough of them already without overkill.
ReplyDeleteSo why do authors leave some characters blank? What’s in a name? Microfiction hardly leaves enough time for other characterization, so even a trite name with an obvious double meaning is better than no name at all. Maybe I got lazy, and when creativity or energy runs dry, names are the first to go. It will be difficult to discuss the story of Laura and her son Marcus because, of course, I gave no title, but that seems to be in keeping with the current anonymous theme. Hopefully, in the absence of names, the characters’ internal conflicts become the more important focus.
The story opens with characterization, however mild, of Laura through her son Marcus. Basic rules of biology state that the boy takes fifty percent of his genetics from his mother and the other half from his father, but he appears to err on his paternal side. It seems that Laura feels slightly bitter toward the fact that she alone must raise a son that so clearly belongs to someone else. She focuses on the ways Marcus is not like her because they are the most obvious, and wishes she could wipe away all evidence of her ex-husband, or boyfriend, whoever he was. The man, most often referred to as “his father,” is much more important to Marcus than to Laura, and most of what the reader discovers about the man who left comes through the perspective of the young boy, a switch that comes half-way through the story. Marcus becomes attached to an orange sweater as he rifles through his father’s abandoned objects, and he wears it until the orange becomes parts red and parts yellow. Readers never hear from Laura about the sweater, but must infer her new attitude as wool socks replace the sweater, combining two primary colors into something new, again.
The indistinct paternal figure, ambiguous in name and nature, does pull attention away from the real matter at hand involving Laura’s anger and Marcus’ missing. But despite the mystery, the idea that children are very much a product and a symbol of their parents’ union asks readers to think about themselves as composites, with an individual identity as well as one given by those who came directly before. It seems we can become socks from sweaters, but can never lose the sweater completely, nor should we try.
EO
In our day and age there are few people that have an immense amount of power over others. Those who do are well known for their work and either praised or slandered for what they have accomplished or destroyed. Rarely is there a person in the world that has a job that possesses so much power but is still so well kept a secret. Our society praises those with power, but in Lexi Drusch's "Nova and Luna" the most powerful person on earth is someone no one would expect.
ReplyDeleteDrusch has a had a past of micro fiction pieces that always revolve around a somewhat surprisingly dark motif of finding out about the true dark sides of people. In Drusch's newest micro fictional piece, she hides this darkness in a character who is never completely understood. The characters paint a picture of a typical family with typical problems, but the themes of acceptance and darkness are seen continually throughout the piece.
The story opens with two sisters, Nova and Luna, who discover a great family secret. They have a less than normal life and a less than day. They go to visit their father at work, which is a thing they have never done before. They discover the truth about many things in their life after they have been put through extensive security checks. Closing the story, and in fact opening the story, the two girls look at what exactly the next day will bring.
Drusch brings surprise to her readers with various discoveries. Although the story is intriguing, it might be a bit too intriguing. Drusch left various questions unanswered and leaving me wanting to continue reading if only for the ability to find out more about the two girl's reactions. It was interesting how the story was named after the two girls when in fact the story had more to do with power than with people. It seems as if Drusch ended the story at the mere beginning of the best part: the true reactions of the girls to this earth-shattering information.
Primarily this story led me to believe that it would talk about the two girls and the discovery of the power. In fact, the story was more about the true discovery of the people in their life. I wish the author would write a follow-up to "Nova and Luna" so I would finally be able to answer the question: what will the girls do with this power?
LD
The mind has always been a fascination for humans. That fascination has caused a great number of people to explore different parts of the mind and its functions. With all that exploration the mind is still relevantly a mystery. A mystery people continue to try and solve. Paterson dips her toes in the mystery and complex working of the mind with her most recent micro fiction.
ReplyDeleteIn the past Paterson has usually stuck to the overly done third person limited, but in her most recent pieces she surprised her readers by writing in a first person omniscient point of view. This different point of view allows for a new perspective on a story. We see a different side of the story than we are use to seeing from Paterson.
The story opens with an almost childish wonderment of the world that surrounds the main character. The main character and supporting characters remain nameless through out the story except Picasso who gets a shout out.
As the story develops we realize at although the main character has almost a childish wonder and communication skill their thoughts are much more profound. The conflict between evolved thought process and poor communication causes problems for the main character.
