Notice the sharp use of imagery, such as here where he describes how his mind is slowing down:
My conversation may be full of holes and pauses, but I’ve learned to dispatch a private Apache scout ahead into the next sentence, the one coming up, to see if there are any vacant names or verbs in the landscape up there. If he sends back a warning, I’ll pause meaningfully, duh, until something else comes to mind.That's vivid. That's showing. Would love to know what you all saw in the piece that struck you.
Though there are many, this passage about his dog particularly struck me, followed by Angell and his wife sitting in the bathroom crying, which is a segue into a horrific family tragedy. "Alone in our fifth-floor apartment, as was usual during working hours, he became unhinged by a noisy thunderstorm and went out a front window left a quarter open on a muggy day. I knew him well and could summon up his feelings during the brief moments of that leap: the welcome coolness of rain on his muzzle and shoulders, the excitement of air and space around his outstretched body." And this, "I’ve been asking myself why I don’t think about my approaching visitor, death. He was often on my mind thirty or forty years ago, I believe, though more of a stranger. Death terrified me then, because I had so many engagements."
ReplyDeleteThe passage describing Harry's flight out the window struck me as well. The writer's thoughts about Harry's feelings during his last moments are striking, and set up the theme of staying happy while approaching imminent death well.
ReplyDeleteI thought the piece was a bit too long, and rambled towards the end. With the jokes, for example. Overall this piece made me feel sad but also hopeful somehow, which I believe makes it a successful piece.