How Little it Takes to Make A Thing All Wrong
March 10, 2023 8:51 AM Subscribe
In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried is a short story by Amy Hempel. It is about friendship and its sad, exhilarating limits.
"Tell me things I won't mind forgetting," she said. "Make it useless
stuff or skip it."
I began. I told her insects fly through rain, missing every drop,
never getting wet. I told her no one in America owned a tape
recorder before Bing Crosby did. I told her the shape of the moon is
like a banana—you see it looking full, you're seeing it end-on.
"Tell me things I won't mind forgetting," she said. "Make it useless
stuff or skip it."
I began. I told her insects fly through rain, missing every drop,
never getting wet. I told her no one in America owned a tape
recorder before Bing Crosby did. I told her the shape of the moon is
like a banana—you see it looking full, you're seeing it end-on.
One of my favorite short stories. Makes me cry every time.
posted by missinformation at 10:19 AM on March 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by missinformation at 10:19 AM on March 10, 2023 [3 favorites]
This story is one of the most devastating pieces of short fiction I've ever read. It's been stuck in my mind for years.
posted by Token Meme at 11:56 AM on March 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Token Meme at 11:56 AM on March 10, 2023 [1 favorite]
Same, I came to this story as a student and it made a place in my head forever and ever. I’ve read and loved a lot of Hempel’s other work in the years since, but this one is a bit special to me.
posted by jameaterblues at 12:18 PM on March 10, 2023
posted by jameaterblues at 12:18 PM on March 10, 2023
Hempel is a brilliant writer, and this one guts me, every time. Here's Laura Hurwitz reading it aloud.
posted by exlotuseater at 12:36 PM on March 10, 2023
posted by exlotuseater at 12:36 PM on March 10, 2023
This story was part of what my master's thesis was about. I'm glad you posted it. Thanks.
posted by tangerine at 3:30 PM on March 11, 2023
posted by tangerine at 3:30 PM on March 11, 2023
An instructor used this story as an example of setting something up -- "lighting the fuse" -- at the beginning, letting the reader forget about it, and delivering an explosive last line. This perfect ending wrecks me.
posted by booth at 9:18 AM on March 12, 2023
posted by booth at 9:18 AM on March 12, 2023
Thanks for all your thoughts, folks. It is such a great story.
Here's a chaser, another one of hers. Just a few paragraphs but packs a punch: San Francisco.
posted by storybored at 9:16 PM on March 12, 2023
Here's a chaser, another one of hers. Just a few paragraphs but packs a punch: San Francisco.
posted by storybored at 9:16 PM on March 12, 2023
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posted by AbelMelveny at 9:07 AM on March 10, 2023 [5 favorites]