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The Fourth Player
THE FOURTH PLAYER is the unveiling of the much gossiped about I-Ling whose wealth and beauty are legendary. But to the other three players she’s an anomaly, a distortion of her legend and possibly the catalyst that destroys the group.
93 pages, ebook
First published April 26, 2014
76 people want to read
About the author
Marie Chow
16 books10 followersMarie is a lifelong student with degrees in degrees in chemical engineering, teaching, an MFA in writing, and a doctorate in educational leadership. Her writing focuses on bilingual and English-only children's books that feature mixed families, as well as literary and contemporary fiction focused on Asian and Asian American characters.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 29, 2014
"The Fourth Player" by Marie Chow are competently rendered pieces, deceptive in their simplicity, but likely to stay with the reader in enigmatic, haunting ways. There are no sympathetic characters in the first story, "Eulogy," which examines the short life and passing of Karen Harper. Well, maybe we have empathy for Karen Harper, who no longer needs it; perhaps for her inconsolable mother. Karen, dead following an auto accident and short coma, is remembered by an adolescent girlfriend, a fiance, mother and father, and a rather callous lover from high-school.
"Laughter" takes us through the relationship of Henry and Nora who meet in an on-line dating site and eventually marry. Both seem to have rather low expectations of matrimony, particularly in its physical aspects. Nora simply expects to be entertained by a husband who can make her laugh, which Henry is able to do, though his material here might need some punching up. Dispassionate, self-conscious Henry probably never pictured himself with anyone so attractive. The essential conflict and relationship transformation comes during a problem pregnancy and Nora's resultant eating disorder. All may yet be well, however, as Henry once more goes for the jokes to combat her post-partum depression and continued appetite.
"The Fourth Player," is the best of the three. The reader won't soon forget someone like I-Ling who dresses her male toddler as a girl and insists on continuing the charade into the kid's adolescence. Imagine explaining THOSE pictures on Mom's Facebook page. Well, she always wanted a girl, is the excuse. Her other sons have already grown and fled. And, we'll probably puzzle for some time over the cultural imperative being played out as the Asian woman takes up the piano. I-Lings sole purpose seems to be to find some way in which she can relax her often absent businessman husband into sleep. (I can think of at least ONE other strategy.) Finally, the reader is likely to be unsettled by the catty perspective of the three mahjong friends who recruit the well-to-do I-Ling as their fourth. With friends like those, I-Ling's other eccentricities seem less problematic and less puzzling.
"Laughter" takes us through the relationship of Henry and Nora who meet in an on-line dating site and eventually marry. Both seem to have rather low expectations of matrimony, particularly in its physical aspects. Nora simply expects to be entertained by a husband who can make her laugh, which Henry is able to do, though his material here might need some punching up. Dispassionate, self-conscious Henry probably never pictured himself with anyone so attractive. The essential conflict and relationship transformation comes during a problem pregnancy and Nora's resultant eating disorder. All may yet be well, however, as Henry once more goes for the jokes to combat her post-partum depression and continued appetite.
"The Fourth Player," is the best of the three. The reader won't soon forget someone like I-Ling who dresses her male toddler as a girl and insists on continuing the charade into the kid's adolescence. Imagine explaining THOSE pictures on Mom's Facebook page. Well, she always wanted a girl, is the excuse. Her other sons have already grown and fled. And, we'll probably puzzle for some time over the cultural imperative being played out as the Asian woman takes up the piano. I-Lings sole purpose seems to be to find some way in which she can relax her often absent businessman husband into sleep. (I can think of at least ONE other strategy.) Finally, the reader is likely to be unsettled by the catty perspective of the three mahjong friends who recruit the well-to-do I-Ling as their fourth. With friends like those, I-Ling's other eccentricities seem less problematic and less puzzling.
June 1, 2014
Really enjoyed the third in this collection of short stories.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews