Murder by Death

Several fellow BL'ers have recently been extolling the virtues and talents of Edith Wharton; so much so that I've actually been tempted to pick up one of her books, even though I'm pretty sure the stories themselves wouldn't appeal to me (vapid characters, unhappy endings, etc.).  So when I saw this little gem for .10 at a recent book sale it was a sign - kismit - a way to experience Ms. Wharton's writing without depressing myself in the process.

Souls Belated starts mid-scene, two people on a train avoiding each other and the conversation they must have and the reader has no idea why or what the conversation is about.  The ending isn't sad, but it isn't uplifting either; it's a defeat via success.  I don't want to say much more than that - it's a short story and therefore easy to spoil.

But the writing is brilliant and the author perfectly encapsulates the snake-eating-its-own-tail dilemma these two find themselves in and then magnifies it with the woman's over-inflated sense of her own intellectualism.  She has truly thought her way into a corner.

A fast read, but one that leaves the reader with plenty to mull over or enjoy as karmic justice.  Sometimes the passion of your convictions can truly paint you into a corner and leave you exposed to your own hypocrisy.