Title: O Fat White Woman by William Trevor
Date Read: 16 October 2008
Available Online?: NO
Briefly: As the wife to a successful headmaster/owner of a boarding-school it would seem as though Mrs. Digby-Hunter has the perfect life, and aside from an imposed life of celibacy, she has. However, as the story unwinds, things are not quite as perfect as they may first appear, and the ‘perfect life’ begins to show itself in its true form, especially when events take a turn for the worse.
Afterthoughts: Coming with such a title, I didn’t really know what to expect from this story. What I got was a story-line I could never have foreseen, but it was one that stayed wholly readable throughout. It would seem that the author’s main aim is to portray the inner thoughts and feelings of his characters, and he does this with an eloquent prowess. The chief protagonist, Mrs. Digby-Hunter (the O Fat White Woman herself) is a brilliantly realised character.
Notable Quote: “Determined at all costs to make a success of her marriage and to come up to scratch as a wife, she had pursued a policy of agreeableness: she smiled instead of making a fuss, in her easy-going way she accepted what there was to accept, placing her faith in her husband as she believed a good wife should.”
Rating: 




*Story read as part of my 100 Shots of Short reading challenge.








