{"id":28168,"date":"2020-09-28T16:56:30","date_gmt":"2020-09-28T20:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/?p=28168"},"modified":"2020-09-28T16:56:30","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T20:56:30","slug":"joseph-oneill-rainbows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mookseandgripes.com\/reviews\/2020\/09\/28\/joseph-oneill-rainbows\/","title":{"rendered":"Joseph O’Neill: “Rainbows”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“Rainbows”<\/strong><\/span>
\nby Joseph O’Neill<\/span>
\nfrom the October 5, 2020 issue of\u00a0The New Yorker<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"[fusion_dropcap boxed=”no” boxed_radius=”” class=”” id=”” color=”#003366″ text_color=””]I[\/fusion_dropcap] don’t know about you, but I could definitely use a story called “Rainbows” right about now. I’m not sure O’Neill will deliver the pleasant respite and sign of hope that I mean when I say that, but thanks be to him for even titling his story “Rainbows.”<\/p>\n

The story does have an opening paragraph I find oddly compelling. I’m not sure if it’s the rhythm or what, but I do find this welcome.<\/p>\n

I came to this country — from Ireland, at the age of twenty-three — unaware of the existence of mentors. I’m certain that I had never heard the world “mentee.” The words in Ireland were not exactly the same as the words in America. When a classmate told me that she was going to meet her “mentor,” I had to ask her to explain. In America, she informed me, there was a social practice in which an older, experienced person donated time and knowledge to a younger, relatively foolish person in order to help the latter better understand the world’s perils and pathways. I was filled with a suspicion that bordered on disbelief. I probably said, “Ah, go away.” Ireland has changed, everyone tells me, and maybe this sort of suspiciousness is no longer current. I doubt it, however.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I hope you’ll find time to read the story and offer your thoughts below! I hope you’re well, wherever this may find you!<\/p>\n

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