“The Circus” considers the tensions between expectations and reality. Often, when that theme emerges in a Mavis Gallant story, the focus is a relationship. That is true of “The Circus” as well. On the surface, this story appears to be about Laurie’s expectations about the circus. He has seen
For those who haven’t yet, in the time I’ve been chatting about Mavis Gallant’s stories, read the opening of a story – To give you a sense of all that she encapsulates in a small space, the way she creates a world in a little-more-than-a-dozen-pages-long work – Here
At first glance, I think that Digby, from the previous story “A Question of Disposal”, is a world apart from Colin Graves in this story. Consider how Digby’s mother, Mrs. Glover, imagines him, carrying on after her death. She isn’t particularly complimentary: “He would continue driving about in hairy
In other Mavis Gallant stories, we have met characters whose hold on life is more tenacious than expected. In “The Remission” (1979), for instance. Everyone has made plans with an exit in mind, but nothing goes as expected. And in “The End of the World” (1967), we have a
In the collection, In Transit, this story’s placement, next to “When We Were Nearly Young” is brilliant. Two experiences of impoverishment: with different settings, life stages, and stakes. But rather than focus on a series of single people, “Better Times” concentrates on a married couple: Susan and Guy. It's
