#Ireland: Short story by Catherine Finn
- Author: Catherine Finn
- Title: Home (short story)
- Published: 2017 The Dublin Review Nr 69
- Theme: identity; mental confusion
- Setting: Registry office; suburban road with bungalows
- Timeline: 1 day
- List of Challenges 2019
- Monthly plan
- #ReadingIrelandMonth19
- @746books.com
Who are the characters in the story?
Jake
Senior and Junior Officals registry office
Trio of neighbours at Jake’s supposed house
What are the personality traits of each character?
Officials:
Officials sigh and smile condescendingly
They do not respond, raise an eyebrow
and even snort a laugh.
They try to keep blank expressions
when they listen to Jake’s confused story.
Trio:
Man – shakes his head and snarls, forces Jake from the step
Young woman – peers at Jake while gripping the door edge
Old woman – warns Jake…I know your kind…I’m calling the authorities
Characterization: Jake
Before speaking to official Jake
– slicks his hair
– rubs palms on the sides of his trousers
– swallows
– feigns confidence
– concentrates keeping his head high
– …indicates a nervous person
“I have been absent for years, and now just returned”
This sounds like a very odd situation.
Home address that Jake give the official
…..does not exist in info system.
Action: What does Jake do?
Jake leaves the registry and tries to find his home.
As Jake approaches the house he is:
Strangely reassured by scuffed boots worn In past years
Soothed by familiar shadows and shapes
Smiled as he reached for doorknob
Inserted his key…it did not fit.
These descriptions give the reader a hint that
…Jake is not mentally fit.
Shadows, shapes and scruffed boot soothe him.
This is not normal.
Theme: What is the main idea of the story?
Identity – when you lose it, through trauma (war)
it’s hard to function in the world.
Jake’s first words are: “I have to report myself returned’.
No one seems to empathize with Jake.
Where is ‘the milk of human kindness’?.
Where is the care and compassion for others?
Tone: Describe how you felt reading this story.
After the war a man attempts to claim his place in the world
I tried to imagine what it feels like to be so lost, confused
unsure and perplexed as Jake does.
Yet he is convinced he is right
….he has a home to go to.
Point of View: third person narrator
Conflict:
External:
Jake vs officials at registry office…they won’t help him!
Jake vs trio of old neighbors….they don’t recognize him!
Internal:
Jake vs himself……is it true?
Is he the confused person
….and everyone realises this…but Jake?
Conclusion:
- I picked up The Dublin Review Nr 69 (Winter 2017)
- …while pausing for a cup of coffee.
- The title sounded simple “Home” and it was just
- 3,5 pages long. #QuickReadingFix
- How surprised I was …as I was drawn into this
- simple yet very touching story.
- I have no idea who Catherine Finn is…..but
- ..chapeau au bas, bravo!
Last thoughts:
- Why should a novel be better than a short story?
- Some writers believe short stories are harder to write than novels.
- Every word has to count in a short story,
- ….while the narrative is allowed to meander in a novel.
- We are all pressed for ‘reading time’ ….why not just
- relax and enjoy the craft of the short story?
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