Short Story Month - Fish by Amelia Gray

An EWN favorite, Amelia Gray has a story, "Fish," in Keyhole issue 6 (guest edited by William Walsh), one of our favorite new literary journals - actually just one of our favorite, new or not.  Not so surprisingly, per the above sentence, I really enjoyed the story.

"Dale was married to a paring knife and Howard was married to a bag of frozen tilapia.  Each had fallen into their respective arrangements having decided independently that there was no greater match for them in life."

Thus starts the story "Fish."  At times I worry that an author has maybe opted to go with an idea that is a bit of a reach, even for their many talents.  I've learned to quit doing that with Amelia Gray and her stories, and after reading that couplet of sentences, decided to scrunch back in my chair and really settle in, as who knows where the hell it was going.  In what is becoming a very long streak, Gray did not disappoint. 

That's not to say I fully understand what she was doing in this story.  More to say that at no point did I consider stopping, worrying that I didn't fully understand it.  I loved the fact that as the two men fish, and begin to talk philosophically, and Dale explains that moment, the moment that he decided that he needed to give up on women (human females, that is), Howard pretty much laughs right in his face.  He considers it a crazy reason to give up on women.  Yes, the man married to a bag of frozen tilapia, that has to have a special small cooler with 1 1/2 hours of life before his wife begins to thaw, he has a problem with the reason Dale doesn't consider female humans for companionship.

There is a fantastic conversation that Dale has with an usher at his church when he sits with his wife during mass:

     "I'm sorry to disturb you," the usher said, once they reached the narthex.  They sat on the spare pew under the picture window, as they did when the had these conversations.  Dale's paring knife sat between them.
     "It's no trouble," Dale said.  They were Presbyterians, which meant they were unfailingly polite.
     "The knife is bothering folks again," the usher said.  "I know you don't mean to."
     "Who is bothered?"
     "It's a new family.  We're trying to keep them in the flock.  We value young families, as you know."
     "My wife and I are a young family," Dale said.
     "And we welcome and accommodate you, as we have for years."
     "I wonder if we would feel more welcome if we had children."
     The usher took a long moment to scrape a patch of candle wax from the wooden pew with a credit card.  Wax shavings drifted to the seat between them.  "Of course that's not necessary," he said.  "Perhaps you could keep your wife in your breast pocket?  Close to your heart?"  The usher nodded politely to the paring knife.
     "I respect your position," Dale said.  "I respect that we can have a dialogue about this.  But when I'm sitting in church, I'm trying to hear a sermon, and everybody else should be too.  Instead, everyone's swiveling around and looking at me, and you're having to come drag me out."
     "They don't understand your position," the usher said.
     "Darn right they don't understand my position.  That's exactly what I'm trying to say, here.  This is a misunderstanding on their part."
     "And in turn, would you say you perhaps misunderstand their position?"
     "I don't understand it," Dale said, "but I don't misunderstand it.  There's a slight difference there."
     "But a difference, all the same."
     The sermon was over and the organ had begun to play the offertory.  Dale and the usher stood.  "I may as well head out and beat the rush," Dale said.
     "For what it's worth," the usher said,  "I think she's a handsome paring knife."
     Dale slipped the paring knife into his breast pocket.  "I appreciate that, sir."

While there's an absurdity to the conversation, there also isn't.  I think Gray is rapidly becoming one of the better writers around using this in her writing.  Maybe grabbing our attention with something that seems outlandish, yet maintaining that bit of reality in that outlandishness that keeps our attention and makes us think a little bit.

Comments

[Richard Thomas]

Great comments Dan. I see where you're coming from. I've been enjoying more and more authors that I can only say are dabbling in the "surreal" for lack of a better word. Thank you for continuing your observations. You've introduced me to a slew of talented writers with unique voices.

Peace,
Richard