Night Maneuver

by Howard Korder

Lou, a twenty-six-year-old auto parts clerk, rents a shabby urban bachelor pad. His eighteen-year-old brother, Tim, is crashing there. Getting to know each other's ways, the brothers trade slurred, desultory banter that touches on sex, booze and the almost mythical exploits of their older brother, Monty. At one point, in a great monologue, Lou recounts how he lost his virginity at twelve years old to Monty's girlfriend while on an inflatable horse life preserver in a pool. The conversation turns to Tim's late night whereabouts: Does he have a girl? What's he doing hanging around the park until late at night? Is he really innocent? It is finally revealed that Tim is doing drugs and Lou is a small-time drug dealer. Though starting off as Lou leading his younger brother through a crash course in survival, by the end of the play, Tim has taken control of the situation. The brothers pair off for a showdown of sibling rivalry halfway between life and death and Abbot and Costello, but no longer just a little brother, Tim takes advantage of Lou's drug contacts and set up a deal for himself.

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[LYS. · Rating 1 out of 5]

TIM. What a story, Lou.
LOU. I’m not done yet.
—page 19

i’m not even going to lie to you. the description of the play is a hell of a lot more interesting than the actual play itself. lou and tim’s “slurred, desultory banter” breaches my personal distaste for casual misogyny, racism, and homophobia. the only shining light bulb of an idea korder created for this play was the spectral, mythical existence of their dead older brother, monty. the sharing of memories—lou being old enough to know monty, tim being too young to have ever formed his own memories of him—and even the blurring of them is such a crazy concept! too bad it’s buried under the weight of the writing. yeah. don’t recommend reading this (not that this gets much traction regardless).

love n light, guys.