Work of the Day - August 17, 2007 - The Turnaround is at Hand by Ralph Lombreglia

I went looking for the September Esquire believing I'd find a new story by Benjamin Percy.  It was not to be (apparently his story will be in the next issue, due out in a week or so), but my disappointment was short-lived - the September issue has a new story, "The Turnaround is at Hand", by Ralph Lombreglia!!!

There is a little header on the title page:  Four reasons to read this story, and reason 3 is "It's the first new story in five years by Ralph Lombreglia, a funny, remarkable fiction writer who teaches at MIT."  That alone is more than just reason to read the story, it's enough reason to shell out the $4 and pick up the copy of Esquire.

Reason 2 is "You'll never guess how it ends."  Whoever put this list together was right - the whole last section was a surprise to me.  I'll leave it to you to find out reasons 1 and 4, but give you a brief taste of Lombreglia's writing:

     "The train began to taxi again, gliding out over the water.  Across the river, the spectacular slab of green glass called the Hancock Building carried the painterly reflection of its predecessor, the old Hancock, just the way it did in postcards.  It was a lovely city for a crushing reversal of fortune.  Half asleep, Hook closed his eyes for takeoff, though he was standing upright holding a pole.  Thinking he was flying, he panicked for a second when the train tipped downward, not upward, and plunged underground.

     He hadn't been on an airplane in more than a week -- the longest stretch on the ground he could remember.  He lived on airplanes.  He lived by airplanes.  His son had grown up calling him Airplane Man.  Commercial pilots didn't log the miles Hook flew every year.  True, the FAA wouldn't let them, on grounds of reckless endangerment.  But now the judge presiding over Hook's divorce had forbidden him to board any airplanes or otherwise leave town while his wife's attorneys examined his books and taxes, trying to find the assets she was convinced he was hiding.  It was the only time Hook could recall wishing his wife was right.  Alas, he was not hiding anything -- or at least, not any money."

Update:

Reason number 4, to paraphrase, even if you put the story down, you'll keep running into it as you read the magazine.  For instance, this just noticed, a book review of a business title written by Gerhard Hookerdicker.  That would be the protagonist of the story.  Wonder how many of these little Easter Eggs there are.

Comments

[Benjamin Chambers]

Thanks for the heads-up. I'll run right out and get that copy of *Esquire.* Lombreglia's great -- I recently bought a copy of his collection, *Make me Work,* just so I could re-read his stuff; I'd been wondering where he went.

Is Percy really worth waiting for? I've read the title story of *Refresh, Refresh* and was terribly underwhelmed. For two dissenting opinions on that story (including mine), see http://home.comcast.net/~wapshot1/win07/Council-2007Push-Refresh.htm

[susan miller]

Am I just dense - or is there more to this story? My ending is "how much of a cut?" I'm paging trying to find more/but that's it - so I think, ah , serialized - more in next issue. Nada. So is that the ending?
The irony of it?
Fill me in.