Short Stories with Enigmatic Settings

This past week I read two very captivating short stories, both written around the same time, but by writers who lived continents apart. “The Fight at Lonesome Grove” by Jesse Stuart and “If I Forget Thee Oh Earth” by Arthur C. Clarke are two very disparate stories belonging to two different genres and with settings that are planets and centuries apart. Not a fan of the short story genre, I admittedly was captivated by these stories, and it had to do a lot with their setting.

Jesse Stuart’s story introduced me to a completely new side of the USA; schooling in rural Kentucky and West Virginia in the early 1900s. At a time when children were not mandated to attend school, classrooms had students varying from the age of 8 to 18, teachers in rural districts did not need credentials to become educators, students could be older in age than their teachers, and amenities such as drinking water and electricity were not available in classrooms. Set against this backdrop, Stuart's story unravels a piece of history; his own experience as a very young teacher in a rural school district in Kentucky. The story, though simple, has a profound message in it for every reader whose life has been transformed by a teacher, and for every educator who dreams of being a 'true teacher'. However, it wasn't the message as much as the setting and the depiction of the ordinary day to day activities within a rural school district that fascinated me as a reader. Stuart's portrayal gave rise to several questions in the reader's mind such as : How could parents not send their children to school? Why would a student want to beat up his teacher, and why would the others simply stand by and watch? Why would any reasonably educated and smart person want to teach in a rural setting that lacked basic amenities such as water and electricity, and where education was clearly not a priority? Jesse Stuart’s story is an engrossing read that is also very informative of the time period in which it is set. I would recommend it to those who enjoy reading about how we were, when we were not what we are today.

Arthur C. Clarke’s “If I Forget Thee Oh Earth..” is a famous short story in the Science Fiction genre. The setting is in an unknown time in the future, on an unknown planet sometime after the earth’s Armageddon due to a nuclear holocaust. Told from a partially third person narrative, the story is about a father who takes his teenage son, Marvin, on a ‘pilgrimage’ to ‘pass on the dream’ of returning ‘home’ one day. The settings of ‘home’ and ‘exile’ take on ironic significance in the story where ‘a home’ burns up in phosphorescence’ and an ‘exile’ is maintained and serviced with utmost care. Arthur Clark’s story “If I Forget Thee Oh Earth” is evidence to the popular belief that science fiction always addresses the present even while it embeds itself in a potential distant future. Another captivating read by Clark that transports the reader into a strange setting that's both a 'haven' and an 'inferno' .

Body and the Brain - A Dialogue

Said the body to the brain

“Why do you matter?”

“I don’t have to,”

said the smiling brain,

“but to some I do.”

Quirking her eyebrow

the body said,

“I wonder why that is?

After all, I attract

I repel; it is me

who bears a name.”

Little wonder,

the brain pondered

the body’s boastful claim.

“Could you really do without me?”

“Without a doubt!” the body said.

“It’s me they care about:

how I look, and how I feel.”

Deepening her frown,

the body crooned,

“Relentlessly they spend,

both time and money

with little regret.

It’s me they pander,

won’t have me slandered,

so the nip tuck,

and the botox,

waxing and shaving,

even a detox!”

“Huhmm” said the brain

and continued to listen.

“Do you ever get treated so?”

the body asked.

Do they care for you as much

as they do for me?

The lotions, the creams,

the nail polish and the oils…,

proof withal,

that to them I’m all supreme

and I’m held in high esteem.”

To get in a word

the brain did bargain.

Alas! The body didn't give...

“Brain…

you are the baggage

that no one really needs.

You resist, you curtail,

you ponder, and you refrain.

Poking them on their mental might,

telling on all their wrongs and rights.

Why would they turn to you?

You ask questions

they don’t want answers to!

You hold them back

on things they want to do!

You produce their pangs of guilt,

on all the wrongdoing that they did.

Always holding up the mirror,

reflecting on what’s inside,

when all that they want to see

are clothes and TV guides!”

