story: “Carried Away”
author: Alice Munro
year: 1991
where: Quarantine
note: This story came to me by a mention from Lorrie Moore. It is such an elegant story, full of historic markers big and small. There’s something at the end (the conflation of men and memory) that reminds me of what did Susan Minot did in House of Women (also published in 1991!), though Munro’s way is more subtle. There’s also a mention of the Spanish Flu!
a line: “Every Tuesday afternoon the ladies and girls of the Red Cross met in the Council chambers, which were just down the hall from the library. When the library was empty for a few moments Louisa went down the hall and entered the room full of women.”
theme(s): War love, Communication, Accidents, Expectations
samantha Neugebauer 