Short Stories, Irish literature, Classics, Modern Fiction, Contemporary Literary Fiction, The Japanese Novel, Post Colonial Asian Fiction, The Legacy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and quality Historical Novels are Among my Interests








Sunday, May 19, 2024

"Invitations" - A Short Story by Carol Shields- 4 pages- Included with The Short Stories of Carol Shields- 2004


 This year, Buried in Print, a marvelous blog I have followed for over ten years,is doing a read through of the short stories of Carol Shields. I hope to participate fully in this event.



The more I read in the stories of Carol Shields the more grateful I am to Buried in Print for turning me on to her work. There are sixty some stories in the collection,it is my hope to read and post on them all in 2024.


Buriedinprint.com

"Invitations" is the 17th story by Carol Shields I have so far posted upon.

"Invitations", told in the third person, is structured around five days in the life of the central character.  On each day the subject receives in the mail an invitation to a social event.  As the nature of the Invitations are revealed we learn she is a highly regarded author.

"There was to be a reception—a gala it was called—at the top of a large downtown hotel on Saturday evening. The guest of honor, she read, was to be herself."

I do not wish to share too much on this story.  "Invitations" is a four page marvel.

The Carol Shields Literary Trust Website has an excellent biography


https://www.carol-shields.com/biography.html














1 comment:

Buried In Print said...

I really loved the structure of this one, and the way she resolves things. What a treat! But, I wholeheartedly agree, that one can't really say too much about it, without risking spoilers.