Word: tales
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...common disease of the cynic is Vicarious Vertigo-the dizzying belief that he can be someone else. Very well, then, let him be, say, Andre Watts or Artur Rubinstein. Every pianist is familiar with the tale of the Texan who asked an old man, "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?" and received the reply, "Practice! Practice!" Alas, repetition cannot guarantee a recital. But $2,000 can. For that amount, the cynic may rent the entire Carnegie Hall, with Steinway, to play Chopsticks all evening. After all, who's listening? The cynic can be Arthur Fiedler...
Ulcers. These fears have been reinforced by the chilling tale of Poet Yuri Galanskov, 33, who died on a prison operating table last month. According to accounts that recently reached the West, Galanskov, who suffered from bleeding ulcers, was not allowed to receive medical care after his imprisonment in 1967 for having edited an underground literary magazine. Instead, he was fed prison fare of salt fish and black bread, and was forced to work in a camp factory. When Galanskov developed a perforated ulcer, he was operated on by another inmate, a former army doctor who was not a qualified...
Extracted with misplaced fidelity from Robert Marasco's unfortunate 1970 Broadway success, this lame tale about the corruption of innocence is little more than a trot for Lord of the Flies. An unpopular Latin teacher nicknamed "Old Lash" (James Mason) is certain that all the trouble is caused by his colleague Dobbs (Robert Preston), whom he describes as a "malevolence" and an "obscenity." Dobbs, however, is beloved of all the boys and Lash heartily despised as an overbearing, paranoid pedant. The bitter rivalry between the two teachers leads eventually to madness, suicide and the equivocal triumph of evil...
...Nicholas' bones had been brought to Bari in the 11th century after being stolen from Myra by Italian soldiers. Little is known about Nicholas. Legends of his good works include one that portrays him supplying dowries for three impoverished girls, thus saving them from careers as prostitutes. That tale, combined with local folklore, eventually produced the St. Nicholas of European tradition, who reputedly brought gifts to children on the eve of his Dec. 6 feast day. The custom was later transferred to Christmas in many countries...
...mechanics of narration, the conundrums of time and the intertwining trinity of tenses, the vexing headaches of omniscience-all these familiar aesthetic matters are considered and worked out on the page. More than usual, though, Transparent Things delivers the teller along with the tale...