okay. this is kind of embarassing to admit. after reading chuck palahniuk’s latest book, stranger than fiction – true stories, i went ahead and looked into, speak: googled and amazoned, amy hempel. chuck had raved about her writing during almost one whole short story – that story aptly named not chasing amy.
i did find amy hempel’s short story the harvest online. and it is extremly well written. what about this for an opening sentence? “The year I began to say vahz instead of vase, a man I barely knew nearly accidentally killed me.”
so i went ahead and ordered one of her books. tumble home.
i am reading it now. and i can see why chuck loves it. sentences like the following ones sure make it a great read:
“for peace of mind i will lie about any thing at any time.”
“it’s like you can’t make an entrance until you’ve established an exit”
“he thaught that traveling alone was like being in therapy – the things you found out about yourself”
“and when the men kissed the women good night, and their weekend whiskers scratched the women’s cheeks, the women did not think shave, they thaught: stay.”
but its soooo …errr… normal. i sort of miss the edgy, dark stuff that exites me when i read palahniuk’s books. is this why, after meeting amy, he ends his short story like so: “still, i kind of hope i never see her again. but i did buy that first edition for $75.”?