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Call Me Ahab
Imagine a Hollywood encounter between Helen Keller and Frida Kahlo, “two female icons of disability.” Or the story of “Moby Dick, or, The Leg,” told from Ahab’s perspective. What if Vincent Van Gogh resided in a twentieth-century New York hotel, surviving on food stamps and direct communications with God? Or if the dwarf pictured in a seventeenth-century painting by Velazquez should tell her story? And, finally, imagine the encounter between David and Goliath from the Philistine’s point of view.
These are the characters who people history and myth as counterpoints to the “normal.” And they are also the characters who populate Anne Finger’s remarkable short stories. Affecting but never sentimental, ironic but never cynical, these wonderfully rich and comic tales reimagine life beyond the margins of “normality.”
These are the characters who people history and myth as counterpoints to the “normal.” And they are also the characters who populate Anne Finger’s remarkable short stories. Affecting but never sentimental, ironic but never cynical, these wonderfully rich and comic tales reimagine life beyond the margins of “normality.”
192 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 1, 2020
These short stories are a reimagination of characters who have some form of disability in history and literature; changing settings or times and rethinking. There are nine stories: Van Gogh is in Reagan’s New York, a retelling of Moby Dick from Ahab’s point of view, the story of Ned Ludd the legendary originator of the Luddites, an imaginary meeting between Frida Kahlo and Helen Keller, a retelling of King Lear where a gay man descended from the Boston Brahmins is dying of AIDS (instead of daughters he has sons), another imaginary meeting between Rosa Luxemburg and Antonio Gramsci, the story about Mari Barbola the dwarf pictured in Velazquez’s “Las Meninas” splices sharply into that of Lia Graf a dwarf in Auschwitz, a modern retelling of David and Goliath is from Goliath’s point of view in the midst of the modern conflict in the West Bank/Gaza, The Blind Marksman is set in a Soviet Republic.
The stories vary in quality: Vincent is sharp and imaginative, but others like The Blind Marksman and the meeting between Luxemburg and Gramsci less so. The author inhabits her characters well and so we see the workings of Goliath’s mind and his feelings. Endings are rarely tidy and we are left often on the verge of something decisive happening, but not quite there, an anticipation. There are queer histories in Helen and Frida, Moby Dick or the Leg and Gloucester (the Lear retelling). Our Ned is worked like a nineteenth century bildungsroman and took me back to my historical studies and the history of the Luddites. Captain Ahab has miraculously survived on a pacific atoll and arrives in the modern world to discover Moby Dick and Ishmael’s version of his story. He has to put the facts as he sees them.
A certain historic and literary knowledge is required and all of the stories are interesting. The reader doesn’t feel like a tourist or voyeur and these are not self-improvement tales of overcoming disability. The reader is challenged and made to think. On the whole the stories are worth reading and one or two will stay with me.
The stories vary in quality: Vincent is sharp and imaginative, but others like The Blind Marksman and the meeting between Luxemburg and Gramsci less so. The author inhabits her characters well and so we see the workings of Goliath’s mind and his feelings. Endings are rarely tidy and we are left often on the verge of something decisive happening, but not quite there, an anticipation. There are queer histories in Helen and Frida, Moby Dick or the Leg and Gloucester (the Lear retelling). Our Ned is worked like a nineteenth century bildungsroman and took me back to my historical studies and the history of the Luddites. Captain Ahab has miraculously survived on a pacific atoll and arrives in the modern world to discover Moby Dick and Ishmael’s version of his story. He has to put the facts as he sees them.
A certain historic and literary knowledge is required and all of the stories are interesting. The reader doesn’t feel like a tourist or voyeur and these are not self-improvement tales of overcoming disability. The reader is challenged and made to think. On the whole the stories are worth reading and one or two will stay with me.
July 25, 2009
Anne Finger’s award-winning Call Me Ahab showcases a plethora of historical and literary characters—each of whom is in some way disabled—and imagines new scenarios for their lives. It’s an exciting concept and while several of the stories in the nine-story collection left me cold, Finger is to be lauded for her originality.
Her talent is particularly vivid in "Vincent." Here, Finger brings Vincent Van Gogh into the late 20th century. Instead of brother Theo endlessly supporting his deranged, if talented, sibling, he cuts him off, leaving Vincent to fend for himself on the teeming streets of New York City. Vincent’s heartbreaking existence is juxtaposed with that of a young, male bureaucrat employed by the Social Security Administration. The pairing is better than a social science text on service delivery, poignantly demonstrating the system’s betrayal of them both.
"Gloucester" re-imagines King Lear, but this time through the contemporary eyes of Gloucester Barrows, a middle-aged man dying of AIDS. Although Barrows is from a prominent political family—think the Kennedy or Bush clans—his marriage dissolved when his wife-of-convenience divorced him following his diagnosis. Now blind, Gloucester is eager to settle his affairs and has no choice but to rely on his two sons. Dexter, the elder, is pursuing elected office and has little time for his ailing dad; Charlie, just 20, is a hippie’s hippie who has renounced material privilege to live in horrifying squalor. Gloucester’s navigation of this rocky terrain is pitch perfect and emotionally riveting.
"The Blind Marksman" takes readers into a mock socialist dystopia under the rule of “the Great Pilot of Our People, the Beacon of Hope to the Proletarians of the World, the Heroic Leader of the Struggle Against the Fascist Invader,” and introduces a blind marksman whose one-time feat with a bow-and-arrow is embellished with each telling. Like the children’s game of “telephone,” the story becomes more and more absurd, until in the end regime change renders the marksman a caricature of his former self.
The story implies that socialism is no better at protecting individuals than capitalism. But is this true? Call Me Ahab, winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, is full of questions and what-ifs. For example, what if Moby Dick was told from Ahab’s perspective? What might Helen Keller and Frida Kahlo have discussed if they’d met? Finger’s "Helen and Frida" presents a bawdy conversation between the two that will leave you reeling, grinning, or both. Other stories feature those whose perspectives are not typically considered—the dwarf in painter Velasquez’ Las Meninas; a Jewish artist commissioned to draw disfigured internees for Hitler’s medics; and feeble-minded Ned Lud, the man behind the anti-machine Luddite Rebellion, among them.
Throughout, there’s attention to the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, sexism, racism, and discrimination against people with disabilities. While message is never sacrificed to craft, Finger wants readers to appreciate the contributions made by those with physical and psychological limitations. “Who is our greatest poet after Mr. Shakespeare?” she asks. “Why blind John Milton. And in my own century of origin, Monsieur Proust was by his asthma-laden lungs impaired in a major life function… I could mention fit-shaken Van Gogh, dwarf Toulouse-Lautrec, and mad Miss Woolf…Look to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What see you? A one-legged man, and another who adds a palsied scrawl. Who raised the nation up from the depths of the Depression? Why a man with a pair of legs like cooked spaghetti.”
World affairs and letters have clearly benefited from the talents of the disabled. But Call Me Ahab is no diatribe. Instead, it is a cheering section for the forgotten and under-appreciated and a testament to creativity, whimsy, and intellect.
Review by Eleanor J. Bader
Her talent is particularly vivid in "Vincent." Here, Finger brings Vincent Van Gogh into the late 20th century. Instead of brother Theo endlessly supporting his deranged, if talented, sibling, he cuts him off, leaving Vincent to fend for himself on the teeming streets of New York City. Vincent’s heartbreaking existence is juxtaposed with that of a young, male bureaucrat employed by the Social Security Administration. The pairing is better than a social science text on service delivery, poignantly demonstrating the system’s betrayal of them both.
"Gloucester" re-imagines King Lear, but this time through the contemporary eyes of Gloucester Barrows, a middle-aged man dying of AIDS. Although Barrows is from a prominent political family—think the Kennedy or Bush clans—his marriage dissolved when his wife-of-convenience divorced him following his diagnosis. Now blind, Gloucester is eager to settle his affairs and has no choice but to rely on his two sons. Dexter, the elder, is pursuing elected office and has little time for his ailing dad; Charlie, just 20, is a hippie’s hippie who has renounced material privilege to live in horrifying squalor. Gloucester’s navigation of this rocky terrain is pitch perfect and emotionally riveting.
"The Blind Marksman" takes readers into a mock socialist dystopia under the rule of “the Great Pilot of Our People, the Beacon of Hope to the Proletarians of the World, the Heroic Leader of the Struggle Against the Fascist Invader,” and introduces a blind marksman whose one-time feat with a bow-and-arrow is embellished with each telling. Like the children’s game of “telephone,” the story becomes more and more absurd, until in the end regime change renders the marksman a caricature of his former self.
The story implies that socialism is no better at protecting individuals than capitalism. But is this true? Call Me Ahab, winner of the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction, is full of questions and what-ifs. For example, what if Moby Dick was told from Ahab’s perspective? What might Helen Keller and Frida Kahlo have discussed if they’d met? Finger’s "Helen and Frida" presents a bawdy conversation between the two that will leave you reeling, grinning, or both. Other stories feature those whose perspectives are not typically considered—the dwarf in painter Velasquez’ Las Meninas; a Jewish artist commissioned to draw disfigured internees for Hitler’s medics; and feeble-minded Ned Lud, the man behind the anti-machine Luddite Rebellion, among them.
Throughout, there’s attention to the Holocaust, anti-Semitism, sexism, racism, and discrimination against people with disabilities. While message is never sacrificed to craft, Finger wants readers to appreciate the contributions made by those with physical and psychological limitations. “Who is our greatest poet after Mr. Shakespeare?” she asks. “Why blind John Milton. And in my own century of origin, Monsieur Proust was by his asthma-laden lungs impaired in a major life function… I could mention fit-shaken Van Gogh, dwarf Toulouse-Lautrec, and mad Miss Woolf…Look to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. What see you? A one-legged man, and another who adds a palsied scrawl. Who raised the nation up from the depths of the Depression? Why a man with a pair of legs like cooked spaghetti.”
