Comments on: March 15, 2010 — David Means: “The Knocking”

By: The Mookse and the Gripes » David Means: “El Morro”

The Mookse and the Gripes » David Means: “El Morro” — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:13:40 +0000

[...] more like “The Knocking,” a story he published in The New Yorker last year (my thoughts here)), but by the end I felt that something was there worth looking into (more like “Tree Line, [...]

By: heather

heather — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 05:07:50 +0000

no no, i completely disagree. this was a lyrical snapshot of a man neatly drowning in the wreckage of his life (i infer that his family was his life, or at least that he thinks so at this stage of the proceedings. there’s no hint of how long it’s been since the dissolution of his marriage). in fact i wonder whether he really IS mad, and it’s the madness that ushered in the loss of his family. notice there’s no mention of him ever seeing any of them again- including the kids. a concise, neatly-wrapped gem of a mind in despair.

By: Colette Jones

Colette Jones — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 09:05:56 +0000

This is about a man not coping, not coping at all, going mad in fact. He’s transferring his madness onto the resident of the apartment above, but we don’t believe him.

Good premise, but not good writing, in my opinion. Glad it was short.

By: KevinfromCanada

KevinfromCanada — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 21:47:54 +0000

My reading was probably colored by having read these comments first. I would characterize the story as an extended metaphor, not a particularly good or appropriate one. All in all, a rather lame effort.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:51:48 +0000

I wondered about the poetry comparison too, Joe. But I thought against it when I realized that the comparison did no favors to poetry.

By: Joe

Joe — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:13:26 +0000

I found this one pretty unpleasant and was really put off by the Proustian excess. If your first sentence is going to clock in at 150 words, there’d better be a good reason for it.

I know the New Yorker likes to mix it up a bit — different styles, voices, etc. — but this just seemed show-offy. If anything, it’s more of a poem than a story. Well, I’m just glad it was short.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:44:56 +0000

I’ve posted my meager thoughts above. Unfortunately, it isn’t because the story is short that my thoughts are meager.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 17:16:15 +0000

New forum up — this week will take only a few minutes to read, so come and help make the conversation!