アーウイン・ショー 「レチェフスキー夫人の哀歌」Irwin Shaw The Lament of Madame Rechevsky

　一見、夫人が亡夫に対する愚痴を墓前で長々とこぼし、全部吐き出してしまって、清々する昇華物語のようだが、奥が深い。
　まず夫人はユダヤ人であるのに墓参りに花を持っていく。ユダヤ教では墓に花を持って行かずに、墓参りに来たという印に石を持っていく。するとこの話は、純粋に墓参りではなくなる。夫人はイディッシュ劇の女優であったことを考えると、花は舞台公演の象徴で舞台を墓場に持ち込んだことになる。
　従って、夫人が墓の前を舞台に見立てて、滔々と演ずる話ある夫人の物語。墓の前で愚痴を並べる夫人の言葉はほとんど嘘。大体アザラシのコート（5万円から10万円するらしい）を着た絹のストッキングをはいた夫人が、家賃を払えないわけがない。また神父がアブラハムは立派な人だったと間接的に言っている。
　ショーは、墓地を舞台に仕立て、娘を30メートル先に待たせ、娘に聞こえないところで、娘の悪口も含めて大熱演をするわけだ。

There are various interpretation concerning the meaning of the priest's remark: "For Abraham Rechevsky I will pray for nothing." I wonder what is the real meaning of the remark.

They are:
(1) I will pray for no money (this is the most probable answer)

(2) I will not pray for him.
(3) It is my belief that the priest offered to pray for free. I believe she gave him a dollar because she felt as though he was similar to a homeless beggar and gave him money out of feelings of superiority...she felt she was above him. That is what I am getting from it. Also, I believe she gave him the dollar because she was happy her husband was still remembered.
(4) It sounds like Abraham was a great guy.

(5) Abraham was so great, even a cheap priest as willing to work for nothing.
 
Brief summary up to the problem:


One day, Madam Rechevsky asks her daughter (Helen) to take her to her husband's grave. Helen reluctantly drives her to the cemetary. They arrive at the cemetary....

... Madam Rechevsky clutched a dozen yellow chrysanthemums in her hands and on her face was a look of anticipation, almost pleasure, as they apporoached the grave.

"Perhaps . . ." A bearded old man in holy black, all very clean and pink-faced, came to them and touched Madam Rechevsky's arm. "Perhaps, you would like me to make a prayer for the dead, lady?"

"Go away!" Madam Rechevsky pulled her arm impatiently. "Abraham Rechevsky does not need professional prayers!"

The old man bowed gently, spoke softly. "For Abraham Rechevsky I will pray for nothing."

Madam Rechevsky stopped, looked at the man for a moment. Her cold gray eyes smiled a little. "Give the old man a dollar, Helen," she said and touched the man's arm with royal condescension.

Helen dug in her bag and produced a dollar and the old man bowed gravely again.

Helen hurried after her mother.

"See," Madam Rechevsky was muttering as she charged along. "See. Dead fifteen years and still he is famous, all over the world. I bet that old man hasn't offered to pray for anyone free for twenty-five years." She turned on Helen. "And yet you didn't want to come!" She strode on, muttering, "All over the world."

"Don't walk so fast, Momma," Helen protested. "Your heart . . ."

CORRIE by Alice Munro

　　This is an interesting story. The story develops rapidly after Haward tells Corrie about the blackmail, which makes the reader want to turn pages. Corrie, the protagonist, was having an affair with Haward. Corrie’s maid, Sadie, happens to “witness” the couple at a restaurant. She blackmails Haward. He consults Corrie over it. She agrees to pay money to her by his delivering the money to Sadie’s postal box.
　　Many years later Sadie dies. Corrie attends the after-the-service refreshments, where she hears that Sadie was a good, blessed, rare person. After coming back home, Corrie wonders whether the money actually went to Sadie. She suspects that Haward was spending the money. But she realizes another possibility: to continue giving the money to Haward to keep the relationship.
　　Very nice development. The characters of both Corrie and Haward are depicted well. This story is accessible when I think of Corrie’s lavish life and her lame leg. Haward kept man’s pride by not asking Corrie for money. The conversation at the refreshments is effective. Everything converges well at the end of the story.
　　The last paragraph is also well written: “…she goes gingerly, making everything fit into its proper place.” She has calmly put the affair into a well considered transaction.

