An overeducated junkie and an adventurous pushover occasionally enjoy a lopsided, doomed nigh-romance. Or something.
(from The Best American Short Stories 1996)
Wow. Though stories of smack addicts and the people they stomp on are the stuff of countless movies, after-school specials, commercials and anecdotes, this story dazzles with its sneaky wordplay. But it’s never too clever, never cumbersomely writerly. In fact, it’s too self-aware for that. See:
But that was a long time ago, in the good part of the bad old days, and Annie’s through with pretty words for ugly things. She doesn’t want anything in her life that has to be tricked out in poetry, explained away.
I also like this:
The first time they walked out on the beach, they were timid, as if someone might shoo them away, smell the city or the fear on them and determine they had no right to be there.
Damn.
One of the best short stories the project has led me to so far.
No, I didn’t transcribe those lines. I Googled the phrase “the ocean is no certain color” and found this, the first half of the story.
this story sounds awesome. i’ll read it. thanks for writing this.
-meg