Death In the Woods and Other Stories
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4.0 • 3 Ratings
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- $1.99
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- $1.99
Publisher Description
"Death in the Woods" is presented as a first-person narrative by an unreliable narrator, who tells the story of an old woman, Mrs. Grimes. Mrs. Grimes lives on the edge of society and survives by selling eggs and using the proceeds to buy food for herself, her small family and the animals in her care. Her husband is considered to be a horse thief, and the couple is looked down on by others.
On the last day of her life, Mrs. Grimes walks into town to trade some eggs and buy some meager supplies. Her dogs follow her into town. According to the narrator, the butcher was unusually friendly and compassionate on this visit (because of the snowy, cold weather), giving her some extra liver and speaking to her kindly. She begins her walk home late in the day.
On her way home, she leaves the road and walks through the woods, probably a short cut. On this shortcut she reaches a clearing where she sits down to rest. While sitting down, she dies.
Customer Reviews
A little uneven, but pretty good
Many of the great writers of the past century claim Sherwood Anderson as a major influence, including Hemmingway, Faulkner, Steinbeck and Henry Miller. Anderson's classic Winesburg, Ohio, a collection of short stories about a small town, is one of my favorite books. His masterful style is deceptively and disarmingly simple. In his stories, he develops vivid, deep characters and paints striking images without calling attention to the writing itself. Perhaps it's the time period in which he wrote, but I find most of his stories very nostalgic. This book covers a wider range of topics than Winesburg, and overall is a little more uneven, but it includes some fine stories nonetheless. Along with the title story, I thought "The Return," about a successful New York architect returning to his small hometown in eastern Ohio, is quite good. And the few curious stories about living in the southern mountains are quirky and interesting. Start with Winesburg, and if you love it as much as I did, try Death In The Woods.