Search
Alan Bray
- Feb 2
- 4 min
The Cat's Table
This week, a new novel, Michael Ondaatje’s 2011 The Cat’s Table. It is the story of an adult narrator telling the story of a voyage taken...
Alan Bray
- Jan 26
- 4 min
Breakfast On The Morning Train
The Unconsoled begins with Ryder, a famous pianist, arriving in an unnamed European city to perform a concert. Through more than five...
Alan Bray
- Jan 19
- 5 min
The Unconsoled Narrator
One of the features of Ishiguro’s Unconsoled is that it makes use of two forms of narration. The story begins with close first-person...
Alan Bray
- Jan 12
- 4 min
Is Anyone Listening?
When I began this blog almost three years ago, I set out to write about particular features of stories I enjoyed, their narrational...
Alan Bray
- Jan 5
- 4 min
Crisis? What Crisis?
In Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Unconsoled, just who are those who are unconsoled? The definition of the word “unconsoled” is a person or group...
Alan Bray
- Dec 29, 2022
- 3 min
What A Character!
My friends, what of the narrational style of The Unconsoled? After all, that’s what I typically write about. Most simply put, Unconsoled...
Alan Bray
- Dec 22, 2022
- 4 min
The Unconsoled
This week, a new story, best beloved, Kazuo Ishiguro’s 1995 novel, The Unconsoled. It is, essentially, the story of a concert pianist,...
Alan Bray
- Dec 15, 2022
- 4 min
Who Am I This Time?
In a further refinement of our journey with Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers, let’s look at some of the meanings the story contains. To...
Alan Bray
- Dec 13, 2022
- 1 min
Forgotten Melodies
'Kay, my happiness continues! I'm very happy to report that Narrative Magazine will publish my story Forgotten Melodies in the new year....
Alan Bray
- Dec 12, 2022
- 1 min
Punched Out
I'm delighted to say that my short story Punched Out, has been short listed for the Hammond House International Short Story Awards. This...
Alan Bray
- Dec 12, 2022
- 1 min
The Vaccination
As promised, my short story, The Vaccination, has been published on the Narrative Magazine website as their story of the week. I'm...
Alan Bray
- Dec 8, 2022
- 4 min
What Did She Know, And When Did She Know It?
What is the narrational style of Rachel Kushner’s The Flamethrowers? The first chapter begins in close third person and in simple past...
Alan Bray
- Dec 7, 2022
- 1 min
The Vaccination Is Ready
I'm delighted to say that my short story The Vaccination will be published in Narrative Magazine on December 12th. It's a tale of someone...
Alan Bray
- Dec 1, 2022
- 5 min
The Flamethrowers
“Valera had fallen back from his squadron and was cutting the wires of another rider’s lamp.” So begins Rachel Kushner’s 2013 novel The...
Alan Bray
- Nov 24, 2022
- 4 min
Creatures - Amongst Women
In Amongst Women, John McGahern—like any writer—tells the story using a particular narrational style. Let’s consider the opening...
Alan Bray
- Nov 17, 2022
- 4 min
What Kind Of Fool Am I? - Amongst Women
Who am I? That’s a question that self-reflective people ask themselves again and again as they move through life. The answer is more than...
Alan Bray
- Nov 10, 2022
- 5 min
Rose - Amongst Women
Immediately after the section in Amongst Women that depicts the last meeting between Moran and McQuaid, there is a paragraph break. Then...
Alan Bray
- Nov 3, 2022
- 3 min
Old Friends - Amongst Women
Last week, we started thinking about the structure of Amongst Women—the way it establishes a present time at the beginning when Michael...
Alan Bray
- Oct 27, 2022
- 4 min
Amongst Women
This week, a new story, best beloved, Irishman John McGahern’s 1990 novel, Amongst Women. Great choice! Yay! Thank you. John McGahern is...
Alan Bray
- Oct 20, 2022
- 5 min
You Are Some Kind Of Woman
On the surface, Sun would seem to be about male bonding promoted by such activities as bullfighting, fishing, and heavy drinking. Brett...