“Is that so?” wryly said the brain.

“Defunct! Dispensable!

A vestigial organ is all you are!”

the body yelled afar.

Tired of all the ranting,

and having thoughts to think,

the brain wanted an end to this,

and t decidedly this it said:

“The beauty that you boast,

has meaning because of me;

without the thoughts that I do bring,

what would a body be!”

Good bye 2010! Greetings 2011...

Cheers to:
new beginnings
fond memories
unconditional love
friendships that feel
productive workplaces
relationships that hold
children who care
places that nurture
words that pacify
ideas that intrigue
nuances that excite
touches that tingle
universal health care
nameless ties
minds sans boundaries
technology that facilitates
immigrant workers who weather all worries
globalization that makes differences disappear

a rock bottom economy that can only get better
a winter that makes us think spring
a hand that heals
a gaze that guards
a heart that warms
and a hug that holds promise.
......

...and that list is endless, so do add your own : )

Happy New Year!

Here are some contributory additions:
a Feliz Ano Nuevo ( Berenice)
a comfortable religion (Georg)

Sarah Palin's Run for Presidency - Palaver on a Non Issue!

I am putting myself in the line of fire here, but I am willing to take it on because I believe in the sanity and intelligence of the American electorate, and because I have great respect for the American Presidency. I believe that the American electorate is neither naive nor stupid to want a simpleton like Sarah Palin to govern the country that the entire world calls the superpower, and that we as citizens are so proud of, and also love so much. I am amazed and saddened by all the debating and talk about Ms. Palin's claim to presidency, something that we all know is not even remotely possible. Yet the discussions and debating continue, and I am tired of having to listen to them, and I also feel as if they are an insult to my intelligence. We are a proud people who take immense pride in our nation. Why do we then want the rest of the world to make light of the American Presidency? Which American would jeopardize the interest of this land that he holds so dear? This is, after all, our ' land of the free and the home of the brave', and we Americans 'can see', and our 44 elected presidents are proof of that 20-20 vision!

I wish to apologize to fellow Americans who seeing the complete senselessness of the Sarah Palin claim, wonder why I am posting on it. This is clearly a non-issue for any thinking American. Ms. Palin's run for presidency, if it ever comes to be, will be an embarrassment to the American public, and Americans know it. The issue has been blown out of proportion by the media, worldwide, and we know why. The media always resorts to sensationalism when it finds itself in a vacuum of things-to-report, especially when the next day's deadline hangs ominously close and there are pages that need filling. It is unfortunate that journalism in a capitalistic society sometimes has to sacrifice its ethical core. As a result, non-discretionary readers often get mislead into believing all that they see and hear in the media as the gospel truth. Such happens to be the case with the Palin story, and that is all it is , a story; one that will run its course among the uninformed and the politically naive, but eventually it will die its natural death, and may not even make it into the annuls of US history.

The United States of America is 'a leading political and cultural force in the world', and is termed so for a reason. We, as a people, have exercised our freedom wisely and consistently for close to three hundred years toward the betterment of this country. We have always elected a leader who has had a proven track record in public service and had a sound academic background. Who in his right mind would think we would do otherwise this time?

The "Dream Act" Passes in the House of Representatives!

The US House of Representatives passes the "Dream Act" with a 216 'Yea' and 198 'Nay' vote. It is to be voted upon in the Senate at 11 AM tomorrow!

Listening to the House debate over the Dream Act on CSPAN this evening, made it evident that some of the congressmen and women representing us are pretty vacuous and ill informed, even on those issues and causes that they call their own!

For example there were Republicans who said

• the Dream Act would give illegal immigrants preferential treatment over American citizens!
• the Dream Act beneficiaries would petition for their parents' naturalization right away!
• the Dream Act provides 'amnesty' to illegals!

