Ann wonders about her mysterious foreign next door neighbor.

(from Short Story International, #64)

For some reason, maybe ’cause it was a busy work week, it took me like six days to read this story. And because it took me so long, I ended up not getting much out of the experience. I mean, I was into the setting and the characters, but the plot and the worldview didn’t hook me. I know full well, Ms. Atwell, that the problem was me, not you. But, is it me, or did the story get weird at the end there, from a sentence-construction standpoint?

I first chose an Atwood story because I thought her autograph machine is so cool. It is, but it’s old news by now. Read this if you don’t know.