"Getting Rid of the Gun" by Joyce Thompson
This story explores the relationship between a mother and daughter, from the point of view of the daughter. Her father recently passed away, and as they are going through his belongings, they find a gun that he told his wife he'd gotten rid of. The daughter becomes aware of relational complications her mother and father may have had, and ultimately, she is shown a different side of her mother.
I recommend checking this one out because it touches on parental relationships, which we often assume we know all about. It made me really think about how much I understand about my parent's relationship.
This week I also read:
"Ritual Meals" by Valerie Miner
Both stories happen to be focused on parent-child relationships/secrets. Interesting stuff!
I too can vouch for this essay. Haha Angela I'm still pleasantly surprised we both picked this.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was a really great look into a daughter's relationship with her mother.
This essay is, so far, my favorite essay in Short Takes. After reading it, I wanted to call up my dad and ask him what his darkest secret was. It turned out that I was too chicken to ask so we just made our usual small talk which consisted of how my car was running and politics. I think it is hard for us to come to terms with the idea that our parents have just as dark and dirty stories as some of us have. I think we all subconsciously never want to know the past of a loved one.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree. My dad is actually super open about all his "bad" stories (which, admittedly, are pretty bad), but I'm sure there are definitely things I'll never know/never need to know!
DeleteGood comment/conversation from AC and AI.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'd say the same thing as I did about the last post. Can you give us a snippet of the writing and think about writing style? How did Thompson present her information? Were there images or moments of structure that stuck out to you?
BTW, Angela. That last comment was an essay-teaser all the way.
DW
I definitely included more on the third short takes! I published this one before I got comments on the first, and for some reason it didn't occur to me to edit this one at that time. So sorry!
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