A review of “The New Yorker Stories” in 100 words by Catherine Stover
How did she do that? Readers often ask this after reading an Ann Beattie story. Just when it seems as though not much is happening, boom! The story explodes. For example, in the final long paragraph in “The Confidence Decoy,” the main character thinks about the behavior of ducks, the way lawyers strike a pose to express effortlessness, his son’s decision to run away, and the disappointments in his marriage. These are not random non sequiturs. They are important pieces that come together to change the emotional register of the story. This effortless-looking strategy is often imitated, rarely as successfully.
Work cited:
Beattie, Ann. “The Confidence Decoy.” The New Yorker Stories. Scribner, 2010, p. 503.