The conflict between the main character’s thoughts and words does not end how the reader would like. It ends in almost defeat as the main character accepts the communication barrier and blames the other character for putting it there.
For Paterson’s first attempt at first person omniscient the story was a good try. There was a lack of description about the environment surrounding the characters. Also there was confusion about exactly what caused the characters communication problems. We are left to wonder weather the main character is a child who has yet to learn how to talk or a person who suffers from a mental disability. This question leaves the reader guessing and changes the perspective of the story depending on who you think the main character is. This question might have been answered if the character had been more developed. The supporting character also appeared flat and not mentionable except that they demonstrated the characters communication problems. This was a decent attempt at a first person micro fiction, but if Paterson planes on writing more she needs to bring more life to her characters and surroundings.
CCP
“Society prepares the crime, the criminal commits it”, Henry Thomas Buckle simplified a reality that surrounds us. One that is foolishly combated therefore accelerated. Senan Shaibani, a young student inspired by Marxist ideology, reiterates Buckle’s notion through representation of the lifestyle of the poor and dangerous.
ReplyDelete“Rahim & The Crew” displays the frustrations that dominate the youth trapped within their restrictive, capitalistic community. The defense mechanism embraced by the young crew in the story is far from admirable, but comes off as a product of their restraining environment. Shaibani proves the worthlessness of such militant mentality. Instead of serving as an alarm to the general populace, it only exceeds the pains of the dejected and allows for further implementation of injustice.
Each statement articulated by one of the crazed individuals in “Rahim & The Crew” epitomize the corrupted mentality that drive these hoodlums towards destruction and according to society’s standards, “crime”. Shaibani carefully places emphasis on their dedication to materialistic entities, which consequentially facilitates their devastation. Such superficial devotions prevent the young men from creating effective strategies against injustice and towards success.
The fundamental tragedy is underlined in the closing of Shaibani’s short story. The protagonist, Rahim, has a perverted urge to acquire wealth, strictly money-oriented wealth. This urge is so powerful it allows him to go to disturbing extremes. Rahim does not realize this development until he discovers that his sister is a victim of his wicked plot. The cycle of injustice cannot be broken without a revolutionary mindset, one foreign to society’s norms. It is its own source of light.
- SS
A decade ago, one would not think twice about a package being left behind in a museum, subway station, airplane, etc. Times have changed since the catastrophic events of 911 that took place in 2001. Since that day, the United States of America has taken great precautions in identifying objects that have been mysteriously left behind with no owner. So with such an devastating example of what happened in the USA over a decade ago, how can other countries not take the same precautions?
ReplyDeleteMaria, the manager of a museum in the Middle East is one who trusts the times of the past. She is a prime example of someone who has not learned from the events of 911 that took place in one of the safest places on earth. The signs are clearly there that a mysterious black box has been left behind in the museum, but she is ignorant of the contents of the box and feels that someone left it behind by mistake. Even though she feels that it belongs to someone, she makes no effort to find its owner. In the end, she makes a grave error in judgement. In today’s age, people cannot be trusting of the past, they have to be aware of their surroundings and everything that is in it.
The manager did not do her job effectively that day in the Middle East. She could have prevented the terrible events of that day. Not much is mentioned of Maria after the bomb goes off in the museum. The prime minister, Alex Stevenson steps into the picture to pick up the pieces for the country that is devastated by the terrorist attack. The country then has to deal with the repercussions of weather delaying the reconstruction of the museum. Adam Goss could have tried to develop both Maria and Alex characters a bit more to bridge the gap between the attack and the aftermath. It seems as if it is two separate stories bridged by one devastation.
Although the museum’s destruction is ultimately the manager’s fault. What about all the technology available to stop such things from happening. Where was the surveillance people who were watching the camera’s? What were they doing? There seems to be some information missing on how the mysterious black box entered and made it there with no one seeing it. There are many unanswered questions. Was Maria involved in the process to rebuild the museum with the prime minister. She does not seem to be mentioned after the bombing. What ends up happening to her? Does the country blame her for the disaster or is she working to reconstruct the museum. There are many questions that could have been answered to make the story more cohesive. It had a good story line but not very well developed because it jumped from one thing to the next.
Although the story had an interesting plot and it is reflective of the times we live in, does it really reflect how it would play out in a Middle Eastern country? It seems like this would be more of a story line that could take place in the United States. In reading Adam Goss’ works, this is not one of his best, look forward to reading his next best story.
