A simple story by Stephen Tuttle of rivalry, self-esteem, wishes and aging, I would think, but presented in an unusual style that I’ve seen before but am still not quite taken with it. Grunwald’s a juggler, Semple, a contortionist. As they perform for audiences you can see how much time and effort they’ve put into their careers, and though friends, seem to pooh-pooh each other’s work.
A linear narrative, third person pov, with near alternating paragraphs focusing on the individuals, but with headers such as: This is How You Juggle, What You Wear Makes All the Difference, Gravity, etc. Despite these signposts there is a flow to the story, as one paragraph often raises a question or leads into another quite naturally. I’m just not sure the experimental style adds to the story at all. Visually, it’s naturally interruptive.
While there are tit-for-tat-sized conflicts between the two characters, the arc of the story starts somewhere in the middle and goes down from there as the two become less nimble, less accurate, playing to ever shrinking audiences. They notice a poster of a nearly naked woman and while they appear interested in the marketing aspects, we find them one night each separately waiting in the rain outside the theater where she’s playing. So there is this hint of what they’ve lost out on in life, perhaps by their dedication to their talents.
The last paragraph does something nice with foreshadowing and the repetition of a cycle, as the paragraph is titled This is How You Hypnotize a Man, and I took it also as the blindness to time as life passes by. Interesting.
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology