Monday, December 29, 2014

Early Retirement by Sue Ann Jaffarian


First Line: Edna Brewer walked with purpose, her sensible shoes marching dutifully along the pavement as she made her way up the slight incline of Fairfax Avenue.

Edna Brewer has worked for a lot of years, and if it weren't for her dedication, her boss's business would not have prospered the way it has. But it has finally come time for her to retire, and Edna knows it.

I've been reading quite a few short stories lately, and I have to say that Sue Ann Jaffarian's "Early Retirement" ranks right at the top of the heap. It's the type of story that can easily be read two different ways. In the first, you can read it straight through without paying attention to the oh-so-subtle clues that the author has carefully placed, and be blown away by the ending. In the second, you can pay attention to those clues, be rewarded by that Hitchcockian twist of an ending, and feel almost complicit (with a smile on your face no less). I'm dying to make a comment about the story, but I can't. I don't want to give anything away!

If you've got a Kindle, consider this story to be 99¢ very well spent.
 

"Early Retirement" by Sue Ann Jaffarian
ASIN: B00QSXOFLS
Arakel Press © 2014 
Digital short story, 22 pages

Short Story
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from Amazon


4 comments:

  1. This does sound intriguing, Cathy! And sometimes those shorter stories are just the thing...

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    Replies
    1. I go through cycles of short story reading, and this has been one of those cycles. Fortunately I seem to have chosen the right stories to read!

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  2. I bought and read 'The Copper Corpse' last week, so this week I guess it's Sue Ann Jaffarin whose Odelia Gray series is great fun. Thanks for the recommendation!

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