from Guilt: Stories by Ferdinand von Schirach
This is a stop what you’re doing, find this story, read it, come back to this review, kind of story. Okay, you’re done? Great right? I totally bought it, sucked me in, and it slipped through my hands like a stack of twenties.
Our hero, or shall we say, hero-to-be, has been living a great life, kids someday, money in the bank, a good gig to occupy his days and a wife he still finds sexy. Then one morning the law pays him a visit. Turns out he’s been touching, inappropriately, a young girl. He has some saucy videos on his laptop, and the hammer swings heavy on his head.
Time is a bitch, especially when you have to give some up for something you’ve only been accused of. The details move like well crafted darts, landing here and there, eventually our man gets out of jail, and he’s not too happy. I love the way his grief washes him out to sea where he is left with only regret and the overwhelming sense of vengeance.
I think enemies are good things to have; my friend Jennifer tells me they’re angels in disguise. I don’t always believe that.
Is there a finer point to a story than the last sentence? A moment where you say aloud, “oh, wow, right, that was so great!” This story has that, and some other stuff. You must have a copy by now, right?
