Customer Reviews

The Last Worthless Evening: Four Novellas & Two Stories

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Last Worthless Evening is Andre Dubus's least acclaimed collection, but it contains one of his most moving novellas, "Rose," and another fine novella, "Molly," that has been neglected by most readers because it has not been collected in his Selected Stories or Collected Novellas.

I can hardly think of a more adult book than The Last Worthless Evening. It is compassionate, wise, and unflinching in its examination of its characters. I only wish Dubus had stuck around a few more years so we could have more stories like these.

This book left me shell-shocked. The writing is so good, the characters so well-drawn . . . really, I am at a loss as to what to say. I read the whole collection in one night. I had read "Rose" earlier, in another collection, and upon re-reading it I was still shocked and moved! I was also moved by "Deaths At Sea". Great stuff all around. Like the previous reviewer, I wish Dubus was still with us to write more stories like these. I do not like to give 5 stars out very freely, and when I love a book I usually give it 4. But this one was different.

I've been a fan of Dubus for years. The way that he constructed such richly realized character pieces in small frame like this is effortless. I only wish that he were still alive and able to continue delivering such riveting stories. This collection is not his best, but it is certainly worth a gander, especially for `Land Where My Fathers Died' and `Rose', two tales that will engulf you from start to finish.

Here's a rundown of the stories included in this collection:

`Deaths At Sea' may be my least favorite story written by Andre. While I appreciate the tale he was weaving and the intricate character study he was attempting to unveil (what with a white naval officer sharing a room with a Negro), I felt as though there were elements that didn't ring true or clear for me. I understood the deep-seated guilt and obvious manifestations of `redemption seeking' taking place, but it all boiled down to a series of repetitions and forced connections that I didn't really care for. It became laboriously written, which is not something I'm used to with Dubus, who usually weaves his stories with a sense of detailed breeze. For me, this one just didn't work. `After the Game' is, thankfully, not about the sport but about an ambiguous event that takes place after the game, the locker room, over pizza and beer. I'd love to know the back-story here, so maybe a feature film could flesh it out more (ala `Killings'). While the story, for the most part, remains seemingly bare, Dubus weaves his magic to create an engrossing prose that leaves the reader with much to ponder. `Dressed Like Summer Leaves' tells the story of eleven-year-old Mickey who happens to meet the acquaintance of Duffy, a strange war man wheeling over time spent over seas. The story takes place over a few moments inside a bar, but it is brilliantly layered to do exactly what Dubus does best, illuminate the inner workings of the human mind. Without saying much at all, Dubus allows us to understand these characters and the tragic effects that circumstance has had on their minds, their actions and their eventual futures. Every character here (from Mickey to Duffy to Fletcher to Al) all have a backdrop to their presence that isn't detailed but is subtly highlighted in a way that makes them real to us. In the midst of all these subtly intricate character studies like `Land Where My Fathers Died'; a straightforward murder mystery told from multiple angles that is so engaging and so compelling that I almost wish this were the norm with Dubus. His command of the characters he creates is astounding, and the way he weaves this tale (with needed bite and satisfactory justice) is thought provoking and, most of all, entertaining. Sure, it isn't as deeply precise as his more signature work, but this may be his most enjoyable work in this collection. `Molly' is a coming of age story that revolves around a young girl and her mother. Molly is the young girl, whose father split when she was little. The novella is expertly written, if not a tad repetitive, and it sinks into the mind of this confused young woman as she tampers with love and sex and independence next to a pillar of strength she calls `mom'. Her mother is not perfect and certainly not delicate (as some parents would consider the term) but she understands her daughter and works hard to create a home environment that is nurturing while maintaining an air of realism. The story works well within its realm, and feels very authentic, especially when you consider the protagonist. `Rose' has quite a powerful objective, and that is to evoke heartbreak and compassion for this woman's horrific story of abuse and broken trust. As our narrator retells a story of a woman whom he meets in a bar we are brought into her world slowly but surely. This story has proven to become one of my favorite Dubus stories, for as the meat of the story began to unfold I find myself glued to each passing page. As Rose recounts her story of a tortured marriage, an abusive and horrific man and her struggle to save her children from this monster the reader can do nothing but hope and pray everything turns out better in the end.

There is all is in a nutshell. I hope that this has helped and I hope that it moves you to explore this riveting author, if you haven't already!

I discovered Andres Dubus III (The House of Sand and Fog, The Garden of Last Days) long before I discovered his father, but I'm really glad I finally decided to read some of the elder Dubus's stories. They are fantastic. The Last Worthless Evening is a collection of six stories. The publisher has decided to call four of them novellas because they are a bit longer, but I really think they are more like short stories, even if lengthy ones.)

Like some of the other reviewers have said, the star of this collection is Rose, a story about a women and her three kids (and so much more). I don't think I've ever read a story with such anticipation. It is suspenseful and heartbreaking and one of the best stories I've ever read. Deaths at Sea, a story about issues of race in the military, is another gem from this collection. In these two stories, Dubus perfectly captures the voice of a mother and the voice of a navy officer aboard a ship. This diverse collection is a demonstration of Dubus's masterful storytelling and his gift of empaty. I can't wait to read more by this author.

Andre Dubus has been billed for years as perhaps the U.S.'s premier short story writer, and I certainly see evidence of such talent in this collection. But the trap our preeminent writers sometimes seem to fall into as their reputation grows is to allow their talent to drift into stories in which shortcomings settle, take seed, and grow. And I see ample evidence of that in this collection.

The stories here are on the surface a mixed bag: racism in the `50s U.S. Navy. A fatally sick Hispanic baseball player. Irish-American war veterans. Greek families. Teen coming of age (sexually). Domestic violence.

What's the common denominator here? A gritty view of American life in its lower social strata. There's no stylizing here - except possibly in Dubus' varied structure for these pieces. His dialogue often sizzles, and his characterizations are paramount, some of the best you'll find in contemporary writing. He gives us stories through an unflinching, pull-no-punches voice. Still, I'm troubled, not by the impact these stories leave, but with something else.

There's little in the way of arc to these pieces. Dubus may have wished to imply things his stories didn't contain, but these six pieces each left me wanting. They're really more detailed character sketches than stories; each drawing lives, or multiple lives, in excruciating detail, these taking the reader nowhere. This approach works magnificently in his two short stories, which condense and distill characters to a moment. But in the longer pieces, this preoccupation fails to lead the reader to answer broader question about American life. As a result, they're extended snapshots, telling us much, but not enough.

Too, I grew to feel bludgeoned by his first person approach to these stories, so many depicting drugs, drinking, gratuitous sex, concern with looks and weight. It's as if Dubus himself is thinly veiled by his narrators, who are most vividly women - whatever that says about Dubus. And all too often, his narrative goes on and on in these longer pieces, giving the reader minutiae, not panorama.

There's certainly no doubt about Dubus' talent. But some writers are born to the short story, others to the novel, while still others manage both. But those who juggle long and short fiction successfully play each by different sets of rules, something I don't think Dubus could bring himself to realize.