I’m really enjoying these stories by Shields. I’m so glad I chose this for The Short Story Challenge and The Canadian Challenge. The three Shields’ stories I read this past week were “Flitting Behavior,” “Pardon,” and “Words.”
Flitting Behavior – An author deals with his wife’s terminal illness.
Pardon – No cards with “I’m sorry” can be found at the gift shop because everyone is in the mood to apologize to everyone.
Words – The world is heating up (literally) because of human language. A man takes a vow of silence but then finds he no longer remembers even simple words anymore. His wife is furious with him. Is an object that same object when a word for it doesn’t exist?
But time passes and people forget…Next she forgot her husband’s name. Sometimes she forgot that she had a husband at all, for how could anything be said to exist, she asked herself loudly, hoarsely–even a husband, even one’s self-if it didn’t also exist in the shape of a word.
I enjoyed those stories as well, especially Pardon. They all made me think.
I haven’t read anything by Carol Shields. I’ve always meant to, just never gotten around to it yet. I do like Short Story Monday’s though!!
I really like the sound of that last one, Words.