They drove east through the desert towns: Hesperia to Victorville to Barstow to Yermo, past the dusty bed of Soda Lake, dry now, a ghostly crater waiting for rain. The route was familiar, a memory stored in his bones. The return trip, Sandy had driven in every condition--exhausted, panicked, blind drunk, sick with shame. But the eastbound journey occurred, always, under controlled conditions. They'd left L.A. at three in the afternoon. YOU'RE CRAZY, said Myron Gold, whose car he'd borrowed this time. IT'S THE HOTTEST PART OF THE DAY. But the timing was no accident; it was part of the protocol: rolling into Vegas at first dark, slipping away (this was the hope) before dawn. Vegas at noon would look stripped and diminished, like a Christmas tree in daylight. It was no place he wanted to see.
This extraordinary paragraph opens "A Place in the Sun," a story by Jennifer Haigh. Little bombs, deposited, awaiting a chance to be detonated. Who are "they"? Why are they on this drive--from L.A. to Las Vegas?
Part of the fun of a Haigh story is the sense of poetry; she seems to love words, and she transmits her love to the reader. "Hesperia," "Victorville," "Yermo"--these names add a sense of specificity, but they're also just a delight to say out loud. "Soda Lake" evokes fanciful thoughts of a big Pepsi-filled crater, and the idea of "waiting for rain"? That leads us to think of other forms of waiting, other forms of yearning. What is our protagonist waiting for?
We piece together what Sandy may be doing. He drives to Las Vegas to gamble--and maybe to commit crimes--and he drives out before the sun comes up the next morning. "Exhausted," "panicked," "blind drunk," "sick with shame": If this list represents "every condition" known to Sandy, then maybe Sandy doesn't have a very stable life. We're on edge, already--waiting to see which disaster will occur.
A strange detail about character: Sandy will endure the beating sun in the desert just to avoid the image of Vegas in broad daylight. He is impractical; he is an aesthete. He would rather sweat, uncomfortably, than be greeted with a picture that reminds him of a diminished "Christmas tree in daylight." Such a dreamy, childlike character is likely to make extravagant, unpredictable gestures--and we'll see one of those before the story ends.
A vivid, seamless dream. An arresting metaphor that feels effortless. A reminder--via subtext--that we live on a weird and wondrous planet.
This extraordinary paragraph opens "A Place in the Sun," a story by Jennifer Haigh. Little bombs, deposited, awaiting a chance to be detonated. Who are "they"? Why are they on this drive--from L.A. to Las Vegas?
Part of the fun of a Haigh story is the sense of poetry; she seems to love words, and she transmits her love to the reader. "Hesperia," "Victorville," "Yermo"--these names add a sense of specificity, but they're also just a delight to say out loud. "Soda Lake" evokes fanciful thoughts of a big Pepsi-filled crater, and the idea of "waiting for rain"? That leads us to think of other forms of waiting, other forms of yearning. What is our protagonist waiting for?
We piece together what Sandy may be doing. He drives to Las Vegas to gamble--and maybe to commit crimes--and he drives out before the sun comes up the next morning. "Exhausted," "panicked," "blind drunk," "sick with shame": If this list represents "every condition" known to Sandy, then maybe Sandy doesn't have a very stable life. We're on edge, already--waiting to see which disaster will occur.
A strange detail about character: Sandy will endure the beating sun in the desert just to avoid the image of Vegas in broad daylight. He is impractical; he is an aesthete. He would rather sweat, uncomfortably, than be greeted with a picture that reminds him of a diminished "Christmas tree in daylight." Such a dreamy, childlike character is likely to make extravagant, unpredictable gestures--and we'll see one of those before the story ends.
A vivid, seamless dream. An arresting metaphor that feels effortless. A reminder--via subtext--that we live on a weird and wondrous planet.
Comments
Post a Comment