#181 The Most Girl Part of You- Amy Hempel

#181 The Most Girl Part of You- Amy Hempel

Two adolescent best friends, one girl who lost her father years ago, and one boy who lost his mother 8 days ago. Big Guy is more than just a friend, he has been embraced by her mother as “The Man of the House.” She takes care of him, feeds him and welcomes him to the house.

The two teenagers maneuver through that uncomfortable period of attraction between lifelong best friends. What lines can be crossed, what lines should be crossed?

Hempel writes nostalgia very well. This somehow reminds me of my childhood even though non of the details match.

Notable Passage: “I mean someone that good-looking tells you what to do, you pretty much do what he says.”

Rating: 7-6-8-6 Total= 27

#139 Beach Town- Amy Hempel

#139 Beach Town- Amy Hempel

It’s summer and the woman’s house next door has been rented to a young couple. They’re a little loud, their friends a little disrespectful of her property and she’s worried that the gardener isn’t taking proper care of the orchids.

She hears things and sees things of this couple, private things, things she probably shouldn’t know about them. Perhaps she shouldn’t eavesdrop on them? The again:

“Nobody thinks about the way sound carries across water. Even the water of a swimming pool.”

She witnesses the husband cheat on his wife, and then hears the wife’s friends console her when she finds out.

“The woman advised long walks. They told the wife to watch the sun rise and set, to look for solace in the natural world, though they admitted there was no comfort to be found in the world and they would be all fools to expect it.”

Hempel has a way of making you feel like you’re watching her stories quietly from near-by. This story is almost the same thing, like we’re watching someone watch the story take place.

Rating: 9-7-8-7 Total= 31

#125 Weekend- Amy Hempel

#125 Weekend- Amy Hempel

I was going to skip over some of the really short pieces in these collections, but I decided not to. It’s important to see the whole short fiction genre in its entirety. A 70-page stream of consciousness ramble from David Foster Wallace next to a 3-page evening newspaper vignette from O. Henry is a tough comparison, but why do they have to be compared. I can enjoy them both.

Thus I give you Weekend by Amy Hempel. A short stage-setting piece that begins her collection, Tumble Home. It’s just a glimpse of a lazy summer outing. A softball game with no score and gin drinks splashing while running to first. “The game was called on account of dogs.”

“The Hunter retrieved a foul ball and carried it off in the direction of the river. The other dogs followed—barking, mutinous.”

This is such a delicate style of writing, you want to slow down, and savor it like the last sip of lemonade while the sun goes down.

Rating: 9-6-7-8 Total= 30

#111 The Harvest- Amy Hempel

#111 The Harvest- Amy Hempel

It took me a minute or two to get into the rhythm of this one, but once I did, the payoff was worth it. This is a kind of bait and switch story. The narrator tell you of her accident and her recovery.  The she tells you she left out some stuff:

“I leave a lot out when I tell the truth. The same when I write a story.”

Writers like to write about their writing a lot. When they do it in the context of a story it can sometimes sound pretty narcissistic or at least come across as gimmicky. Not here, I loved it. Hempel is a meticulous author, and leaves no rough edges to get caught up on.

In the end we’re left not knowing which story is real, or if any of it is real via the fictional narrator or the real-life author.

Notable Passage: “I exaggerated even before I began to exaggerate, because its true—nothing is ever quite as bad as it could be.”

Rating: 9-9-10-8 Total= 36

#97 In a Tub- Amy Hempel

#97 In a Tub- Amy Hempel

When I began this project I asked everyone I knew what their favorite short stories were, or who their favorite short story authors were.  I got way too many recommendations for a mere 366 slots, so I had to triage the list a bit. The books I put on the top of the pile were from passionate recommendations. Amy Hampel came via those. The friend’s that liked here writing REALLY liked here writing.

So, I have Collected Stories which includes all of her short story books to date, too many to read this year, but enough to understand what all the fuss is about. I start with a short In A Tub. I see immediately how people like this style of prose. Its thoughtful, poetic, musical. Almost every description is an instruction manual for how to stop and enjoy life better.

“Here is what you do. You ease yourself into a tub of water, you ease yourself down. You lie back and wait for the ripples to smooth away. Then you take a deep breath, and slide your head under, and listen for the playfulness of your heart.”

If formatted differently, this could be read as an unmetered poem, in fact I’d like to read it that way, slow, purposeful and aloud. Beautiful. Proving that the short story doesn’t have to be a novella to be meaningful.

Notable Passage: “My heart—I thought it stopped. So I got in my car and headed for God.”

Rating: 10-8-8-8 Total= 34