"Midair" by Frank Conroy

"Midair" by Frank Conroy  (1986, 30 pages)


"Midair" by Frank Conroy (1936 to 2005 New York City, USA) was first published in the The New Yorker.   I read it in a very good collection of short stories  Wonderful Town:  New York Stories from the New Yorker (2007)   This is the first work by Conroy I have read.   

Conroy was a well regarded novelist, a respected Jazz musician (he won a Grammy for liner notes) and was the director of the renown Iowa Writer's Work Shop and the University of Iowa from 1887 to 2005.   


I will just post briefly on the story as I do not think it can be read online.   A great deal of time is covered in the thirty pages.  The story opens on a frightening note when the central character in the novel, Sean at age six, and his sister go to visit their insane father.   He end up dangling Sean outside the window of his high rise apartment until attendants from a mental hospital take the father away.   Sean seemingly forget this and leads an interesting a diverse life.   The story seems to end in a circle thirty years latter when he and a young man are trapped in a falling elevator.


I found this story interesting and the style of writing was kind of captivating though it did begin to wear on me a bit.  Based on this sample alone I would say I a glad I read this story but will not seek out longer works by Conroy.




Please share your experienced with Conroy with us.




Mel u