Secrets of the City

I did, and I was dissapointed. I found the scattered Minnesota references awkward, and they added nothing to the story. Also, the story ended with a senario “ripped from the headlines”
locally. I saw that as lazy writting.

I didn’t pick up on that. What headline would it have been stolen from?

I have been trying to find that out myself, but I recall that it involved an ugly feud between neighbors in a tory neighborhood that began when a contractor working on a home becomes romantically involved with a resident, moved in, and ran his construction business from her home.

There was vandalism, restraining orders, claims and counter-claims — it was a real mess. I think we talked about it here. Anyone remember?

I thought we kicked out all the Tories after the War of Independence.

I think you mean this story in Lowry Hill:

http://swjournal.com/index.php?publication=southwest&searchPubs=southwest&currentIssue=7798&action=searchArchive&dateFrom=&dateTo=&searchString=feud&page=152&story=13126&fromArchives=fromArchives&archivePage=131

Yes! Tricia for the win!

Noodleman provided the MNSpeak post.

Wow, crazy story. Too bad they didn’t get to the bottom of why the neighbors don’t like each other. Was there a fight at some point? Yard ornament competition? Romantic entanglement?

Oh, I guess it looks like one neighbor thought the other was running a construction business out-of-home and didn’t like it. Bo-ring!

Joan Ingrebretson carefully perused labels at Kowalki’s on Summit Avenue, looking for a brownie mix that was gluten free.

Swedish sounding name + twin cities reference + left of center middle class affection = this lame short story.

Although I generally consider Franzen to be overrated, I have to say the New Yorker story wasn’t terrible. Justpbob is right that the local references seemed artificial, but for an outsider I’d say Franzen acquitted himself pretty well. The main problem I had with the story is the problem I had with The Corrections: the characters are all despicable, and the author dissects all their human weaknesses with contempt and schadenfreude rather than empathy.

My problem with the story (and with The Corrections) is that it reads more like an overly complicated outline for a story he plans to write someday than a story in itself.

It’s kind of neat that he chose to situate a Main Street-esque story in the home state of Main Street. And the references all worked, I think.

left of center middle class affection

Looking for gluten free prioducts is hardly a left of center affectation. I know several people with celiac disease.

Interesting also that F. Scott Fitzgerald, who was born and raised near the Cathedral (aka Ramsey) Hill ‘hood, really seemed to hate the place.

I think he found it a nice place to be from.

Heh. I always say the same of Indianapolis. And it’s true.

I really liked the Corrections and Strong Motion was good but I had trouble getting through 27th City.

Not a fan of his essays.

“Looking for gluten free prioducts is hardly a left of center affectation. I know several people with celiac disease.”

Do you think Ms. Ingrebretson was shopping for gluten free brownie mix because she has celiac disease?

Did not read this yet, and probably wouldn’t have, as I’m not a fan of short stories and the only Franzen I’ve read (The Corrections) I didn’t really enjoy. But I’ll give this story a whirl, what the heck.

I did read the Corrections while sitting in a locked HVAC room at Oak Park Heights prison in about 3 days. Nothing sharpens your concentration like spending time in a Super Max.

Dougie_D are you serious?

Don’t be alarmed, jane. HVAC means “heating, ventalation and air conditioning.” Douglas_D was in the HVAC trades, as I recall from earlier threads.

I have spent some time working in some odd secure areas, such as hospital psychiatric wards and the place were target codes are entered into Polaris missiles.

Environmental Consulting. Gotta make sure those prisoners aren’t exposed to mold.

OPH is well designed. The floor with all the utilities doesn’t allow the actual prisoners, other than for medical treatment. It is interesting though in the board room they have pictures of everyone housed there and the gang affiliations on the pictures with little notes like if two prisoners should be kept apart or not.

I’ve been in almost every state facility at one time or another. Smoked out the capitol dome once also.

Nothing sharpens your concentration like spending time in a Super Max.

I’ll say!

I got soullllll…and I’m Super Max.

Why the favoritism for Franzen? Scott Fitzgerald’s stories involving St. Paul and White Bear Lake locations get any mention on this website when they were newly published!

In other news, there are people who actually read the fiction in the New Yorker. Huh.

I do, but I look at the cartoons first.

To tell the truth, most weeks I don’t get beyond “Talk of the Town,” but that alone is worth the price of the subcription.

Strong Motion was better than The Corrections.

I have to say I got to “barfed upon snow” and I stopped.

It’s too much. Franzen is such a sensitive, feeling guy that you can almost see him as a puny 11 year old getting beat for his lunch money everyday before school. This is how great writers are made. Thank you, Franzen’s bullies. You created a genius.