Mavis Gallant. My Heart Is Broken. (1957) Gallant’s second collection, not published in Canada until 1964.
The settings of her stories vary geographically, but socially they are small. Like Austen, her subject is human nature. A ruthless observer, she presents characters who lack self-knowledge, or who deliberately dissemble. They may edge towards a revelation, but rarely achieve it. Gallant shows that lack of self-knowledge is the obverse of lack of awareness of others. The result is misunderstanding, pain, social disgrace, lives descending into an uneasy equilibrium of failure.
This may sound like Gallant’s stories are dreary, but they’re not. The almost offhand insertion of the telling detail that reveals the complexities of human nature drew me in. I ended up understanding her characters more than I understand most of the people I know. Her method shows us not only how to create character in fiction but how to observe character in real life. The result is to understand, and with understanding comes the ability to accept.
Not a page turner, but I kept returning to it. Recommended. ***
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