Clearly, these people had not done their homework on the Dream Act or they would not have said all of the above. Yet they did, and sadly enough, what they said may have been accepted as the truth by a majority of American viewers. After all, channel changing is our national pastime, and not very many of us would have stayed long enough to hear the rational and impressive rebuttal of Howard Berman, who pointed out the misrepresentations made by his colleagues, and then provided the accurate information in its stead.

The Dream Act will be voted upon in the senate tomorrow, and if passed, this "legislation would give hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants a chance at becoming legal. The requirements state that, to be eligible, a person must have been brought to the United States before he or she was 16, been in the United States for five years, earned a high-school degree and be attending college or be in the military."

However, I wouldn't hold my breath over the outcome of tomorrow's vote!

"Island Beneath the Sea" - Isabel Allende Living up to her Reputation as a Compelling Storyteller.

I really liked the story, though I still wonder at the title " Island Beneath the Sea" or "La Isla Bajo El Mar", as it is called in its original Spanish version. Isabel Allende, as everyone knows, is charming with words, and in her recent novel "Island Beneath the Sea" she has spun a tale that strangleholds both your curiosity and your imagination. The reader is caught in a whirlpool of 'what next' and 'what if' and does not want an out.

I picked up this novel as a light read for my vacation, and it was a perfect fit. Allende tells the story of Tete, an ambitious, passionate, and undaunted slave girl of mixed race who faces a deluge of atrocities and injustice but always manages to resurface, only to take a breath and get swept over by another flood of challenges. The story unfolds during the time of the French Revolution in Saint Domingue, a Carribean island, and later moves to New Orleans.

Allende has all the right ingredients for a delightful romance. The novel is set in a historical period when slavery was rampant and pirates ruled the high seas. The protagonist is a strong and attractive slave who though raped at the age of 11 by her master Valmorain, finds romance, and friendship at almost every juncture. In Tete, Allende presents a multifaceted protagonist who inspires both awe and compassion. Tete in all her roles, whether as a servile concubine or a lusty lover, as a trusted friend or a vengeful slave, as a helpless victim or a shrewd mother, has the reader entranced. Ms. Allende, truly, is a master storyteller in that she can spin a web so tenuous yet so enticing that the reader suspends all his disbelief and lets himself be transposed into Allende's romantic escapade. Allende, a self proclaimed feminist, has a love for romance, and that becomes apparent in the way this novel unfolds; the fact that that she was a translator for Barbara Cartland romances earlier on in her career further reinforces this belief. There is also a distinct flavor of Georgette Heyer in this novel, and given that Ms. Heyer is often referred to as the queen of Historical Romance, a comparison to her is quite the compliment.

The title of the novel still puzzles me, somewhat reminiscent of Rhys' "Wide Sargasso Sea", but perhaps I am looking for a deeper connect that doesn't exist. Allende was simply drawing from Haitian Vodou to make her title sound mystical.

Ms. Allende admits that she "love(s) stories", and that everything else including historical accuracy, characterization, and setting are subservient to the storyline. She claims that as a writer she has no intention to 'preach' nor does she have any specific 'mission'. She has this urgent need to tell a story and so she weaves a web of characters, a setting, and some history around a story to bring it to life, and what a life she gives it! One that leaves the reader contented, much like a sumptuous meal that brings about a sense of satisfaction and well being. Having read Ms. Allende's "Island Beneath the Sea" made me feel just that.

Laila Lalami's "Hope and other Dangerous Pursuits" Captures the Illegal Immigrant Experience Across the Strait of Gibraltar

Laila Lalami's collection of short stories titled "Hope and other Dangerous Pursuits" was suggested to me by a friend while I was searching for contemporary writings on 'the immigrant experience'.