吉村昭 「白い道」

話が分からない
短編としてまとまっていない。最初父と女のことが書いてあるのに、途中から、ある男の行徳行きの事細かい描写になってしまっている。父と女は何のために出したのか。後半との対比を出すためにしては、成功していない。戦記物ドキュメンタリーを読んでいるようであった。

吉村昭 「星への旅」

　圭一、三宅、望月、有川、慎子（マキコ）が、最後に集団自殺をするのかどうかという一点に向かって、読者を引っぱっていく。同時に圭一の本音（自殺する心の準備ができていない）と、意地、虚栄、見栄のため自殺に追い込まれていく心理描写が巧みだ。

難点
　望月をはじめ、５人とも自殺をしたくないと思っている（…顔がゆがみ、唇が歯列をのぞかせて震えていた）のに、なぜ望月は「行くぞ」と叫んで崖から飛び降りたのか。望月が最初に飛び降りるまでに至る心の変化の描写が足らない。
　最後圭一は岩に頭蓋骨をぶつけて死んでしまうのだが、その死に方を美しく描いている（不思議に痛みは感じられず、… かすかな安らぎをおぼえながら…）。しかし、飛び降りて岩にぶつかり落下していくときにこのような描写はしらけている。
　むしろ、びくびくしていた圭一が、ほかの４人とも同様に死を恐れていることを知り、有川に対する蔑みと憤りが、他の４人に対しても湧いてきて、逆に率先して勇気のあるところを見せる（虚栄、見栄、意地）ために最初に崖から飛び降りてしまうと言う方が読者は納得するはずだ。

理解に苦しむ点
　何故最初に自殺した男と若い女二人を登場させたのか

吉村 昭（よしむら あきら、1927年5月1日 - 2006年7月31日）は、東京府出身の小説家、日本芸術院会員。1966年に『星への旅』で第2回太宰治賞を受賞。次いで長篇『戦艦武蔵』が『新潮』に一挙掲載されたことにより作家として立つことができた。1972年『深海の使者』により第34回文藝春秋読者賞受賞。1973年『戦艦武蔵』『関東大震災』など一連のドキュメント作品で第21回菊池寛賞受賞。

THE SECRET GARDEN by Chesterton

I was surprised at Chesterton’s trick: to replace a criminal’s head with Brayne’s. In this story again the least suspicious person, Valentin, was the murderer.
I do not understand why none of the people who gathered around the dead body of Brayne in the garden recognized the clothes Brayne wore. Every one of them saw him clad in the same clothes, but I should give Chesterton some allowance.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English writer.[1] His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, play writing, journalism, public lecturing and debating, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction.

尾崎一雄 「擬態」

駄々をこねる聞かん坊の妻、芳枝の描写。金策に明け暮れする主人公の心理描写が巧い。
芳枝をなだめすかす主人公に同情する。
話の展開はないが、どことなく温かい夫婦愛の様なものを感ずる。

尾崎 一雄（おざき かずお、本名同じ、1899年ー1983年）は、1937年、短篇集『暢気眼鏡』で第5回芥川賞を受賞し、作家的地位を確立した。

SIN DOLOR by T. Coraghessan Boyle

This is a freak short story. The boy named Damaso does not feel pain, even if his leg is broken or his hand is burned. The doctor and his colleague try to study his case by extracting his DNA sample, but it was after his burial that the doctor meets Damaso again. Damaso’s father abuses him by putting on a freak show in which the father burns his arm or pierces his arm with a pin in the street. Damaso finally dies jumping from a three story building. I do not understand why he jumped from the building. The writer fails to show enough facts that leads his final death. A sad story. I admire the writer for making a very unique, unrealistic but persuasive story. Tom Coraghessan Boyle (born Thomas John Boyle, also known as T.C. Boyle, born on December 2, 1948) is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. Since the mid 1970s, he has published twelve novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the PEN/Faulkner award in 1988,[1] for his third novel, World's End, which recounts 300 years in upstate New York.