I know I read this many years ago, but it seemed entirely new to me this time. I think you hit the nail on the head when you called it a shaggy dog's tail.
Perhaps the story doesn't work that well because there isn't much to make us care about the narrator. I don't know if it's because of the 1st person technique, but I didn't find myself that engaged. One of the ways Trevor creates pathos is by placing his characters in situations in which they feel trapped. We pity them as they try to resign themselves to their sad fate. However, it's hard to feel pity for Mike. His story is about someone who takes the afternoon off in order to go drinking with dubious associates and, while flirting with strange women, discovers his lover has replaced him with another man.
The best thing about the story is the title itself. I think that's why Trevor chose it as the title of his first collection. Sadly, the story itself is quite forgettable.
I knew as soon as I read this story that you would want to comment about first- versus third-person narrative. And yes, this is obviously an instance where third-person narrative would make more sense: such a dialogue-driven story, after all, reads like a play script (and I couldn't help thinking of those passages in early Waugh that consist of pages of uninterrupted dialogue, naturally written in the third person). Nearly all first-person narratives seem to me to founder on the one assumption you're expected to make, that the narrator has a complete memory of what he/she has said and has heard - I'd make an exception for someone like Anthony Powell, who makes a virtue quite often of not being able to remember everything. This even applies to 'unreliable' narrators, doesn't it?
By the way, enjoyed your piece about The Black Prince. One Murdoch novel I haven't read, but obviously must ...
John, I wondered in retrospect if this was another of those stories you mentioned, perhaps partially intended/hoped by Trevor to be a teleplay or screenplay.
Also yes: without getting into an enormous can of worms, I agree about first-person—curiously, it has become a somewhat received writing opinion that first is more naturalistic and immediate than third, but I actually find it more artificial, at least partly for the reason you cite. Short of going around with a notebook, no one remembers what they said. But then, it's all artifice of course.
And yes! The Black Prince is so good, just mindbending. As is The Sea, The Sea, my current read...
I know I read this many years ago, but it seemed entirely new to me this time. I think you hit the nail on the head when you called it a shaggy dog's tail.
Perhaps the story doesn't work that well because there isn't much to make us care about the narrator. I don't know if it's because of the 1st person technique, but I didn't find myself that engaged. One of the ways Trevor creates pathos is by placing his characters in situations in which they feel trapped. We pity them as they try to resign themselves to their sad fate. However, it's hard to feel pity for Mike. His story is about someone who takes the afternoon off in order to go drinking with dubious associates and, while flirting with strange women, discovers his lover has replaced him with another man.
The best thing about the story is the title itself. I think that's why Trevor chose it as the title of his first collection. Sadly, the story itself is quite forgettable.
It is definitely a good title haha
I knew as soon as I read this story that you would want to comment about first- versus third-person narrative. And yes, this is obviously an instance where third-person narrative would make more sense: such a dialogue-driven story, after all, reads like a play script (and I couldn't help thinking of those passages in early Waugh that consist of pages of uninterrupted dialogue, naturally written in the third person). Nearly all first-person narratives seem to me to founder on the one assumption you're expected to make, that the narrator has a complete memory of what he/she has said and has heard - I'd make an exception for someone like Anthony Powell, who makes a virtue quite often of not being able to remember everything. This even applies to 'unreliable' narrators, doesn't it?
By the way, enjoyed your piece about The Black Prince. One Murdoch novel I haven't read, but obviously must ...
John, I wondered in retrospect if this was another of those stories you mentioned, perhaps partially intended/hoped by Trevor to be a teleplay or screenplay.
Also yes: without getting into an enormous can of worms, I agree about first-person—curiously, it has become a somewhat received writing opinion that first is more naturalistic and immediate than third, but I actually find it more artificial, at least partly for the reason you cite. Short of going around with a notebook, no one remembers what they said. But then, it's all artifice of course.
And yes! The Black Prince is so good, just mindbending. As is The Sea, The Sea, my current read...