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The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert: Essential Short Stories – Masterful American Fiction on War, Politics, and Love
This masterly volume comprises the best shorter fiction written by Just over the last 25 years. "The working life, the war, politics, love affairs, and marriage seem to be the waters in which my boats set sail," Just writes. Here is a generous selection of the work that has earned Just his reputation as "one of the most astute writers of American fiction."
389 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1973
130 people want to read
About the author
Ward Just
36 books83 followersWard Just was a war correspondent, novelist, and short story author.
Ward Just graduated from Cranbrook School in 1953. He briefly attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He started his career as a print journalist for the Waukegan (Illinois) News-Sun. He was also a correspondent for Newsweek and The Washington Post from 1959 to 1969, after which he left journalism to write fiction.
His influences include Henry James and Ernest Hemingway. His novel An Unfinished Season was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005. His novel Echo House was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1997. He has twice been a finalist for the O. Henry Award: in 1985 for his short story "About Boston," and again in 1986 for his short story "The Costa Brava, 1959." His fiction is often concerned with the influence of national politics on Americans' personal lives. Much of it is set in Washington, D.C., and foreign countries. Another common theme is the alienation felt by Midwesterners in the East.
Ward Just graduated from Cranbrook School in 1953. He briefly attended Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. He started his career as a print journalist for the Waukegan (Illinois) News-Sun. He was also a correspondent for Newsweek and The Washington Post from 1959 to 1969, after which he left journalism to write fiction.
His influences include Henry James and Ernest Hemingway. His novel An Unfinished Season was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005. His novel Echo House was a finalist for the National Book Award in 1997. He has twice been a finalist for the O. Henry Award: in 1985 for his short story "About Boston," and again in 1986 for his short story "The Costa Brava, 1959." His fiction is often concerned with the influence of national politics on Americans' personal lives. Much of it is set in Washington, D.C., and foreign countries. Another common theme is the alienation felt by Midwesterners in the East.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
May 27, 2016
Ward Just is an author that, until today, I had known only by name and reputation for years. But it was in reading this short story collection - "The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert" - that I learned to know and appreciate what a talented writer he really is. Just has a wonderful way, through economy of words, of bringing to life both the interior and exterior lives of people in a variety of venues. He does it so well that the reader comes to understand these people and wants to know more about them.
Each of the short stories takes the reader immediately into the lives and times of the people therein. The themes vary from the political, to the social, and deeply personal. Generally, aside from 2 or 3 short stories that failed to arouse any great interest in me (e.g. "Dietz at War"), I enjoyed the journeys. Just ably demonstrates that the short story doesn't have to be like a mystery novel, free flowing and cleverly constructed like a puzzle that the reader can ponder over, seeking to discover who done it and why. A short story can take moments out of a person's life or out of a singular event or series of events and stir up the reader's emotions and excite his/her interest in that story. In that respect, the short story "About Boston" comes to mind. The word play in it between a transplanted divorce lawyer (a Midwesterner who moved to Boston to establish a law practice with a reputable Boston firm) and his ex-fiancee Beth (a woman who very much knows her own mind) who comes back into his life as his client, is sparkling and laugh out loud funny. I think Just had enough material in that short story to make a novel had he been so inclined.
The following two quotes from the short stories "The Costa Brava, 1959" and "A Woman of Character" also deeply resonated with me.
From "The Costa Brava, 1959" -
"[Bettina] inhabited a country of which she was the only citizen; one citizen, speaking to herself in a personal tongue. Sometimes in her poetry she could hear a multitude of voices, a vivifying rialto in the dead suburban city. On the beach she had felt abandoned; and when she looked across the water and did not see him, she didn't know what to do ; he had been there a moment before, looking at that girl. So she had gone to the water's edge and called, in a joky way; then she was filled with a sudden dread and called again, yelled really, must as he broke the surface, spraying water every which way, his arm straight up --- and looked at so shamefacedly, as he had been caught red-handed. The the bells began to toll and she listened, startled at first; they were so mournful and exact, churchbells from the Middle Ages, tolling an unrecognizable dirge. ... for a long moment, within hearing of the bells, everything stopped, a kind of ecstatic suspension of all sound and motion. She turned away, fighting a desire to cry; she wanted tears, evidence of life."
And from "A Woman of Character" -
"[Sally] had an episodic love affair with the psychiatrist, who appealed to her because he cared nothing about politics. He heard enough about politics in his office; he did not care to hear about them in bed. It was a relationship that suited her because both of them maintained absolutely separate identities: no professional competition, no sexual minuets. It was tricky because when the depressions came upon her she wanted to talk about them with him, and that bothered her because she felt she should be paying for the privilege. It was like sleeping with a lawyer and asking him for tax advice. Sally prided herself on her understanding of mutual interests, her deft estimates of how much should be given and how much taken in any transaction. It was one reason for her success in politics; she learned very early that temporary advantage nearly always led to long-term loss. Except of course with enemies; that was different. With enemies, you used every trick you knew. But with friends the best agreement was an equal agreement, one in which all parties left the table satisfied that they'd gotten what they wanted, or most of what they wanted; in any case, what they had to have. To an outsider it might sound bloodless, but it was important and pertinent to Sally. She'd work too hard establishing her independence to throw it away lightly."
"The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert" gets 4 stars. I couldn't give it the fifth star because of those few short stories in it that made me impatient to be done with them. Notwithstanding that, I enjoyed the experience and recommend Ward Just to any reader in search of interesting stories.
Each of the short stories takes the reader immediately into the lives and times of the people therein. The themes vary from the political, to the social, and deeply personal. Generally, aside from 2 or 3 short stories that failed to arouse any great interest in me (e.g. "Dietz at War"), I enjoyed the journeys. Just ably demonstrates that the short story doesn't have to be like a mystery novel, free flowing and cleverly constructed like a puzzle that the reader can ponder over, seeking to discover who done it and why. A short story can take moments out of a person's life or out of a singular event or series of events and stir up the reader's emotions and excite his/her interest in that story. In that respect, the short story "About Boston" comes to mind. The word play in it between a transplanted divorce lawyer (a Midwesterner who moved to Boston to establish a law practice with a reputable Boston firm) and his ex-fiancee Beth (a woman who very much knows her own mind) who comes back into his life as his client, is sparkling and laugh out loud funny. I think Just had enough material in that short story to make a novel had he been so inclined.
The following two quotes from the short stories "The Costa Brava, 1959" and "A Woman of Character" also deeply resonated with me.
From "The Costa Brava, 1959" -
"[Bettina] inhabited a country of which she was the only citizen; one citizen, speaking to herself in a personal tongue. Sometimes in her poetry she could hear a multitude of voices, a vivifying rialto in the dead suburban city. On the beach she had felt abandoned; and when she looked across the water and did not see him, she didn't know what to do ; he had been there a moment before, looking at that girl. So she had gone to the water's edge and called, in a joky way; then she was filled with a sudden dread and called again, yelled really, must as he broke the surface, spraying water every which way, his arm straight up --- and looked at so shamefacedly, as he had been caught red-handed. The the bells began to toll and she listened, startled at first; they were so mournful and exact, churchbells from the Middle Ages, tolling an unrecognizable dirge. ... for a long moment, within hearing of the bells, everything stopped, a kind of ecstatic suspension of all sound and motion. She turned away, fighting a desire to cry; she wanted tears, evidence of life."
And from "A Woman of Character" -
"[Sally] had an episodic love affair with the psychiatrist, who appealed to her because he cared nothing about politics. He heard enough about politics in his office; he did not care to hear about them in bed. It was a relationship that suited her because both of them maintained absolutely separate identities: no professional competition, no sexual minuets. It was tricky because when the depressions came upon her she wanted to talk about them with him, and that bothered her because she felt she should be paying for the privilege. It was like sleeping with a lawyer and asking him for tax advice. Sally prided herself on her understanding of mutual interests, her deft estimates of how much should be given and how much taken in any transaction. It was one reason for her success in politics; she learned very early that temporary advantage nearly always led to long-term loss. Except of course with enemies; that was different. With enemies, you used every trick you knew. But with friends the best agreement was an equal agreement, one in which all parties left the table satisfied that they'd gotten what they wanted, or most of what they wanted; in any case, what they had to have. To an outsider it might sound bloodless, but it was important and pertinent to Sally. She'd work too hard establishing her independence to throw it away lightly."
"The Congressman Who Loved Flaubert" gets 4 stars. I couldn't give it the fifth star because of those few short stories in it that made me impatient to be done with them. Notwithstanding that, I enjoyed the experience and recommend Ward Just to any reader in search of interesting stories.
July 27, 2011
This has been at my bedside for months. Ward Just is a really outstanding writer. His stories are more like novels than stories--there's nothing fragmentary or metaphorical about them; in each story you feel you're getting to know his characters whole. It's also a pleasure to read good fiction about characters who live in the public world--most fiction about (imaginary) public figures is pretty trashy.
July 20, 2015
Interesting collection of short stories, dealing with politics in Washington, DC, foreign correspondents in Vietnam, and other international intrigue.