World affairs and letters have clearly benefited from the talents of the disabled. But Call Me Ahab is no diatribe. Instead, it is a cheering section for the forgotten and under-appreciated and a testament to creativity, whimsy, and intellect.
Review by Eleanor J. Bader
April 18, 2023
The idea for this collection is great. Rewriting the stories of fictional or real disabled characters through a new perspective. The choice of subjects were very innovative.
However, I had a problem with the execution. Reading most of these stories were like going through a report or review rather than a story. Throughout many of the sections, you are always conscious about reading an adaptation or retelling of previous works or historical facts. You are reminded of the original source in many occasions.
I'd rather to see my retelling a bit more nuanced. To track the changes and agenda of the author on my own. Not to be told that "that was the story you knew, this is how I'm telling it" so many times.
Of course this is my taste and I'm sure many have and might enjoy this work. But I found it to be a huge wasted potential.
However, I had a problem with the execution. Reading most of these stories were like going through a report or review rather than a story. Throughout many of the sections, you are always conscious about reading an adaptation or retelling of previous works or historical facts. You are reminded of the original source in many occasions.
I'd rather to see my retelling a bit more nuanced. To track the changes and agenda of the author on my own. Not to be told that "that was the story you knew, this is how I'm telling it" so many times.
Of course this is my taste and I'm sure many have and might enjoy this work. But I found it to be a huge wasted potential.
October 29, 2017
A powerful and wonderful collection of short stories!
My favourites were "Vincent" and "The Artist and the Dwarf", but I enjoyed every single one. I heard about this book in a class I'm taking on disability studies and literature, and I'm so excited to analyse one of these stories for my final essay.
I might have more to say after writing that essay. Now I just have to add that the little I know about disability studies made these stories even more enjoyable to read. For example, I enjoyed how Finger commented on the use of disabilities as metaphors for something else, much like David T. Mitchell does in their essay about narrative prosthesis.
Please everyone do read this! If you want content warnings for something, ask me, and I'll do my best.
My favourites were "Vincent" and "The Artist and the Dwarf", but I enjoyed every single one. I heard about this book in a class I'm taking on disability studies and literature, and I'm so excited to analyse one of these stories for my final essay.
I might have more to say after writing that essay. Now I just have to add that the little I know about disability studies made these stories even more enjoyable to read. For example, I enjoyed how Finger commented on the use of disabilities as metaphors for something else, much like David T. Mitchell does in their essay about narrative prosthesis.
Please everyone do read this! If you want content warnings for something, ask me, and I'll do my best.
June 23, 2020
Some stories were 2 stars, maybe two were 5, the rest 3 or 4. Ultimately, a 4 star rating for the first and last stories alone. Love love love the Frida/Helen story and of course the Moby Dick retelling. That one is so well done.
June 30, 2019
Strange, meandering stories. I liked the last one in the collection the best.
July 15, 2011
Terrible. It is obvious that Finger is not writing the kind of stories that she would like to read herself. She goes on and on, never varying the length of her marathon-length sentences which have almost nothing to do with the subject they began speaking about. She also has a large sexual axe she needs to grind and, for whatever reason, refuses to do so in her stories except in a few select scenes which, given their quality, are much more her element.
1st star for getting this thing published and 2nd star for the idea behind the stories which was quite good and would have been brilliant if she would have been able to deliver
1st star for getting this thing published and 2nd star for the idea behind the stories which was quite good and would have been brilliant if she would have been able to deliver
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January 22, 2016I dug this super hard. Differently abled (?) historical/literary figurers are re-imagined in these short stories, Anne plays fast and loose with the traditional circumstances to give delightful things like Goliath, with all the biblical language and modern understanding of PTSD and human growth hormone. Ahab gets to rant pointedly about the role the disabled get placed in contrast to the able-bodied. (I've been thinking more about physical disability and access in different space because of my bad knee and recent surgery so I appreciate an interesting rant)
October 3, 2009
I didn't finish all the short stories b/c there was a waiting list and I couldn't renew the book. It was very academic and called on a knowlegde of history and literature. I was really using parts of my brain that hadn't been awakened since undergrad. That is one reason that I liked it, but I did put it aside for "The Glass Castle." Obviously I'm not trying THAT hard.
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May 3, 2010There's a reason why this book has been long-listed for the Frank O'Connor Short Story Award 2010 [ http://www.munsterlit.ie/FOC%20Award%... ].
Find my brief review of this book is at americanshortfiction.org/blog the first week of May 2010. (May is Short Story Month.)
Find my brief review of this book is at americanshortfiction.org/blog the first week of May 2010. (May is Short Story Month.)
April 20, 2023
I was gonna give it a lower rating but whilst I was on the train I realised that the writing was really good and I just wasn't paying attention for most of it. That being said I'm not usually a short story gal but I would recommend it to those who enjoy short stories.
August 17, 2012
Short stories based on classics. Well researched and written.
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February 28, 2014Fiction F497c 2009
March 28, 2015
I liked the ideas behind most of these stories better than the actual way they played out. The one I liked best was the modern King Lear, dying of AIDS.
October 27, 2023
Helen Keller and Frida Kahlo. And sexual tension.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews