I prefer stories about squalor.
November 14, 2016 7:46 AM   Subscribe

 
At least we'll always have his great contribution to television, Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: What Do They Know? Do They Know Things? Let's Find Out.
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:06 AM on November 14, 2016 [10 favorites]


Whatever happened to the new works that were to be published between 2015 and 2020? Were the documentary filmmakers who claimed that Salinger had left things he wanted to publish just a bunch of goddamn phonies?
posted by thelonius at 8:12 AM on November 14, 2016


I have an aunt who thinks that nothing happens in a story unless somebody gets married or shot at the end of it. I wrote a story about a tramp who marries an old woman's idiot daughter in order to acquire the old woman's automobile. After the marriage, he takes the daughter off on a wedding trip in the automobile and abandons her in an eating place and drives on by himself. Now that is a complete story. There is nothing more relating to the mystery of that man's personality that could be shown through that particular dramatization. But I've never been able to convince my aunt that it's a complete story. She wants to know what happened to the idiot daughter after that.

Not long ago that story was adapted for a television play, and the adapter, knowing his business, had the tramp have a change of heart and go back and pick up the idiot daughter and the two of them ride away, grinning madly. My aunt believes that the story is complete at last, but I have other sentiments about it--which are not suitable for public utterance. When you write a story, you only have to write one story, but there will always be people who will refuse to read the story you have written.

--Flannery O'Connor, Mystery and Manners
posted by lazycomputerkids at 9:17 AM on November 14, 2016 [7 favorites]


Henry worked at the CO-OP in my home town. If you called the cheese counter, he would answer simply, "Cheese!".
posted by TheCoug at 7:14 PM on November 14, 2016 [1 favorite]


I think I've given away at least 20 copies of '9 Stories'...
posted by judson at 9:45 AM on November 15, 2016


Just that title brings tears to my eyes. I can't even remember the plot.
posted by pjenks at 1:21 PM on November 15, 2016


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