Posted by Lauren in Short Story Saturday | 2 Comments
This is a Mortal Wound by Michael Grant | Short Story Saturday
Welcome to Short Story Saturday! Every Saturday, I’ll give my thoughts on a story from an anthology. I’m currently working my way through Foretold, which comes out in August 2012 from Random House. All of the stories in this anthology will focus on prophecy.
Short Story: This is a Mortal Wound
Author: Michael Grant
Anthology: Foretold
Summary: Tomaso has never been a fan of school. When he gets the opportunity to move to San Francisco and try out a teacherless program, he is ecstatic. Unfortunately, one of Tomaso’s old teachers (one who hated him) follows him there and attempts to bring him back to traditional education.
My thoughts: I’m not sure what I think of This is a Mortal Wound. I understand that it’s trying to convey a pro-change message: we should accept new technology and ways of life. But I’m just not a fan of the Evil Teacher trope, likely because I’ve never had a teacher hate me. The silliness of this story is part of why I was left without much of an opinion.
Anyhow, the pacing in This is a Mortal Wound was iffy; the story seemed to jerk from one situation or time period to the next with little warning. Michael Grant’s voice is great, though: he captures the rare adolescent male narration very nicely.
“But I’m just not a fan of the Evil Teacher trope, likely because I’ve never had a teacher hate me.” – Oh, you’re so lucky. I had only one teacher (out of every teacher I’ve had or currently have) that seemed to despise me, and he made my life hell for three years (one as my teacher, and two as the teacher in charge of a club I was in during high school). Such a nightmare.
Nice review! The pacing sounds a bit frustrating, but the voice sounds great.
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I’m not a big fan of short stories to begin with & then when you throw in silly – one I can happily miss I ‘d say.