Buttony

             Today, I read the most recent short story published on the New Yorker called "Buttony" by Fiona McFarlane. When I started, I thought this story was going to lighthearted, and I was really hoping it would be, but it kind of creeped me out in a way I can't really explain. The story is about a class of children who want to play a game called Buttony. The teacher, Ms. Lewis, calls on Joseph, who seems to be the teacher's pet and the cool kid in class, to get the button. The class goes outside, stands in a circle and plays the game. Basically, the game is that the person with the button says "buttony" as he/she touches everyone's hands one by one and puts the button into one person's hands (everyone's eyes are closed). The kids then take turns guessing who has the button. The first time, Joseph puts the button in Jyoti's hands and the kids take a while to guess that it's her. The kids play for a few more rounds and the button ends back in Joseph's hand. In this round, Joseph goes around saying buttony, but instead of placing the button in someone's hand, he puts the button in his mouth. The class is unable to guess who has the button, and as a result, they attack Jyoti and then Ms. Lewis.
           The characters were what made this story very interesting. Joseph is the epitomy of the cool and mysterious kid. Joseph is the Daniel (of "Damn Daniel") of the short story world. No one really knows why he is so effortlessly cool, but everyone just accepts it. If Joseph is the Daniel, then Jyoti must be his antithesis, the guy behind the camera of Damn Daniel, if you will. She is described as someone who is invisible and awkward, with one sock drooping and a mole on her left cheek. Ms. Lewis, is an odd authority figure. She equates Joseph to beauty multiple times throughout the story in a way that I wouldn't expect from a teacher. For example, at the end of the story, when she is being attacked by the class, she sees Joseph and describes him as "...a long, blank and beautiful..." shadow.
           I don't really know why but this story hit home for me, but also creeped me out. I had flashbacks of when I took the NJASK (a standardized test for students in New Jersey) in 5th grade. After the test, the teacher would facilitate a game of silent ball and I remember thinking "I hope my friends get the ball, so that I'm not the last one to be passed to." I think younger kids have a strong sense of wanting to belong and be recognized. The story creeped me out because when the kids were mad, they lashed out against everything else but the cause of their problems. I think this is a strong parallel to how people react to problematic situations in real life. I wouldn't recommend this story as strongly as I would the other stories I've blogged about, but it's still worth checking out.

Aspic

             The next story I read was in the New Yorker. It is "Aspic" by Tatyana Tolstaya. It was originally written in Russian, but was translated to English by Anya Migdal. When I started reading this story, it was formatted almost like a recipe in a cookbook; however, I realized that it was anything but a simple recipe. In this story, the narrator tells the story of how aspic, a jellied-meat dish, is made. First, she narrates that the dish is typically made during the New Year. She writes that she walks through the cold to the market where the butcher hacks off pig legs. Next, she buys the other ingredients such as onions and garlic and then drudges through the snow to get back home. After washing the ingredients, she boils the death away. After the meat is cooked, she ladles golden broth over it. Finally, she stands on the balcony as she smokes a cigarette and cries.

           I had to read this story two times to get the full meaning of it. The story is chock full of imagery and symbolism, which made it a very interesting read. For example, when the narrator is walking through the market, she walks past the "...creme fraiche redolent of girlish innocence, past the artillery depot of potatoes, radishes and cabbages, past the hills of fruits,  past the signal lights of clementines...". Another thing I noticed was that there were many parallels to death and rebirth. At one point, the author writes "Then it's time to dump this death water, to thoroughly rinse the sedated pieces under a running faucet, and to put them back into a clean pot filled with fresh water. If this is not a reference to reincarnation, I don't know what is. The death of the meat is being erased in a way, and it is being put into fresh water or into a "new life". Finally, I thought it was really beautiful how the author hinted at the fact that the human cries in the end because she is taking life in order to sustain other life, through food.

           I would recommend  this book to anyone who likes finding symbolism in writing. There are so places in the story to interpret and mull over. The translation job on "Aspic" was amazing and I think part of the reason this story was so impactful is because of the translator's skills. 

 

The Last Question

            Next, I read "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov. This short story was science fiction and was written in 1956. Describing this complex story will be a challenge, but I will give it a try. The story is basically comprised of 5 or 6 anecdotes in chronological order. In each of the anecdotes, there has been a major development in terms of space and interstellar travel. At first, humans are confined to Earth; but soon, they learn how to harness the sun's power. Using this energy, they are able to travel to and inhabit different stars and eventually, different galaxies. Humans also become immortal at some point. They are able to do all of these things because of a supercomputer that has a great deal of knowledge. In each anecdote, the characters ask the computer a variation of the question "Can entropy be reversed?" because reversing entropy is the only way to prevent the inevitable collapse of the universe. Each time it is asked, the computer responds that it does not have sufficient data to answer that question. At the end, the universe does indeed collapse, and the humans die off, but the computer remains. At this point, the computer figures out the answer to the "last question", which I will not divulge on this post, of course.

          First of all, I was blown away by the fact that the book was written 60 years ago, because it has so many insights about space travel and technology that I would not expect from a short story as old as this one is. I also thought the style of writing was very nice because it builds up suspense and it makes the reader think and question as he/she reads. For example, there is symbolism at the end, when the computer finally answers the "last question". The answer is a reference to the Biblical story of creation and it makes me wonder what would happen next in the story if the writer kept writing. Would there be life once again? Would the computers be some kind of equivalent to a higher power?

         I would recommend this story to anyone who is interested in science fiction. If you like movies like Interstellar, this story is for you. I will admit that some parts of the story did require a previous knowledge of some scientific concepts, but it's still general enough for most people to understand. If nothing else, I would read it for the mind-blowing ending.

A Temporary Matter

           The first short story book I picked up from the library was “Interpreter of Maladies” by Jhumpa Lahiri. It was a Pulitzer Prize winner and I had always been aware of this book, but I never picked it up until recently. The story, "A Temporary Matter", is about a husband and wife who are emotionally distant from each other. Their house gets a series of power cuts over a few days. The wife, Shoba, suggests that they play a game during the outages, in which they take turns confessing something about themselves. When they play the game, they revisit their past and share some happy memories, like the time Shukumar (the husband) forgot to tip the waiter because he was distracting by the thought that he wanted to marry Shoba. They also remember some bad memories like the delivery of their stillborn baby. When the power cuts end, Shoba confesses that she wants to move out and separate and Shukumar realizes that this final confession was the reason Shoba started the game in the first place.
          This story made me feel such a wide range of emotions. I can only imagine how it must feel to reconnect with someone only to realize that they aren’t reciprocating your feelings. I thought that this story was very nuanced because it made me think and feel, two very important aspects of a powerful short story. For example, the couple used birthday candles during the power cuts, which was ironic when they were telling the story of their stillborn child.
           The characters in this story were complex but relatable. Shoba was once a woman who was full of life. She also paid great attention to detail and was very responsible. However, after the unfortunate incident with the baby, she changed a great deal. She became someone who was disorganized and would work even after she came home. Shukumar is pursuing the graduate degree although he is in his thirties. It is apparent that he feels apathetic towards his studies as well as his relationship with his wife. It was hard to like Shukumar’s character, but I sympathized with him towards the end of the book.
            I definitely recommend this story to anyone who is looking for writing that will hit home and make them feel things. I think that sad stories, like sad music, is cathartic in a way and even though it makes us feel sad or depressed while reading it, a feeling of satisfaction stays with us afterwards.