November 21, 2019
Ward Just is an American writer who, among his many accomplishments, has written 19 novels. To the best of my knowledge, I am the only person who has read any of them! He is an unknown literary figure (unless you read an obscure journal, the Atlantic)! This book is from a distinct milieu, a collection of 21 short stories and novellas. Its episodes are wide ranging in terms of locale, but the characters lives are, as a rule, centered around governance: they are war correspondents, diplomats, judges, staffers, politicians, soldiers, journalists -- everyone involved herein is part and parcel of the American 'adventure' in Vietnam and its long-lingering effects up into the post 9/11 world. A final note: the few critiques of Just's writings use the word "Hemingwayesque;' in truth, the women who inhabit these pages are strong, decisive, and brilliant, an archtype whom Hemingway never met!
July 9, 2022
This is a collection of stories written and published in The Atlantic, the New Yorker, etc. While none of the stories have a "happy" ending, what they do have is realistic dialogue and character development.
Just started out as a newspaper reporter--even working for the famous Ben Bradlee at the Washington Post, but by 1970, he switched to novels. His book "Jack Gance" — about the rise of a senator from Illinois —was generally regarded as the finest “Washington novelist” since Allen Drury, who won a Pulitzer.”
Just passed away in 2019 at the age of 84.
Just started out as a newspaper reporter--even working for the famous Ben Bradlee at the Washington Post, but by 1970, he switched to novels. His book "Jack Gance" — about the rise of a senator from Illinois —was generally regarded as the finest “Washington novelist” since Allen Drury, who won a Pulitzer.”
Just passed away in 2019 at the age of 84.
September 12, 2017
I absolutely loved Just's writing style. Smart, crisp and detailed.
I wasn't fond of the subject matter of some of his stories as he is a some-what political writer, but I read through it nonetheless.
1. D.
2. Cease-Fire
3. Noone
4. Honor, Power, Riches, Fame, and the Love of Women
5. Maintenance
6. Journalism
In that order.
I wasn't fond of the subject matter of some of his stories as he is a some-what political writer, but I read through it nonetheless.
1. D.
2. Cease-Fire
3. Noone
4. Honor, Power, Riches, Fame, and the Love of Women
5. Maintenance
6. Journalism
In that order.
November 10, 2023
Actually, I just read half of the stories. I found the writing to be very good, and the characters and stories interesting. It felt dated, though - both the language and the descriptions of life in DC, politics and foreign service. Glad I learned something of Ward Just's writing, though.
January 5, 2019
The stories set in Washington, D. C. and Boston are particularly good.
September 19, 2015
These are some of the most depressing stories I have read in a long time. And the most well-written. They are mostly stories of old hands moving in and out of power. Statesmen who don’t trust each other, who deceive their wives as blandly as they deceive themselves and the public. And often as successfully.
These are stories of provincial progressives always looking at power from the margins. Nobody is happy in these stories. If there is any common theme it is the futility of maintenance.
“He was obsessed by the weather in Vermont, being a connoisseur of bad news.”
“The human voice travels at 740 miles an hour and listening to them in the evenings was to gain a fresh perspective on the science of ballistics.”
“This was the year the summer would not end in Europe. Even the terrorists went about their work in short-sleeved shirts and sandals, hurtling from target to target in air-conditioned BMWs.”
These are stories of provincial progressives always looking at power from the margins. Nobody is happy in these stories. If there is any common theme it is the futility of maintenance.
“He was obsessed by the weather in Vermont, being a connoisseur of bad news.”
“The human voice travels at 740 miles an hour and listening to them in the evenings was to gain a fresh perspective on the science of ballistics.”
“This was the year the summer would not end in Europe. Even the terrorists went about their work in short-sleeved shirts and sandals, hurtling from target to target in air-conditioned BMWs.”
October 7, 2010
Another stellar work from Ward Just. These stories give you a behind the scenes view into how Congress really operates. Aside from the political stories, I found the stories about war correspondents especially moving. Just captures the impact of the war on the journalists in a way I hadn't considered before. Highly recommended.
April 16, 2011
I don't usually like short stories, but I found most of the stories in this collection to be excellent. Many of Just's characters are Midwesterners (from the Chicago area in particular) who are transplanted in the East--Washington, D.C. or Boston for the most part. His sense of the Midwesterner as an outsider in the East is unique.
Want to read
December 9, 2014Jonathan Yardley of The Washington Post says, "This is the Washington that readers expect to find in fiction, but in Just’s firm hands the lives of the powerful are anything except the material for pulp fiction. Read the title story for proof of the subtlety with which Just treats them."
July 19, 2015
Enjoyed the first set of stories; once they turned to Vietnam, I enjoyed them far less.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews