Allegra Goodman, "La Vita Nuova"
Back to The New Yorker after eloping with One Story for a while. Once I’ve posted a note on Jeffrey Eugenides’s story (from June 7, 2010) , I’ll resort to the minimalism I announced a couple posts ago : I’ll write comments only on especially strong stories. Afterward, there’ll be a small series of posts on books about craft. Allegra Goodman’s “ La Vita Nuova ” (TNY, May 3, 2010) fits snugly into a mold I’ve mentioned before : quotidian stories that hint at deep psychological struggles in a blasé, offhand, and symbolic manner. In this case, an art teacher called Amanda is dumped by her fiancé after the invitations for the wedding had already been sent out (ouch, I know). Her parents try to be supportive, the school doesn’t rehire her because her personal life interferes with her work, and she spends the summer babysitting one of her former students. Her life doesn’t seem to go anywhere. The story ends with a high-decibel scene in which Amanda says goodbye to the boy and announce...