1. Zeppo595

    Zeppo595 Contributor Contributor

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    Pushcart Prize XLV discussion thread

    Discussion in 'Discussion of Published Works' started by Zeppo595, Mar 1, 2021.

    I was hoping to discuss one or two stories per week in this thread by going through the anthology in chronological order.

    This is the book for those intrigued:
    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51184401-pushcart-prize-xlv

    The first story in the collection is titled 'In The Event.' It starts off introducing our MC and her friends Tony and Jen and thoughts about where they would meet in the event of an earthquake.

    I started out thinking it would be an earthquake drama. But as it continues it appears there is all sorts of turmoil. Fires. Presidents being replaced. Then there is the fear her bf Tony is cheating on her.

    Oh, and she's also an aspiring musician.

    It ends with her and Tony at the meeting point with the world seemingly ending and him confessing what he'd done. The final line is 'I was wondering if there was any place in this the city, this world, where we'd be safe.'

    So the world is ending and her boyfriend cheated on her and she's making music as her only refuge? I didn't get a sense of much change in the story. Just a lot of information about this MC and this developing situation.

    I would say that I can tell why they put it up front in this collection since this 'end times' feeling has been the predominant one of the last year. I would say this story captured what 2020 felt like without mentioning current events, so it gets kudos for me on that level. But for me ...story? What was the story really?

    I would say I merely enjoyed this story. It gave me a feeling like I have missed something in my understanding of it.

    If anyone could tell me what they thought and if they loved it, why, that'd be great.

    Cheers!
     
  2. Zeppo595

    Zeppo595 Contributor Contributor

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    So the second story in the collection: The Master's Castle

    It's about this lonely guy he's working alone at the top of a volcano. He meets a woman and becomes infatuated with her to the point he ends up getting dismissed for leaving post it notes around expressing his feelings.

    Meets someone else (an alcoholic) and has a kid while pining obsessively for his past love.

    At some point, he's watching YouTube and a clip of his old flame appears now in some sort of space program. He downloads her autobiography, but isn't mentioned at all.

    Finally, he thinks about getting a divorce and moving to Florida with his kid.

    The titular castle ends up being a game of mini golf which his son get a hole in one in.

    I struggle sometimes to interpret the meanings and themes of stories. I basically understood this to be about moving forward in life and choosing reality over fantasy.

    The significance of the golf game was a bit lost on me beyond this point. I'm sure other readers might haver more insightful takes on it than me!

    To me, I felt a bit detached from this story. I can see how the writing was strong - great technique. That's what the cynical part of my brain imagines from these contest winning stories. I didn't really feel much reading it. It makes me wonder if I even like good literature or if I'm obsessed with a kind of reality/confessional style.
     

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