A high school senior is stalked by a has-been celebrity; a frazzled man finds solace reliving a simpler stage of life; a holiday classic is given a not so warm and fuzzy twist; two loners meet over a lost and found kitten that was neither lost nor found; a woman finds her old house for sale on the internet; and on a first date two people are actually honest with each other. These are the stories that make up Long Story Short, an insightful collection that is at once funny and charming yet tinged with a feeling of desperation running through modern life.
The Stories
The novella that makes up the bulk of
Long Story Short is 'A Bright Tragic Thing'. It's the story of Dave, a high school senior who does everything with his constant cohort Todd. They like the same girl and pursue the same hobby - collecting autographed mementos from has-been celebrities who aren't aware their signatures are only being sought as part of an elaborate joke. But when Dave goes beyond the has-beens and sends a letter to a never-really-was, he alone is sucked into the sad dramas of Murray Mortenson's failed life while Todd has the freedom to sit back and just keep laughing.
Other stories include 'The Soother', 'Wonderful', 'Truth', 'Lost Kitten' and 'The Virtual Tour'.
The Telling
Friedman's tone is casual and modern, easily adapting to suit her stories of jokester teenagers, broken adults or caustic angels. She pulls out small, often ugly details of people and situations, but she finds the sweet and beautiful as well. Her characters are recognizable in amusing and painful ways - depending on whether it's yourself or someone else you see reflected in them.
The title Long Story Short is a good one because you'll likely find yourself yearning for more time in some of these worlds. But Friedman's sense of structure and focus is sound, and if the stories were any longer they would probably begin to drag - infinitely worse than leaving you wanting more.
There are numerous endings to the sentence "comedy is easy", so here's one more to add to the pile: Comedy is easy, making comedy mean something is hard. In this collection Friedman has mastered telling witty stories that you glide through smiling until the very end, when the meaning slips in quietly and catches you with your guard down.
About the Author - Elyse Friedman
Born in Toronto, Elyse Friedman is a short story writer, poet, novelist and screenwriter. Her other works include:
- Then Again (novel)
- Waking Beauty (novel)
- Know Your Monkey (poetry collection)
- Birds of America (screenplay)
All of Friedman's books are available through the Toronto Public Library. The film
Birds of America stars Matthew Perry and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.
To learn more about Elyse Friedman and to keep up on the latest news, visit her website www.elysefriedman.com
Where in Toronto?
The novella 'A Bright Tragic Thing' is set in north Toronto. Dave lives on "Roseman Avenue" near Yonge and Eglinton (which I'm guessing is a thinly veiled reference to Roselawn) and is within easy walking distance of the Burger Shack and the Rose and Crown pub. There's a late night trip to Vesta Lunch on Dupont, which will ring particularly true to anyone who's been there at the same time in the same, um, state. There's even a quick tour taken of Toronto's touristy attractions, like Casa Loma, Dundas Square and, of course, the
CN Tower.
For the most part the short stores are less specific, although 'Lost Kitten' and 'The Soother' are clearly set in Toronto and 'The Virtual Tour' features a house bought in Bloorcourt Village by two OCAD grads.
