Sep. 16th, 2010 02:44 pm
Dubus of the pen
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muckefuckOkay, so for the one or two of you who were interested in the source of yesterday's quote and haven't already Googled it, the author was Andre Dubus[*] (1936-1999). It originally appeared in his 1983 short story A father's story, in which a father conspires to conceal a hit-and-run accident for which his daughter is responsible. Three years later, Dubus himself was struck by a hit-and-run driver and ultimately lost the use of both his legs. I read an obituary of him in Salon back when I was trying to decide whether to buy one of his books and it gave me pause. Naturally, it's got even more resonance now.
At least now I understand why that previous entry failed to garner a single reply. Obviously, I did buy that book after all and, although I've been enjoying it, I wouldn't say he has to go on anyone's reading list. If you like straightforward psychological realism focusing on heterosexual couples and families in the late 20th-century USA, you might give him a try. The artlessness of his approach elicits Frank O'Connor for me more than Hemingway, but that's not to suggest he has the same gift for diction. Moreover, now that I think of it, there seems to be little if anything in the way of humour or irony in his stories. Still, I've read about a dozen so far and I'll probably keep going until I polish off the collection.
[*] Not the author of House of sand and fog as some dingbat on Amazon assumed. That's his son.
At least now I understand why that previous entry failed to garner a single reply. Obviously, I did buy that book after all and, although I've been enjoying it, I wouldn't say he has to go on anyone's reading list. If you like straightforward psychological realism focusing on heterosexual couples and families in the late 20th-century USA, you might give him a try. The artlessness of his approach elicits Frank O'Connor for me more than Hemingway, but that's not to suggest he has the same gift for diction. Moreover, now that I think of it, there seems to be little if anything in the way of humour or irony in his stories. Still, I've read about a dozen so far and I'll probably keep going until I polish off the collection.
[*] Not the author of House of sand and fog as some dingbat on Amazon assumed. That's his son.
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