SHORT STORY MONTH
Kim Chinquee has two short fictions in the new issue of Redivider. "Giving Most of it Away" is a fine example of what one can do with very little space - in this case, less than a full page.
In a mere five paragraphs, Chinquee creates a character, creates a little bit of mystery, and then explains, with a look to the character's past, how the mystery might really have an affect on the character. Again, all of that, and done so very solidly, in five paragraphs, with the last one being simply a single sentence.
Chinquee has become a master at this sort of thing - having the ability to really put together a complete story in such a small amount of words. And it's not due to some extreme minimalism in terms of her sentences - for example:
"My mother sent me out for it, although I didn't know why since she had a garden full of more than we could eat and she ended up giving most of it away. But there I was in my bare feet with a metal pail that I used mostly for feeding calves the formula I would mix with water later in the evening."
Be it online or print journals, if you see the name Chinquee in the table of contents, take a side trip to that page or two.
Fabulous. I love her work.
Posted by: Myfanwy Collins | May 11, 2007 at 08:03 AM
ditto what myfanwy/dan said. you can never go wrong reading chinquee.
Posted by: elizabeth ellen | May 13, 2007 at 11:01 PM