More and more people in existence today have the resources necessary to live healthy lives, but nothing to live life for. The struggle of men seeking fulfillment and purpose is an intriguing and unique aspect of every life. In his piece the “Plight”, short fiction author John Montgomery attempts to highlight the diverse struggle of a modern man searching for something more. Often writing from personal experience, Montgomery draws many of the stories details from his personal attempts at finding meaning in life. The foremost of these is Montgomery’s early obsession with art. Even as a child, he would stare at paintings for vast amounts of time, and allow his mind to wander wherever it wanted. This fueled Montgomery’s life in a way that he cannot explain in words fit for an article of this stature, but he feels that readers will come to understand it through his work. No longer consumed by art obsession, Montgomery is constantly searching for reasons why people live and act the way that they do. In “Plight”, the main character Drew is living a life of conformity. Besides his art craze, Drew lives seeking acceptance from those surrounding him. A resolute individual, Drew is not willingly open to new things, but the small act of drinking allows him to open up and find his place among his peers. It is interesting how Drew subconsciously decides to drink because his friends are doing it, and this peer pressure of sorts acts like a catalyst. It throws Drew into an uncontrollable state of conformation. Montgomery attempts to capture this struggle between individualism and groupthink in his story. To Montgomery, individualism is much like innocence; there must be something unconscious about it. I personally love how Montgomery’s piece fosters self-analysis. It has inspired me to think about what drives me day to day. I cannot wait to read the next story from this groundbreaking and introspective writer.
ReplyDeleteThis story is a conflicting story, which turns the characters from competitors to FBI partners. It is about two college guys, Philip and David, who began as competitors to be the best in their class. After years of completing they learn they are both exactly the same and began to create a friendship. They arise with conflict when they are assigned to go to Russia for the FBI and need to figure out a plan on how to convince their parents without giving away any secret information. They both planned a presentation to show to their parents and after long consideration the parents the Philip and David go to Russia, except they were going along also.
ReplyDeleteThere are subjects of perfection in being the best, competitiveness, and preparation and towards the end deception. The author did a good job in providing conflicts that make the story interesting, but she could have gone more in depth in describing the character in the beginning. She did a good job with the details and description of their presentation and describing the reactions of the parents.
The ending keeps it interesting because it makes the reader want to know what is going to happen when the parents have to accompany Philip and David to Russia. Interesting stories leave the reader thinking what will happen and I think this author used that appeal. Overall it was a good short story, not the best but expect better, more capturing stories.
BB
In the short story "The crash," Kevin Steinhart tells the story of a man who gained a deeper insight of life through a horrific crash. Steinhart has an act for taking readers beyond the peripheral aspect of daily life and making the reader question life and his or hers surroundings. In "The Crash" Steinhart gives an interesting perspective of how the mind can unlock the wonders of life in the most unexpected situations.
ReplyDeleteIt took a devastating car crash for Earl to realize what he was living for and who he was living for. Earl Bennett had always wanted to know the true meaning of life but was engulfed in the conformity of his average life. He found his life unexciting and questioned what it was that made him wake up every morning to proceed to his job.Earl never thought that he would have to loose it all to gain it all- the power of knowledge. Earl was in a horrific car crash on his way home from work when his body gave up on him but his mind didn't. Earl found himself talking to a man he believed to be God, however, the man never identified himself. After informing Earl that he had been in a severe car wreck, Earl quickly asked the man where he was and who he was talking too. The man told him what had happened and quickly started answering Earl's profound questions. These profounding questions and answers are original ideas by Steinhart and are unique to "The Crash."After this life changing experience, Earl has a new take on life, even if he is lacking something that he used to believe was everything, mobility. Although he doesn't have the ability to move any part of his body, his mind now has the ability to move and explore more than ever. I look foreword to reading more short stories by this amazing author.
