The Hermit's story: By Rick Bass
Rick Bass (born March 7, 1958) is an American writer and an environmental
activist.
“The Hermit's story: stories” is
a collection of short stories by Rick Bass. The stories includes in “The
Hermit's story: stories” are The Hermit's story, Swans, The prisoners, the
fireman, The cave, Presidents day, Real town, Eating, The distance and The
deer. These short stories actually appeared in several magazines and
"Mariner Books" compiled it as on book.
Every story in this book is
remarkable in its own way. Conflict in most stories is survival, but the main
theme deals with "nature", that is, Nature- the surrounding and the
nature of one self. That is; the twofold of Nature and are mostly melancholy
tales.
From the title story “The
Hermit's story”, we can understand that he is a writer of great landscapes. he
starts the story by ushering the reader to a magical fantasy world. He starts
the story by a great magical description:
"AN ICE STORM,
following seven days of snow; the vast fields and drifts of snow turning to
sheets of glazed ice that shine and shimmer blue in the moonlight, as if the
color is being fabricated not by the bending and absorption of light but by
some chemical reaction within the glossy ice; as if the source of all blueness
lies somewhere up here in the north - the core of it beneath one of those
frozen fields; as if the blue is a thing that emerges, in some parts of the
world, from the soil itself, after the sun goes down."
The description of every aspect
in the story is so elaborated, that there is a description about, beneath the
frozen ice in the title story, which is so huge and lavish. The mystery of
walking beneath a frozen dry lake, it evokes strong magical mysterious images
of the place author created. It also
suggests that the world is much more magical and mysterious than it is usually
believed to be. Why the title is so.?
(The Hermit's story). And I think, that A Hermit is someone who lives in
seclusion from the society, the character Ann does this in a different way,
(she is an animal trainer and lives away from the society), that maybe the
reason for giving the name“The Hermit's story” to it.
Author also has given a clear
outline of the animal within us, which could be seen in the second story
"Swans"."swans" not only deals with nature but also with
love too, where he speaks about love, which I found is very true, it enchants
the reader, I really enjoyedit.
"I know the best
way for a man to love a woman, or woman to love a man, is not to bring gifts,
but to simply understand that other person : to understand as much (and with as
much passion and concern) as is possible."
Though most are rich with
melancholy, they also give a glimpse into lives and places that we have'nt
seen. This could be seen from his certain lines in “Presidents day”
"Maybe when I get
home it will be different, he thought, Maybe she will have decided she loves me
again, or that even if she doesn't, she will work toward getting to that place
again. Maybe."
"The Cave" is a
stunning story of a man and woman lost in abandoned mine. It blends eroticism,
exploitation and death. the language and imagery is crisp and clean. Same as,
is the case with "Distance" too, and it once again deals with realism
of nature.
"If I could
beseech favor from an opportune heaven, it would be to live to see the sight of
these trees I have planted fully mature, their leaves brilliant in autumn, bare
and elegant in winter, lush emeralds in spring, and deep-shaped during the
shimmering roar of summer."
And he also says that cutting
down trees are "nothing
less than murder".
It is more the poetic and
rhythmic description and the portrayal of each and every aspect of the story
attracted me. The characters and the well-developed stories land with a lot of
punch. If I were to give marks separately for the story and the portrayal or
the narrative style, I would give 3.0 (out of 5) for the stories and 4.0 (out
of 5) for the poetic description and the portrayal or the narrative style.
If you enjoy stories with the
natural world as a main character, you will love this.
- A.M ARUN KUMAR