Lalami's stories proved to be quite the page turners, with a delectable cast of characters sharing a common dream of making it out of Morocco in search of a better future. The theme of illegal immigration in pursuit of better opportunities, is pretty common and well rehearsed, and yet its manifestation in Laila Lalami's compilation of short stories was unique. Foremost of all, the setting for the entire collection is Morocco and Spain, both exotic places from the western reader point of view; the fact that all the main characters are Muslims gives to the reading a 'flavor-of-the century' status . Lalami is clearly aware that "the issue of religious fundamentalism is constantly present in the news media", and so readers have a "particular expectations of these kinds of stories". It was therefore remarkable the way Lalami was able to manipulate those reader expectations through some clever writing techniques. She achieves ultimate objectivity as a writer when she presents one character through two different stories , each with a different point-of view. As a result we see Faten, the headscarf wearing 19 year old presented through the eyes of Larbi, the fiercely protective liberal father of Noura in "The Fanatic ", and a few stories later, in "The Odalisque" we see her again, but this time it's through her own eyes, and in different circumstances. Indeed, a smart literary ploy to break the stereo type of burqua clad women. Faten could so easily have been denigrated by readers as the manifestation of the writer's bias towards or against the emergence of religious fundamentalism among Islamic Women, but Lalami did not let that happen. Instead she used the dual 'point-of-view' technique to bring innate depth and credibility to her characterization. Going forward, the reader now has greater trust and respect for Lalami's portrayals of situations and also for the characters that inhabit those situations.

Laila Lalami is extensively traveled and has also lived in different parts of the world. Her global personality does infiltrate into her writings, and sometimes to her disadvantage. There are times when she appears reticent to commit, especially on issues pertaining to religious fundamentalism and gender discrimination. She has a couple of 'undefined' characters in these short stories that defy any rational explanation like Noura's mother Salma in "The Fanatic", or Haalima's husband, Maati, in "Busrides". It's almost as if Lalami leaves it to the reader to make-what-you-want out of these undefined characters. Why Maati tortures and terrorizes his wife Haalima in "Busrides", and then just hands Haalima the divorce and lets her go in "The Saint" is rather puzzling. In "The Fanatic" why Salma chooses to be a bystander even as Noura, her daughter, is being pulled into radicalized religion by a newly found friend, is hard to rationalize. Ms. Lalami could well have masterminded this obscurity, and for one of two reasons, perhaps. One, that she didn't want to ruffle touchy feathers in the radical Islamic world, like Taslima Nasreen and Azar Nafisi did, or else, Ms Lalami deliberately left a gap for readers to bridge on the basis of their own levels of awareness. For instance, when I was reading " The Fanatic", I saw Salma as an incompetent mother who being overwhelmed by the demands of her profession, neglects her teenage daughter. Salma's gender or ethnicity did not come up for me at all; she could well have been a Janet of an American short story. Similarly, Matti, who left undefined by Lalami, became for me the stereotypical abusive husband, who unable to deal with his own insecurities, was venting frustration on his wife. Lalami cleverly left it to her readers to define such deliberate ambiguities, knowingly or otherwise investing the reader in her storyline. If, indeed that was her plan, then that was some fine literary craftsmanship.

Reading Llami's stories reminded me of other contemporary writers who too have written about the immigrant experience. For example: Adichie, Cisneros, Lahiri, Loraine Adams and Malladi, all of who have stories to tell about lives being uprooted and then the tortuous replanting of those lives on foreign soil amid a strange and often hostile environment. The 'immigrant experience' has set many a creative mind aflame, but what determines the success of a piece is whether the passion of the writer carries across to the reader, and in Ms. Lalami's case it certainly does.

"Closures" - An Analysis

Closures all:

Signing those papers.

Putting those trunks away.

Winterizing that car.

Aerating that lawn.

Stop seeing him now

Deleting his folder of emails

Taking him off your ‘contacts’

De-friending him!

The cause for closure is obviously noble:

to start afresh

to conserve

to safe keep

to rejuvenate

to energize...

all for the greater good.

Yet, closures cost:

The lawyer fees .

Lawn maintenance charge.

The mechanic's bill

And most of all...

Closures do tear apart

the human heart.

Quite simply sincere

they may appear;

until those longings,

without warning,

drive you asunder.