The story of Jeremy the Builder is quite the compelling one. James Scott Finnegan, Harvard Literary genius, never seizes to amaze his readers. This story talking about a successful businessman and a wonderful father, which is very heart warming and delightful. One thing the Scotty always seems to surprise us is the quick turn around from “good guy” to “ bad guy”. Jeremy has a fixation with art, all forms, and wants to have all of it for himself, well most of it. Many times Jeremy will just sell the pieces he steals in order to give his kid, Jerm, more gifts. Scotty’s set up of each story is very compelling. His techniques remind me of a shark attack with the ominous music jolting in the background. In Scotty’s younger life there were many holes. These holes were possibly due to a lack of attention as a youngster. Being so traumatized by these events in a crucial time period as a young boy, Scotty could never understand how a parental figure would not do all in his power to make his child happy. Scotty provides Jeremy as a very intense case of dramatic irony against what the ideal parent should be. Scotty shows how the upmost extreme actions of something that is originally “good” and has “good intentions” can often time result into something very bad. In his earlier works he often wrote about the idea of a place that seems to be a utopia ultimately turning into a dystopia. And although this story does not mention a place, or town specifically, he seems to resemble that idea in Jeremy’s mind. Scotty rules.
ReplyDeleteAuthor Lindsey Weil, tells a fictional story, called the teleporter. Weil is mostly known for her short usually page to page in a half creative writing papers mostly containing of vivid graphics in ones head. However, this particular story is rated one of the best fictional short stories of all time, as it goes into, action, drama, love, and methods of coping. The story begins introducing main character, Tim, who’s not given a last name. Tim weirdly has no memory starting from a certain age, and can only remember waking one day not knowing anything from the past or anyone. We eventually figure out that Tim has a power, one that he has no idea even exists; he can physically teleport his body to anywhere he puts his mind to. Tim has no friends, as he has lived all alone for what he can remember of his life. Eventually Tim adjusts to his powers and lives in his own little world ostracized from every other human. He’s never had an encounter with a normal human or a fellow teleporter. One day when Tim somehow, randomly gets caught by 3 strange men in the desert, they were trying to capture in kill him, but Tim frantically used his unique powers to escape. Through his escape route, he runs into a fellow teleporter named Lilly. This was his first encounter with anyone, ever. As the reader can feel the tension in this scene, the stress just increases, as Tim grows more and more confused. Soon as they decide to pair up together, Tim realizes he has real life emotions for Lilly and wants to share them with her. Finally the two go after the bad men, defending each other always, and hoping to kill them so that they can live happy stress free lives together in the end.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin Carter writes a story about a man, a painting with colors and shapes, and a gang. All three subjects collide at one point or another during the story. Along with a few flaws that this story chose not to address, Carter wrote this story in what seemed to be a hasty manner. However, his attention to detail amuses some readers, myself included. At the beginning of the story, a character named John contemplates if he should break into an art gallery to find out what secret lies behind a certain painting. Later that same night, John decides that he is indeed going to go to the art gallery and find the secret that lies behind the painting. Once the reader starts to think they know John, Carter offers up a reason why John ever had this intent in the first place. It's because John was a professional criminal in his more youthful years. As I said before, the attention to detail that the author pays is somewhat humorous. John, C4 in hand, blows the door open and proceeds to the painting. He picks the lock that he noticed in the painting and retrieves the secret. Just a little golden statue it was. I thought he could've gotten a bit creative with the secret, but he chose not to. As John is exiting through the same door he blew open, which is a stupid idea, John gets shot by the gang known as the Zambaroochas. They take the tiny golden statue and go back to their compound to celebrate and take pictures with their prize in hand, leaving John to bleed out in the streets. The story was interesting, but never really gets the reader to become somewhat attached to John. Also, it ends rather abruptly, which is never a good thing.
ReplyDeleteBC
In a stunning, new, short fiction story, renowned author John Hancock has churned out another fascinating work. A detective’s job never once appeared to be a simple one, and Hancock delves deeper into world of the police officer with detail reminiscent of Arthur Conan Doyle’s great works. After consulting with several literary experts and the author himself, the short work is said to be examine the social effects of the rioting in London, that took place in the summer of 2011, as well as look at the impact of immigration into the community.
ReplyDeleteWith these thoughts in mind, Hancock created a short masterpiece that covers a range of themes, including the influence of terrorism on a social conflict, and impact that religion can have in escalating violence. Crime is the final theme the novel covers, and Hancock examines the results of criminal acts in his malevolent short story.
The work follows Robert, an old and grizzled detective, and John, the young and ambitious assistant detective. When we are introduced to Robert, he has finished investigating an arson crime, and goes to link up with his compatriot, John. The two then head off to track down the serial ‘baby drowner’, but the plot line is interrupted when a riot breaks out in their path. The two detectives battle the rampant rioters and discover the cause of the riot. But some one deadly takes an interest as well.
The short story is a magnificent modern work, with a bold dramatic story line, and intricate plot. The round characters are complimented by a host of deep themes, and the ending provides a sharp twist to keep the reader interested. Another great production from the famed Hancock, and we should all look forward to hit next installment.
J.Hancock
Athens a place that brings memories of Roman affairs such as men fighting to the death for honor, however Athens today is a thriving city that has left these ideals behind. In this story I tried to depict Athens as more modern place with a little bit of gloom.
ReplyDeleteThe story leads to the person seeing Athens as a truly gloomy and uninhabitable place unless a person has no other choices. I lead the reader want the protagonist to get out of Athens as soon as possible. Rooting for him to find a way out into a world of luxury like his dreams. The transition to his life 10 years later does leave the reader a bit lost due to the abrupt change in surroundings. The reader is left wondering how and when Sam, the protagonist, made this change. I should have given Sam more time to transition into his older self so he would have a more rounded out character. Sam’s personality is known but is not very clear in some ways. I do not know if reader will instantly be able to understand how or why he went about his life in such a manner. Leaving the readers with more questions than they can handle.
The theme of the story is triumph over the evils that stop us from making life changes. Sam seems to want to leave Athens in order to have a better life. He strives towards that goal with fierce intent, and leaves the reader rooting for him to go further after tragic events that happened in his childhood. He takes many adventure that allow a person to dream of what can happen when a person pushes themselves to their limits for a passionate cause. I could have put more about the trips and how they influenced him, instead of just letting the reader assume he received some benefit other than traveling in the short story. Pushing the story more into a rounded one may have helped make the climax a little more exciting and enticing. The lack of enticement holds the reader in a boring state wondering when the story will end.
The story also lacks a fairly decent conclusion to the events during the climax. Sam does not achieve much or lose much in the process other than having a fairly tail ending that seems so unreasonable that it leads the reader to leave the story with a lack of understanding why I went into a deep picture of current Athens then ended the story with an unrealistic view of how life works for those who are less fortunate. Writing such a grandiose ending of joy that the reader doubt the stories authenticity as being based on any real events.
KT
Art Heist Review
ReplyDeleteTrials, tragedies, and tribulations; such are the themes of many stories. There is something that many find simply mesmerizing about human being faced with insurmountable odds and ultimately persevering to live another day.
These kinds of tales are what world-renowned writer and three time Pulitzer winner Drew Galtney does best. After a brief hiatus from his writing career to serve his one year prison sentence after being found guilty of indecent exposure in a public park, Galtney makes his return now with a novel but a short story. Much in the same vein as the 2004 survival film The Day After Tomorrow, Galtney’s “Art Heist” deals with extreme weather conditions and people clinging for their lives.
“Heist” begins with two brothers, Nathan and Greg, trapped in a Russian village that has been all but entirely frozen due to the onset of a new ice age. The two brothers reminisce about pleasant things in their past as they struggle to stay warm enough to keep going. Eventually they decide to take a gamble on what they believe is their only option out, to use their last batteries to power their GPS phone to call Marshall, their other brother living in the UAE.
Marshall answers and after both parties discovering their recent misfortunes, Marshall resolves that the only way for all three of them to make it our of this big mess is to steal a valuable painting located in a Museum across the street. After scoping out the place, Marshall moves in swiftly and steals the painting without a hitch and then flips it for millions on the black market. He then calls in a helicopter and rescues his two brothers, the three of them able to continue their lives.
While “Heist” may not be the epitome of original storytelling, it certainly has enough to appeal to all kinds of audiences. There is suspense, tragedy, loss, priceless art and even a last minute rescue. With only a few unanswered questions such as how a new ice age seems to affect Russia and go unnoticed in the UAE, “Heist” for the most part does a good job of depicting a realistic situation of two brothers fighting to survive the harsh cold weather. Galtney proves that one does not always need to have rounded characters to succeed in creating a sense of despair, something that is easier said than done. When it comes down to it, if a bite-sized tale with high stakes and a happy ending is what you are looking for, “Art Heist” is just what you need.
DG