The Voice, by V. S. Pritchett
Lunch Box, by Alan Steinbach
The Zoo at Christmas, by Jane Gardam
Three short stories will be presented, opening with Jeannette Fullerton, a favorite of Story Hour regulars, reading V.S.Pritchett’s “The Voice,” a story that takes place in London during the Blitz. A church has been bombed. Despite the fact that the church was presumed to have been empty during the night bombing raid, it is obvious that someone has been trapped beneath the rubble. That someone can be heard by the rescue party, and by the church’s rector, who gets involved with the efforts to save him.
Alan Steinbach’s original work, “Lunch Box,” will follow, read by the author. The story’s narrator stops in to eat at a small café south of Providence, on the recommendation of a friend. The fare is Dominican, in spite of the sign in the window advertising “Spanish food.” A collection of old metal lunch boxes adorn the walls. The owner serves up mangu, a fried plantain dish, and shares a personal story flavored with cultural history, bittersweet with pain and memory.
Jeannette will close the readings with a tale she has waited patiently to present for well over a year. Jane Gardam’s “The Zoo at Christmas” imagines what takes place when the human personnel take the day off and the animals decide to investigate what is going on.
The readings are free and open to the public. All are welcome.