As I’m in a mad rush to get my dog out this morning I’m going to be brief for once with my reading journal entry for yesterday (Hooray says all of you 
)
So, with Monday’s for me now known as ‘Maupassant Monday‘ one of the main aims of the day was ticking off a couple of Guy de Maupassant shorts for my Devouring de Maupassant challenge.
I began with Epiphany, a tale based around the Franco-Prussian War, which had the strange effect of making me both laugh and cry. I won’t say much more. because you can catch my afterthoughts on there story HERE, other than to say it’s well worth a read.
The second story up was Madame Sauvage which is also based around the Franco-Prussian War. Like Epiphany this is also a sad tale, but with this one there is no humour. Still a very enjoyable story though, but for very different reasons. Catch my full afterthoughts on Madame Sauvage HERE.
I rolled on yesterday with the next Arthur Miller short from Presence: Collected Stories (Bloomsbury). Another 40+ page short from Miller, and this one is called Fitter’s Night.
Set during World War Two, the story is based around the Brooklyn Navy Yard – the iconic shipyard where Miller worked for 2 years – and it follows Tony Calabrese, shipfitter first class, as he works his way through a ‘typical’ night shift. I use the word ‘work’ in the loosest sense of the term because Calabrese is the kind of character who likes to get through each night doing as little as possible. However, on this particular night – a bitterly, bitterly cold one – Calabrese is called to fix a problem with the depth charge rails on a destroyer anchored in the North River.
I adored this story, and not just because it gave a little glimpse into the world of the Brooklyn Naval Yard. It’s about Calabrese working the night shift but more than that, it’s a man reflecting on a life of regret; the biggest one being his forced marriage to a woman he doesn’t love. Miller apparently based the characters of this story on people he actually worked with during the nightshift in the Naval Yard and he paints them beautifully. The real highlight of Fitter’s Night for me though, aside from Miller’s portrayal of Calabrase, happens in the opening paragraphs when Miller describes the descent of the night shift on the Brooklyn Naval Yard. He does it with such finesse and eloquence, that the picture will live in my head for months. Story Rating: 
::Tuesday’s reading plans::
- If Monday’s are now designated ‘Maupassant Monday’ then Tuesday definitely belongs to Chekhov. I have two stories planned for today’s Chekhov Tuesday – Misery and An Upheaval
- My journey through Miller’s short stories continues in Presence. The next story in the list is entitled A Search for the Future, and it’s actually the last one in the first collection, I Don’t Need You Any More
- I know I only hinted at the possibility of getting to it yesterday, but I’ve yet to begin my first novel of the week, All That I Have by Castle Freeman (Duckworth). Provided I get my outstanding reviews written up today (I didn’t quite make it yesterday), and provided I can get some forethoughts down for it, I’ll be starting All That I Have today.
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