"A Father's Story" by Andre Dubus

Last weekend I attended a short story session at the Newburyport Literary Festival where the speakers were, of course, asked to name some of their favorite short stories and authors.  

"A Father's Story," by Andre Dubus, was discussed because of the advice Dubus had given to one of the speakers: write toward the surprise.  

I love a good surprise and I've never read a thing by Dubus, I'm ashamed to admit.  

I read and I read.  I read till the end.  I looked around me in the silent library.  Where was the surprise?  It is a quiet story, as peaceful as a lullaby.  There are beautiful moments and a profound discussion of faith.  But surprise?  Shock?  Not for me.

As I told my husband about the story this evening, he asked me when the story had first been published (1987 I believe).  Would the surprise have been shocking then?  Am I unshockable?  Are we all?

I compared the climax of the story with my new favorite TV show, Pretty Little Liars.  What took place in the Dubus story is a day at the beach for those characters.  They've seen that level of surprise and stress a million times over, as have I, as a loyal fan.  My best friend and I refer to it as TV crack.

I admit this with a fair amount of chagrin because this story is a work of art.  

"It is not hard to live through a day, if you can live through a moment.  What creates despair is the imagination, which pretends there is a future, and insists on predicting millions of moments, thousands of days, and so drains you that you cannot live in the moment at hand."  True.  Relevant.  Precise.  

My advice?  Read Dubus to return to a simpler time.  Read it to meditate on faith and family, on courage and great writing.  Take a break from addictive stimulation and ponder the simplicity of 1987.